In my previous posting, I outlined my intent to re-do the deck on my Point Bennett S&G boat. Well, today, I decided I was going to rip the deck off. I'd been playing around with some profile shapes over the past few weeks but I figured now it was time to actually do something about it. So I spent an hour this afternoon (Sunday) chopping up a boat that I so lovingly built only a year and a half ago!! How things change!!!
A note of caution. Some with weak constitutions (or the inability to comprehend such mutilation of their boats) may find some of the following pictures a bit disturbing!! I, by the way, have no fear doing major modifications to my boats. I figure that if I put the deck on there in the first place, I can damn well rip it off and replace it with another. 'Nuff said. Let's get the gory details of the surgery!!
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| Prepped to go under the knife. |
For now I am simply removing the deck so I chose to cut right along the sheer line.
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| The first cut!! |
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| No turning back now!! |
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| Finishing off the first side!! |
I need to separate the deck from the internal bulkheads and because I was not re-using the deck, I simply made cuts in the appropriate places to expose the bulkheads for easy cutting with the saw.
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| The El Camino Kayak!! |
The plywood rings holding the hatch coamings were epoxied to the sides of the hull and required some extra cutting to remove them
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| Fwd hatch coaming holding on!! |
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| A shot of the carnage!!! |
With the deck completely removed I was transported back in time to February 25 2011 when I was at this very stage when initially building the boat.
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| Deck finally off and the hull ready for "height reduction"!! |
The next step is to mark and cut the new sheer line. I already have the new sheer marked but I need to do some close scrutiny to make sure it's what I want. After that, it's back to the attic for the boat and the rebuilding of the new deck, coaming and installation of a skeg.
Thanks for dropping by and my apologies for the disturbing content,
Sean
yeah, kind of disturbing... made me cringe a little... a perfectly good kayak like that... Looking forward to watching the build on blog and then seeing the final outcome...
ReplyDeleteAwesome stuff! Makes me wanna get back in the boat building shop.
ReplyDeleteMy yard looks more like a ship breakers yard in Alang rather than a boat building shop!! I'm hoping to get it back in the attic by the weekend. And my skeg arrived today - woohoo!!
ReplyDeleteI will be watching this "Rebuild" very closely as I am just starting my Point Bennett build. How much are you lowering the sheer? Are you building a Plywood or stripper deck?
ReplyDeleteGeorge: I am not actually dropping the deck along the whole length of the sheer. I am redefining the sheer by leaving the bow ans stern at pretty much the same height but dropping it midships by about 1.25'. The result is more curved sheer line with the deck a fair bit lower at the cockpit. This will lower the aft of the cockpit for better layback rolling while keeping the bow volume the same for buoyancy in waves. I am going with a strip deck so that I get the nice round shape that I want. Actually the hull right now looks a lot like an NDK Greenlander Pro (without the upturned stern) so I may try to copy the Pro's deck shape as well. Who knows??
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, if you check back in my blog to Feb - May of 2011, you will see lots of entries on my Point Bennett build project. Good luck with it. It's a fun boat to build and paddle!!
Sean, did you know that Duane also has chopped his Point Bennett, and has made plans available for the Point Bennett Chop? I dunno that it would help you much, seeing as you already have a PB built, as opposed to measuring new side panels...
ReplyDeleteBrian: I've seen the PB dropped deck plans but Duane dropped his ENTIRE deck by 1.5". I decided to leave the bow and stern basically the same height and dropped the sheer by about 1.25 at midships. I simply placed a batten along the new sheer and eyeballed it 'til it looked right. I cut one side and then did the same with the other. I took measurements at various places to ensure that both sides were equal. They are both cut now and it looks very fair. I'll be moving the boat inside in a few days to start work on the deck and skeg.
ReplyDeleteSean, I now have the PB hull panels marked on the plywood - did the butt joints same as you did, it made a much clearner joint. Dropping the Sheer 1.25 at midship, what is the rear coaming height going to be? I am thinking that the deck for the Black Skimmer might just about fit a modified PB hull - the extra curve in the Sheer line would require very little modification!! Sorry Duane, but I just don't like the peaked foredeck - a nice flat foredeck makes reading charts much easier!
ReplyDeleteButt joins work great in this case and are so easy compared to scarfing them!! Back deck coaming will be about 7.75'". I contemplated recessing the coaming for even less height but I came across an interesting tidbit on the Black Pearl (BP)building site. The designer does not suggest recessing the BP coaming because a)it's not easy to do on an already flat back deck and b) if you shift your seat ahead one inch, you accomplish the same thing as recessing the aft coaming. Words of wisdom that persuaded me not to bother recessing the coaming on the chopped PB.
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