Adventures in a Mill Creek 16.5

  Launch next...!

 The third (last!?) coat of varnish is dry and I am now doing some of the final bits and pieces. I have made the carry handles for the front and back and fitted the foot rests. I have fitted the back support and also epoxied on a couple of small walnut blocks to hold the deck hatch safety line. It should be ready to launch now, but I will still need to make and fit some foam knee pads and maybe thigh and hip supports. It will also need a spray deck and a paddle! I also plan to add an elastic net in front of the coaming (for water bottles etc.) but I will do this a little later.

  Here is the deck hatch with the paracord handle fitted.

  I have applied the first coat of varnish to the deck - here is the view from the stern. You can also see the rear bulkhead (with its drainage hole) and the foot rest supports from this angle.

  Well, everything is now installed (foot brace supports and back support anchor points) so I have sanded the outside of the boat to 120 grit, and had a massive clear up in the garage to reduce the dust to as low a level as possible. The next step will be to apply 2 or three coats of yacht spar varnish to the outside. I will probably leave the inside as it is as this shouldn't get much UV light.

  I have spent a couple of days making a wooden seat for the kayak, and today I tried it for size. It's quite comfy, but I am not happy with the weight of it (too much) and the fact that it means I will sit a little too high. So I am going to set the wooden seat aside and buy a kayak seat cushion, made from silicone, and put this directly on the bottom of the boat. If this doesn't work out, I can always revert to the wooden tractor seat, or maybe make a light weight one from fibreglass...