Fitting the deck

My apologies to Stealth Perfomance Products, for the above photograph does not do justice to the beautiful shapes of the Evolution (on the left) and the Swift. Stealth Performance Products

The picture serves to illustrate the difference between the wider and shorter Evo and the equally elegant Swift. (The white deposit on the Evo is "blushing" of the epoxy which is the result of a chemical reaction between the epoxy and humidity in the air. It is of little concern and needs o be sanded off before further coating can be done)

FITTING THE DECK
As can be expected there is a certain amount of spring-back of the hull as the forms (stations) are removed from the hull before fitting the deck. This was much less than I expected and a little reshaping of the edges of the deck had to be done to make the deck fit the hull. I did not join the centre of the deck (as can be seen on the pic.) and this will be done with a decorative strip once the deck is fixed permanently in position.

A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE CONSTRUCTION SO FAR AND BEYOND
In general is has gone well. When stripping the hull I did find myself , from time to time, standing and staring at the beautifull, sleek shape of the Swift emerging, and admiring the genius of the design.

Could not help feeling humble to be entrusted with the building of the first Stealth Swift.

Bruce uses Rhinoceros software to design his watercraft (not only kayaks) and it is his intention that the Swift, once completed, be submitted the Projects Gallery on the web site of the software company.

I must admit that I envy the guys (mainly in the USA) that buy their pre-cut , tested kits to build their beautifull kayaks. From what I see on their discussions forum, my problems are not unlike theirs. On the other hand, it is so much more satisfying to attempt a project that's never been done before.

Special thanks to the guys on the Fishing Corner Forum for the encouragement and humorous support

http://www.fishingcorner.co.za/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=28&func=view&catid=2&id=7133

Stripping complete

The rocker and curve of the hull on the picture above looks exagerated, but the Swift actually has a beautiful slender shape.


"Just another day in Paradise"

One advantage of working in the house is that you can listen to music like the above song by the Eagles.

However, when I got home after graft on Thursday I found that the domestic servant had the washing machine drain on the bedroom carpet. Again.

Then, after I serviced the bird feeder I found that I had stepped into some dog poo in the garden and left some spots on the lounge floor. Having cleaned that up I went to the bathroom to wash up and found that the dog had also pee'd on the floor.

To top it all, with my wife being in Northern Namibia, I dreamt the previous night of fishing for Tigers in the Kwando River in the Caprivi. I don't even know if the Kwando has Tiger fish.

"Bid the violence farewell and learn to be still" the Eagles carried on.

Yeah, right!

What I actually wanted to do is get some serious teeth marks onto that Halco Sorcerer lure that I had bought fro Brett at Stealth.( Stealth Performance Products )
Teeth marks from something like this that Mick Clarke had caught some two weeks ago.
(Mick is not a short guy). Photo courtesy Mick's web site (http://www.kayakfishingsa.co.za)

Next

I am eager to see how the deck will fit on the hull but before further work can be done on the Swift, the stripped cockpit methology will have to be sorted out. In the mean time work will also be resumed on the Evolution.