The breast plates stiffen up the gunwale/stem joints, but they are also important from an aestethic point of view, as they even out the transition, enabling smooth lines from stern to bow. Typically, this is the last I woodwork I do on a kayak, and it is a vital step that can "break or make" the appearance of the finished kayak. If I get it right, the breat plates won't be noticed, if I get it wrong the sheer will look "bumpy".

This is, in my opinion, a difficult step. It involves, as with the masik, shaping of complex three-dimensional curves and a high degree of "freehand sculpting".

When the breast are plugged to the stems and gunwales, I do the initial shaping with a coarse sanding disc in the grinder. A delicate touch is vital, or the disc will quickly remove too much material. The final shaping is done by hand, using a small block plane and a spokeshave. It's a simple cycle: plane, look, plane, look, and so on until it "looks right" from all angles.

With that done, the woodwork is finished! 

Total building time: 30 hours

Next step: oiling

The first time out of the workshop:

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment 2.0!