Preparing Bottom, Side Panels

Preparing Bottom, Side Panels



Before wiring the bottom and side panels together to form the hull, it is necessary to join the panels lengthwise to arrive at the full length of the kayak. Since the panels have been machine cut with puzzle shaped connection points, it was merely a matter of finding the best sides to be facing outwards and then epoxying together with fiberglass tape. Will have to let this sit overnight before going any further.

Rough trim of ends of sheer strips

Rough trim of ends of sheer strips


Guestimated the angle of cut for the ends of the sheer strips after attached to the side panels. These will be precisely trimmed later when the panels are stitched up and the ends are closer to their final positioning to attain the proper measurements for the final fitting. The Japanese hand saw you see is indispensable. I ordered an assortment of blades and they all interchange with the handles which. So you can order many different blades and just a couple of handles and have many different tools for different jobs at a fraction of the cost of a couple different brand saws. You can call and talk to this little old Asian man personally that sells these in fact he has a lot of experience being that he is 86 years old. He is quite a character and it was a pleasure to talk with him at length. Just type in " Tashiro Hardware" in your web browser. I'm sure he would appreciate the business.

Took Break Today

Took Break Today

Turned pretty cold last night and I don't think the epoxy will set up properly so I took a break from the all day, non-stop work on the boat to regroup. Went to the local HD and picked up some supplies and an 8' overhead shop light. Decided it was about time to do away with the flat work top so I removed it and placed some straps across the uprights to create a cradle. The straps are just some old leather belts and the cradle will allow the kayak to be turned over so the bottom can be worked on and fiberglassed while being held securely without being damaged.

Glassed Cockpit Interior

Glassed Cockpit Interior

It finally warmed up enough for me to feel comfortable about working with the epoxy so that it would set up properly. The epoxy was thickened and applied into the inside angles where the panels joined together to soften the transition between the panels. Fiberglass tape was embedded into the fillets and then a whole sheet of fiberglass cloth was cut to fit into the cockpit and laid in and up the sides. Unthickened epoxy was squeegeed and brushed onto the fiberglass cloth to saturate and fill the weave of the cloth The entire interior has now been sealed except for the bulkheads which will be done next after trimming the excess fiberglass cloth. The bulkheads will be sealed with epoxy as well as any other bare interior wood that may have been previously missed.

Smooth Bottom

Smooth Bottom

Crafted some supports to secure the upside-down hull for sanding and glassing, then prepared the hull for fiberglassing. All the joint angles were softened by either planing or sanding a slight radius into them. I then used my random orbital sander with 220 grit paper to give a really smooth finish to the mahogany in preparation to laying on the fiberglass sheets.

Preparation of Stripping Deck

Preparation of Stripping Deck

Well today was spent mostly cleaning up and regrouping in preparations for stripping the deck. I had to remove the cove off of the strips that would be glued together to form the centerline and glue them together. This would leave a bead facing outwards toward the sides to match up with the upward facing cove on the first strips to be placed along the sheerline. In turn all of the in between strips would will have the same orientation as far as the bead and cove goes. The strips that will start the outside edge will run the full length of the kayak so I did have to epoxy them together using scarf joints. Tomorrow will be the big day for the start of actually attaching these aforementioned pieces which will form the framework for the fill strips. Before this can happen, I still need to line the inside of the hull with some kind of protective liner to 

Making a Little Headway On Deck

Making a Little Headway On Deck

Today was pretty productive after first couple of strips next to the centerplank were installed, I began to figure out the best steps for ways to make the end joints fit tight. With the help of my first mate as seen in the 2nd picture, a considerable amount of time was spent deciding which strips would be laid next to each other as I moved down from the centerline both forward of the cockpit and behind it in order to come up with the most uniform and visually appealing design.

Began Finishing Inside of the Deck

Began Finishing Inside of the Deck

Began scraping the glue drips and sanding smooth the underside of the deck on preparation for the fiber glassing and epoxying step. First major faux pas, tripped over the shop vac and numerous cords laying on the floor and did the best face plant ever on the concrete floor of my garage. My own fault though,, instead of rushing through and trying to get more accomplished, I should have done a little housekeeping to clean up and keep things nice and organized. My face hurts, I bet its killing you!

Smoothing and Fiberglassing of Underside of Deck

Smoothing and Fiberglassing of Underside of Deck

Well they say when you fall of your horse, you get back on it so after the nasty spill I took last night after tripping over some electrical cords and shop vac, taking some heat from my co-workers about how the other guy fared or that I fell of my skate board, I decided to continue with progress of the kayak. Cleaned up the underside of the deck mostly using an assortment of cabinet scrapers in different shapes. This seemed to work the best, then took a litre water bottle and wrapped sandpaper around it to smooth up the surface. From there I attempted to lay on the fiberglass cloth without snagging it by laying old sheets on the deck first. This worked alright and I tried to trim the cloth so that I'll have enough for the topside of deck when it comes time for that. I'm afraid that I'll have to obtain more cloth to finish up since in the beginning, I wasn't to concerned with not having enough. After applying the epoxy to the fiberglass and trying to fill the weave as even as possible, I stood back and admired the deep colors of the natural wood evolving through the finish. This is a good indication of what the topside of the deck will appear like. Still have to apply two more coats of epoxy to the current underside of the deck, hopefully tomorrow.

Deck attached, clean up before glassing

Deck attached, clean up before glassing

Well Tuesday removed the straps and plastic wrap, then began smoothing the deck with planes, japanese rasp, surform tool , cabinet scrapers, and hand held sandpaper. Seems like the planes, cabinet scrapers, and sandpaper produced the best results. Then began to trim the overhang around the perimeter of the hull so that the deck would become one with the complete boat.

Still Smoothing the Deck

Still Smoothing the Deck

Well, after a day and a half of sanding and scraping, I decided that a fairing board would have to be used to smooth down all of the strips to the same height; ie smoothness. A fairing board is a long piece of thin plywood 3 to 4 inches wide that is flexible enough to bend around the different curves on the boat. I couldn't find one locally and didn't want to wait a week to order one online, so made my own. Went down to local Home Depot and purchased a 2' by 2' piece of 1/4" plywood for 2.98, bought 4 big wooden drawer handles, and several sanding belts meant for use by a hand held belt sander that where 21" in a continuous loop. Got home and cut 2 lengths at 21" from the piece of plywood, one across the grain and the other with the grain. The long grain board would give me a stiff sanding board for flatter areas such as the rear of the kayak and the other with the cross grain would be a lot more flexible to follow the curves on the front of the boat. Affixed one drawer handle to each end of each board, lined the undersides of each by spraying adhesive on board and some cork salvaged from an old stick pin type bulletin board. This would give just a little cushion. Took the sanding belts and cut them open to create a long piece 21" in length and again used spray on adhesive to attach to the bottom of each cork lined board. Then went to town and made tremendous progress. Before I got to far, I took some wood filler and filled in some of the more obvious open cracks where some of the strips did not quite meet each other at the ends where they meet and also along the strips in the middle where the bead and coves didn't fit perfectly. I will then go back over the whole thing with the fairing boards hopefully knock down the extra wood filler leaving only the cracks filled. Hope I didn't get to carried away with the filler!

Today's the Day, First Coat on Deck, Yeah!!!

Today's the Day, First Coat on Deck, Yeah!!!

After sanding for what seemed an eternity, laid on the fiberglass and trimmed around the edges. Nervously, I began applying the epoxy, spreading, and smoothing. Next the coaming will go on around the

Cockpit Lip

Cockpit Lip

Epoxied second layer of coaming spacer on yesterday. Today epoxied on the coaming lip which is a little over sized but will be shaped tomorrow after setting up.

Finishing off Coaming

Finishing off Coaming

Rounded off the edges of the coaming lip then applied fiberglass cloth and applied epoxy to bond the cloth to the coaming. After this has cured the next step will be to apply two more coats of epoxy to the deck and the coaming to finish filling the weave of the fiberglass cloth.

2nd Coat of Epoxy Topside

2nd Coat of Epoxy Topside

Well, this morning I applied the 2nd of 3 maybe 4 coats of epoxy to help fill in the fiberglass to arrive at a completely smooth finish. Of course after that is done I'll have to sand it all down again in preparation of the UV protectant varnish coats which will bring back the luster to the finish. Right now it looks like I could put it in the water and go!

3rd Coat Epoxy on Top

3rd Coat Epoxy on Top

Today the 3rd coat of epoxy was rolled on using 3" foam roller. I think the roller procedure puts a more even coat on however a thinner coat is the trade off. I may need to put on one more coat to completely fill the weave of the fiberglass but I don,t mind as the roller thing goes fast. No pictures today because it really looks no different than the previous day, just a little thicker coat of epoxy. Oh yeah, just as I was finishing up today touching up with a 2" brush around the underside of the coaming, my nice neighbor Mary brought me some home made chocolate chip cookies. How nice of her as it was just in time for lunch! :-),


I've already eaten a few, yum yum. Mary is in her 80's but you wouldn't really think it. She is beginning to have trouble with her hip so sometimes I'll pick up her mail for her so she doesn't have to walk up the hill. She's having cataract surgery tomorrow.

4th Coat on Top

4th Coat on Top

Went ahead and rolled the 4th coat on about 8:00p. By the way the cookies where great. I went ahead and posted some pics but I think they will look very similar to Saturdays pics, maybe just a little more glossier.

Sealing tops of Bulkheads to Underside of Decl

Sealing tops of Bulkheads to Underside of Decl

Today I flipped the boat over in order to poke my head up inside the cockpit and apply fillets along the seam where the tops of the bulkheads meet up with the underside of the deck. The first pics are of the kayak flipped over, then the before pics of the seam and then the seams after the fillets molded in.

Cut Hatches, Yikes

Cut Hatches, Yikes

Today had a very apprehensive job ahead and that was to try to saw through the top to create the storage hatch covers. Tried the jigsaw method and it seemed to wander too much. Luckily I had started on the rear hatch and only on one side. Once I saw the results of the cut, I immediately decided to try another approach. The Japanese saw set that I had ordered previously came with a small, narrow blade which I used on the remainder of the hatches. It was slow going , especially around the corners. Still have to epoxy in the hatch spacers, sills, and weatherproofing materal.

Glued up Hatch Sills

Glued up Hatch Sills

Today after cutting the hatches previously, I glued(epoxied) in the hatch spacers and sills which will support and keep the hatch covers flush with the deck and also help to seal the hatch openings by ultimately creating a waterproof seal. Also backed up the rear hatch cover with a piece of thin mahogany to strengthen the hatch in case of added weight on top due to a wet reentry.

Hatches Almost Done

Hatches Almost Done

All clamps removed this afternoon and some remaining gaps where filled with epoxy mixed with cab-o-sil so there would be no cavities to hold any water. This should allow for flush fitting hatches for a smoother, cleaner looking deck.

Got Lots Done Today

Got Lots Done Today
Applied some strips to the undersides of the hatches to allow for either a brass or stainless steel hook hook to be inserted. I'll have the hatches held down with bungee cords attached to the inside of the hatches in order to keep the top smooth and clean.

After a few hours, the added strips where adhered enough to go ahead and apply a full coat of epoxy to the exposed pieces of raw wood. Remember all wood needs to completely sealed by epoxy to prevent water from penetrating the wood which is not good! This brings me to the next post which was also accomplished today and that was the end pours. check out the next post for more details.

End Pours?

End Pours?

Okay, so in between everything else that I was doing today, I had to stand the kayak up on it's end and mix up about a cup or more of epoxy and pour inside the ends of the kayak which will provide strength to the bow and stern.


Before end pour.


I fashioned this nifty little dump bucket to lower into lowest part of the internal ends with two cords attached. One to lower, the other used to raise or tip the bucket over and pour its contents directly into the pockets in the ends of the kayak where I was not able to reach with a brush earlier in construction.

Second End Pour

Second End Pour

After the first end pour had cured which didn't take very long, maybe about 30 minutes till solid, I inverted the kayak positioning the opposite end readying it for it's end pour. Maybe you can see how my bucket works here.

Straightening Up the Shop

Straightening Up the Shop

Seems like I was spending as much time looking for a particular tool as was needed to actually use it so while the second end pour was curing I took the time to attempt to somewhat straighten up and organize the remaining tools needed into a somewhat orderly fashion.

Couldn't Resist Trying to Capture the Moon As I was waiting for the second end pour to set up and cure I noticed the moon was peeking over the buil

Couldn't Resist Trying to Capture the Moon

As I was waiting for the second end pour to set up and cure I noticed the moon was peeking over the building where I had the kayak leaning so I tried to get a few picks of that as well.

Back in the Cradles

Back in the Cradles
After what seemed to be an eternity for the second end pour to setup, was able to replace the kayak back into its homey crib/cradle. Waiting to be attacked again tomorrow.

Began Installing Cheek Plates

Began Installing Cheek Plates
According to the instruction manual, this step was supposed to have taken 1 hour, hah. Worked for 2 hours in am setting up fillets for the backsides of the plates then fashioning some wedges to hold them in place till they cured. that took the 2 hours, with the help of my first mate I might mention. Later in the afternoon after some curing of the previously aforementioned work, I turned the kayak over and applied fillets to the outside top edges of the cheek plates. That is what you're seeing in the pics. Maybe tomorrow I'll flip it back over and finish applying the remaining fillets to the bottom of the plates.

Kayak Structurally Complete

Kayak Structurally Complete
Well I know it's been awhile since an update, took a little break since the kayak is now structurally complete. The cheek plates have been completed and the following pics show the boat in it's almost finished stage. During the hiatus from working on the boat, a little reorganizing was done in the garage. This gives me a little more room to work plus will allow for the car to occupy it's warm home once the kayak is sanded again and varnished. That's the only steps left till christening!

Began Finish Sanding

Began Finish Sanding
Experimented with hand sanding the coaming with 80 grit sandpaper. Got about half of the coaming done and once I have the coaming complete which includes working my way up to 220 grit paper, I'll get out the random orbital and go over the deck, hatch covers, and part way down the sides again beginning with 80 grit and working up to 220 grit in order to get the best possible finish to apply the varnish coats to.

Sanding is no Fun

Sanding is no Fun

Today after I got home for work I thought a little sanding of the epoxy on the deck would help to get me reinvigorated to get the kayak finished. It seemed such a shame to dull the shiny finish of the epoxy however I knew that the finish of the epoxy was not near as smooth and flawless as this finish sanding would produce. So I was able to knock down all the drips, runs, etc. from the epoxy with the 100 grit sandpaper, which is the first of three stages of sanding. Next will be 150 then finish up with 220. Should be ready for the varnish after that stage. For some reason I haven't been able to load up any pics after several attempts. Will try load load again later. Really not much change from previous few pics except a dull finish now on top deck from the sanding.

Oops

Oops
Accidentally sanded through the fiberglass down to bare wood at the stern. Had to lay on a small piece of fiberglass cloth and epoxy thoroughly then sand down and even it out. Sanded out the deck today with the 220 and final grit before applying varnish. Getting close. Still have some very small pitts that will not sand out, no-ones perfect.

Ready for Varnish?

Ready for Varnish?

Well, I just completed what I think is the final sanding bottom and top with 220 grit sandpaper. Although there are just a few glossy spots about the size of a pen tip, I think it's time to move on and finish up with the varnish. Blew out a lot of dust from the garage this afternoon and will probably do this a couple more times and then let the rest settle before I attempt the varnish stage. If there are any experienced builders out there reading this, please let me know if there is anything else I should take care of before I attempt the final stage of the varnish coats. Thanks.

Voi-La, Paint booth

Voi-La, Paint booth

Decided to line walls and floor with painters plastic, mainly to cut down on dust. Good thing I did because an unopened can of varnish fell on the floor bursting open the top resulting in whole pint of varnish on the plastic covered floor. Wiped up most that I could, then covered with another coat of plastic. Practiced about 3 minutes with the new Fuji HVLP spray system then attempted to spray the bottom of the kayak. At first I thought I would have a lot of orange peel but as the varnish flowed out, seems it'll produce a fairly smooth surface.

Voi-La, Paint booth

Voi-La, Paint booth

Decided to line walls and floor with painters plastic, mainly to cut down on dust. Good thing I did because an unopened can of varnish fell on the floor bursting open the top resulting in whole pint of varnish on the plastic covered floor. Wiped up most that I could, then covered with another coat of plastic. Practiced about 3 minutes with the new Fuji HVLP spray system then attempted to spray the bottom of the kayak. At first I thought I would have a lot of orange peel but as the varnish flowed out, seems it'll produce a fairly smooth surface.

First Coat Varnish

First Coat Varnish

The first coat of varnish on the hull is complete and I am now patiently waiting for it to dry. Just went down to check on it and noticed a few sags on one side at the bow, dang! Everything else looks pretty good.

4 Coats?

4 Coats?

Actually I guess my first spray could actually be considered 2 coats as I went form for to aft then back again. That was about 10:00 am this am , was contemplating on wet sanding before the next application but decided to go ahead and shoot again around 6:00 pm. I figure again this is two more coats front to back and back again so far have total of 4 coats on the hull. I think before the final coat/coats I will go ahead and wet sand before application to remove any sags and dust,etc. Before I do this however I think I'll flip it over and go after the deck where appearances are critical. I'm glad I started on the bottom to get a little practice.

First Coat on Deck

First Coat on Deck

Well I may have figured out this HVLP gun because when I sprayed the deck today it turned out quite a bit better than yesterdays attempt at the hull. Actually I think I was laying on too thick of a coat yesterday and today I set the gun to atomize a fine mist about 6" tall which went on with a lot more confidence . I didn't fel like I had to rush through for fear of getting it on too thick. Only glitch was when I went back and tried to spray the thin section between the coaming and the deck, I got a little bit more on the deck(where I had already sprayed) and wound up with a very small sag in the varnish just in one small area. I believe this will be an easy fix, but the fine mist will allow for many more fine coats on top whereas the bottom is just about done I do think.

First Coat on Deck

First Coat on Deck

Well I may have figured out this HVLP gun because when I sprayed the deck today it turned out quite a bit better than yesterdays attempt at the hull. Actually I think I was laying on too thick of a coat yesterday and today I set the gun to atomize a fine mist about 6" tall which went on with a lot more confidence . I didn't fel like I had to rush through for fear of getting it on too thick. Only glitch was when I went back and tried to spray the thin section between the coaming and the deck, I got a little bit more on the deck(where I had already sprayed) and wound up with a very small sag in the varnish just in one small area. I believe this will be an easy fix, but the fine mist will allow for many more fine coats on top whereas the bottom is just about done I do think.

-4th Coat of Varnish - Success

-4th Coat of Varnish - Success
With the kayak now mounted in an inverted position and fully supported from inside the hatches, spraying of the varnish can be applied to both hull and deck in one full step. This will have been the 4th coat on the deck and either the third or fifth on the hull depending on how you would perceive the previous applications. Pictures now do not seem to matter much in that in all appearances seem to be the same. I can attest to the fact that the finish seems to be taking a deeper, thicker clear coat buildup and more covering up of previous blemishes Don't forget to please click on a link or two while your here, you never know what you might run across that you can't live without! Thanks.

Yakima Bowdown Kayak Carrier

Yakima Bowdown Kayak Carrier
Well I received today my Yakima Bowdown Racks via Ebay at a substantial savings (I'm all about saving a few bucks here and there) compared to local retail. Of course I couldn't resist setting the almost finished Shearwater 17 on the racks just to get a good visual. Everybody knows how guys think! You can think about it but until you actually see the real thing it just does not mean as much. The Yakima Bowdown is a very good looking and working transport system and I couldn't be more pleased with the system. I still need to get a good 350 grit wet sanding done and one more good coat of varnish, but couldn't resist removing the almost finished boat from the pristine confines of my professional spray booth (ha ha) to get an idea of how nice the finished product would look on my lowered Scion XA. Check it out!

Little Bonus, trip to Weed,NM pop. 19

Little Bonus, trip to Weed,NM pop. 19
My folks are on the move from winter quarters (Rockport,TX to Weed.NM) for the summer. They stopped by on the way and am really enjoying the home cooking. Pot roast, gravy, green beans, brown and serve rolls, mmm mmmm. Reminds me almost of Thanksgiving sans turkey. Sorry Lauren but I am eating some for you, don't worry bout that. The Rav 4 reminds me of how the Expedition was packed the first year we moved Lauren to Vandy. Packed to the max.

Varnishing Done! Yeah

Varnishing Done! Yeah
On Wednesday, I finished the varnishing with 6 coats. The Fuji HVLP gun with the G3 pro turbine worked great. Pics are basically the same, but I'll show some anyway cause I pulled all the plastic sheeting down (the paint booth) which made the garage seem so much larger and cleaner. I think a lot of builders stop at this point, however I am opting to wet sand with 1000, 1500, 2000, the buff out with a polishing compound.

Hull Wet Sanded

Hull Wet Sanded

Today, I was able to wet sand the hull with the 3 grades of previously mentioned sandpaper. I tried using my sanding block on the flat areas but it didn't seem to work very well. I also used a pump spray bottle to keep the surface wet enough, but it crapped out on me. Surely I'm not the first one to discover this, but I came up with a couple of ideas to make the job faster and easier. For the sanding, I cut the sandpaper sheets in half which fit perfectly around a plain kitchen sponge. The paper wrapped around the sponge like 4 times so I was able to rewrap the sponge at times and in doing so was able to use all surfaces of the sandpaper. Next was the task of keeping the surface wet without the spray bottle. I tried to just use my hand and scoop the water up out of my bucket but this was not very efficient. Remembered that I had a large grout sponge (unused) so I just saturated the sponge and was able to easily and evenly wet the surface. The bare varnished surface was shiny with many surface imperfections due to dust settlement during drying phase and a couple of small insects. When you would run your hand across the surface, you could feel these specks easily and your hand would somewhat drag across the surface A drastic change was noticed after the wet sanding was completed. If you were to look down the length of the boat, it appears to have a mirror effect however, if you looked at the surface straight on the appearance is somewhat dull looking from the sanding. Now when you run your hand across the surface, it feels smooth with no drag and feels very polished already. The polishing compound ( 3M Finesse-it) applied with a Dewalt polisher should bring out the shine more and remove any remaining minute sanding marks left by the 2000 grit paper. Flipped the kayak over in preparation for the wet sanding of the deck before I quit for the day.

Long Week of Hard Work

Long Week of Hard Work

Well its been a while since my last post but have been hard at work completing the finish of the exterior. After completely wet sanding the entire exterior with 1000,1500, and 2000 grit paper.
The next step was machine polishing with 3m's Finesse-it using a wool pad.Next used the polisher to apply Wolfgang's paint sealant. Then hand waxed with Pinnacle Sovereign Carnuaba wax. The resulting finish is smooth as glass and feels soft to the touch. There's one picture where I show the products used sitting on the rear deck and the area was almost flat. I had a hard time keeping all three containers from sliding off of the surface because it was so slick. All that is left now is to complete the interior; seat, back brace, install blocks inside the hatches so as to hold the covers on with bungees from underneath, work out some form of foot brace.

Hatch Hold Down System

Hatch Hold Down System

Decided to go with a clean deck look and epoxy in some triangular blocks inside the hull which bungees will be threaded thru, then hooked onto the underside of the hatches to hold them down flush with the deck. Following is a few pics of that process. I screwed the undersides of the triangular blocks onto a small piece of scrap wood in order to cover all surfaces with one batch of clear epoxy. In order to coat the insides of the thru holes, I used a q-tip to completely coat the interior of the holes, which incidentally were drilled before the triangles were cut. the bungees will be hooked to solid brass cup hooks screwed into the undersides of the hatches. Also applied foam insulation gasket directly to the hatch sills, I think this will be sufficient.

Still haven't figured quiet how to lift the hatches. So far I'm trying to come up with some kind of pop-up circular grab to work with. Such as drilling a hole in the hatch with a hole saw, then using some kind of spring loaded pop up and attaching the cut out from the hole cut with the resulting wood piece attached resulting still in a flush fitting hull with a small spring loaded pop-up hold to grab onto in order to lift the hatches enough to unhook the bungees from underneath.

Footrests

Footrests
Pondered for along time about this because I didn't really want to have to drill though the hull in order to attach the original footrests included with the kit, since these were probably the best to go with since they are easily adjustable. You can see that I've cut two pieces of 1 1/2" by 1/2'' red oak about 17"s long which I will attach the foot rests to once the wood is attached to the inside of the hull using epoxy mixed with coilidal silica. I created a notch on the back sides of each piece in order to use a screw thru the outside of the footrest frame, thru the red oak. then a back up locking nut on the backside next to the hull. What I've done so far is cut and coat these pieces with epoxy and again filling the predrilled holes with q-tips coated epoxy. Tomorrow, I'll attempt to attach these wood strips to the inside of the hull.

Footrests Somewhat Installed

Epoxied footrest backups to inside of hull with epoxy mixed with coilidal silica. Then attached footrests to the oak strips. What a pain in the neck to reach in and try to align the nylon lock nuts on underside of the strips to line up with the screw placed from above thru the footrest.

Almost ready to go

Almost ready to go

This is Monday the 5th and the footrests are finished so I think thats just about everything. I did order this new seat from Skwoosh, I think it will be quite an improvement over the pieces of foam that were sent in the kit. It requires nothing to hold it in place because the underside is made of a rubbery, sticky, material. The seat has gel pads in it to protect your butt bones. Very nice! We'll see how it works, christening will be very soon!!!

Christening Day

Christened with bottle of champagne on Town Lake, oops ( Lady Bird Lake). The Skwoosh seat is awesome. The boat rides very well and I will enjoy it for a long time. I think my First Mate had even more fun than I did today with the first few trips. She's only 5'2" so she will be getting the Shearwater 14 or 16. I think it'll be a little easier for her to maneuver than this 17 footer. We had a great time and the boat handles like a dream.

Talic Storage System

Talic Storage System

Well after we returned from the christening today, I began installing the Talic kayak condo. I was intrigued by the suspension system incorporated into this wall mount which cradles your kayak on it's side via wide nylon straps. Easily mounted but just make double sure you secure the uprights into a good solid stud. I'm also very happy with the Yakima Bowdown racks. They fold down when not in use and are very well padded. I do not have end holes in my Shearwater 17 so the only hold down is what is used by the Bowdown racks. The kayak rides very solidly the Bowdown rack with no shaking or looseness whatsoever.

This picture, I tried to show the backside of the kayak while resting in the Talic wall mounted cradle. I thought there was going to be a need for some padding on the wall behind the kayak however, the way that the kayak sits in the cradling straps it doesn't even touch the wall.

Here, you see the operation of the Yakima Bowdown racks.

High-end Graphics Card Overview

High-end Graphics Card Overview 
You have deep pockets, yearn for the best experience in the game and still confused as to which graphics card to buy? Had it been a Monopoly in the graphics card business, then there wouldn't be so many problems. But, two graphic cards companies namely ATI and NVIDIA are continuously churning out new cards just to outdo each other in terms of performance. Before, we discuss about the current situation of high-end cards, let's just travel back in time and see the fight between these two companies, as it will help you get a better idea of which is a better company.
Initially 3DFX was the king in the graphics accelerator business. But, the NVIDIA Riva TNT graphics card simply bashed the best offering from 3DFX then. And NVIDIA kept on churning out newer generations of graphics cards every six months and 3DFX was unable to keep pace with NVIDIA and finally just shut down and sold its business to NVIDIA. This was the time when NVIDIA's monopoly began. The NVIDIA dominance continued with the GeForce 256 and GeForce 2 GTS. That was the time most graphics card companies started shutting down. All but one, ATI. The only reason why ATI was still operational was because their workstation graphics cards were selling well and NVIDIA didn't have a workstation graphics card yet. When NVIDIA released GeForce 2 GTS, ATI unleashed the first Radeon card codenamed R100 and was eventually called the Radeon 7500. But, in terms of performance, it was a step behind NVIDIA's offering. Though ATI never had major success with the Radeon 7500, their R200 a.k.a. Radeon 8500 did started making a dent in NVIDIA's sales figures.
During that time, NVIDIA released the GeForce 3 series, which boasted of DirectX 8.0 support and had never before seen features. ATI Radeon 8500 was one step ahead of the GeForce 3 in terms of features like the support for DirectX 8.1 and Trueform, but lacked in performance. But the performance difference was marginal and people started accepting the Radeon 8500 for getting the extra features and more importantly the superior image quality, which was ATI's forte. But, during that time Quake 3 was considered the benchmark for the graphics card. The company, which scored the most in Quake 3 was considered the ultimate winner. ATI were not known for good performance in OpenGL-based games. And since Quake 3 was an OpenGL-based game, ATI had to do something or else they would have lost the battle. Obviously making a new graphics card at that time was not possible. Here's when a new era dawned, which is known as Driver Optimization. The graphics card drivers were specially optimized for a particular game, which made the game run faster, but at the same sacrificed on some features such as image quality.
ATI suddenly took the performance crown from NVIDIA and upon investigation; it was found that ATI was cheating with its drivers. There was huge outcry and ATI had to pull back the drivers. So, the performance king was still NVIDIA. Then NVIDIA released the next generation graphic card GeForce 4 Ti, which was basically a small upgrade to GeForce 3 series. This widened the performance gap a little more in favor of NVIDIA, but their success was short lived. ATI released a graphics card codenamed R300 four months after the GeForce 4 Ti. This graphics card is none other than the Radeon 9700, and in terms of performance, it was giving double the scores of the GeForce 4 Ti in certain benchmarks. NVIDIA for the first time lost the performance crown officially.

New Clock Will Lead to More Accurate Measure of Time

New Clock Will Lead to More Accurate Measure of Time


Never be late again.Scientists who specialize in the accuracy of time have created a new kind of clock—an optical atomic clock—that "ticks" one million billion times per second and is at least 20 times more stable than current atomic clocks that are based on microwaves.The technological breakthrough is like acquiring a fine-grain view of nature, say its creators.

"The analog might be in looking at a biologic sample through a magnifying glass versus looking at it through a microscope," said Scott Diddams, a member of the team conducting optical clock research at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado.
Although it will take several decades for the technology to be tested and accepted by the international timekeeping community, optical atomic clocks have the potential to be 100 to 1,000 times more accurate than current microwave atomic clocks.
NIST and other research laboratories make and maintain the most precise clocks in the world against which less accurate clocks, such as wristwatches and alarm clocks, can be calibrated.
As modern technological demands increase, the master clock that sets the international time standard needs to stay ahead of the curve.
Ticks and Tocks
All clocks consist of two basic components: a device called an oscillator, which produces periodic events, or ticks, and a mechanism for counting and displaying the ticks. In a traditional clock, such as a grandfather clock, a pendulum oscillates back and forth to produce ticks, while a set of gears drives a pair of hands that count and display the ticks.
Atomic clocks add a third component: a point of reference against which to synchronize the clock. Because the energy levels of atoms are thought to be constant, atomic clocks use specific atoms as the point of reference.

In microwave atomic clocks, the well-defined resonance of a cesium atom is the reference point. The oscillator is a microwave source, and high-speed electronics count and display the time.
Because cesium atoms provide a stable reference point no matter what the temperature or air pressure is, atomic clocks have become today's official timekeepers.
The NIST's optical atomic clock works according to the same principle as a microwave atomic clock, but at a much faster rate.

The oscillator is a light wave produced by a laser that oscillates at one million billion times per second. The point of reference is a single mercury atom, which responds to one specific frequency of light. The counting is done by a femtosecond laser mechanism that can generate hyperfine time.
The creation of the femtosecond laser counter is one of the elements that makes the NIST's optical clock a technological breakthrough. Electronics cannot count fast enough to keep up with an optical oscillator.

"We have a practical and robust clockwork that is able to divide down [the oscillations] to something that can be counted," said Diddams.
In describing the operation, Diddams said the femtosecond laser mechanism (technically called a comb) could be pictured as a set of gears. The laser that is referenced to the mercury atom in the NIST's clock is a tiny gear that spins very fast. Engaged to a huge reduction gear, that tiny gear turns approximately 500,000 times to turn the big gear once—an oscillation equivalent to a microwave frequency, which electronics is able to count.
"What the comb provides is a method of 'downshifting' the optical frequency to a countable radio frequency without impairing the purity of the optical frequency," said Stephen Webster, a researcher at the National Physical Laboratory in the United Kingdom.
Universal Standard Time
Optical clocks are likely to be the next-generation keepers of standard time. For this reason, variations of them—each based on a different atom—are under development in research laboratories around the world. While the optical clock at NIST uses a single, cooled mercury ion, researchers at Webster's lab, for example, are developing an optical clock based on an ytterbium ion.
"It is not yet clear which will be the best candidate, with much work yet to be done on improving, testing, and comparing clocks," Webster said. Scientists say it may take at least 20 more years to develop and determine the best approach.
The stability of an optical clock's ticker makes this kind of clock an exceptional tool for testing scientific conundrums such as whether time is truly constant in an ever-expanding universe.
Although atomic clocks are based on the principle that the energy levels of atoms are constant, some scientists think these levels may change as the universe expands. An optical clock, with its greater stability and potentially improved accuracy, could perhaps be used to observe whether such physical constants evolve in time.
From a technological standpoint, the researchers expect optical clocks of the future to have a variety of applications, like atomic clocks, which the navigation industry used as the basis for building global positioning systems (GPS).
GPS uses signals transmitted from satellites, each housing an atomic clock, to pinpoint a particular location on Earth. Optical clocks could possibly be designed and used similarly for travel into deep space.
"If one is trying to position and communicate with a remotely piloted spacecraft on a distant planet, the better one is able to time signals that go back and forth, the better the ability to put something at a certain position," said Diddams. 

The History of Clocks

The History of Clocks



The history of clocks is very long, and there have been many different types of clocks over the centuries. Not all historians agree on the history of the clock. The word clock was first used in the 14th century (about 700 years ago). It comes from the word for bell in Latin ("clocca").

Using the Sun

The first way that people could tell the time was by looking at the sun as it crossed the sky. When the sun was directly overhead in the sky, it was the middle of the day, or noon. When the sun was close to the horizon, it was either early morning (sunrise) or early evening (sunset). Telling the time was not very accurate.

Sundial Clocks

The oldest type of clock is a sundial clock, also called a sun clock. They were first used around 3,500 B.C. (about 5,500 years ago). Sundials use the sun to tell the time. The shadow of the sun points to a number on a circular disk that shows you the time. In the big picture below on the right, the shadow created by the sun points to 9, so it is nine o'clock

Water Clocks

Around 1400 B.C. (about 3,400 years ago), water clocks were invented in Egypt. The name for a water clock is clepsydra (pronounced KLEP-suh-druh). A water clock was made of two containers of water, one higher than the other. Water traveled from the higher container to the lower container through a tube connecting the containers. The containers had marks showing the water level, and the marks told the time.

Water clocks were very popular in Greece, where they were improved many times over the years. Look at the picture below. Water drips from the higher container to the lower container. As the water level rises in the lower container, it raises the float on the surface of the water. The float is connected to a stick with notches, and as the stick rises, the notches turn a gear, which moves the hand that points to the time.

Pendulum Clocks

Before pendulum clocks were invented, Peter Henlein of Germany invented a spring-powered clock around 1510. It was not very precise. The first clock with a minute hand was invented by Jost Burgi in 1577. It also had problems. The first practical clock was driven by a pendulum. It was developed by Christian Huygens around 1656. By 1600, the pendulum clock also had a minute hand.

The pendulum swings left and right, and as it swings, it turns a wheel with teeth (see the picture to the right). The turning wheel turns the hour and minute hands on the clock. On the first pendulum clocks, the pendulum used to swing a lot (about 50 degrees). As pendulum clocks were improved, the pendulum swung a lot less (about 10 to 15 degrees). One problem with pendulum clocks is that they stopped running after a while and had to be restarted. The first pendulum clock with external batteries was developed around 1840. By 1906, the batteries were inside the clock.

Latest G-Shock model

Latest G-Shock model 

Module 2534
· Shock resistant (G-SHOCK)
· Electro-luminescent backlight
· Full auto EL light Solar powered
· Telememo Memory capacity: Up to 30 sets
of data, each set including; Name (8
characters) and telephone number (12
digits) Other: Auto-sort World time 29
time zones (27 cities), city code
display, daylight saving on/off
· 1/100-second stopwatch Measuring capacity:
99:59'59.99" Measuring modes: Elapsed
time, split time, 1st-2nd place times
· Countdown timer Input range: 1 second to
60 minutes Unit: 1 second Others:
Auto-repeat, time up alarm, count up
after countdown (up to 100 hours)
· Daily alarms 5 independent daily alarms
(4 one-time alarms and 1 snooze alarm)
· Hourly time signal
· Brightness alarm
· Battery power indicator
· Power Saving (Turns off the display when
the watch is left in the dark)
· Auto-calendar (to year 2039)
· 12/24-hour format Regular timekeeping:
Hour, minutes, seconds, pm, year, month,
date, day
· Accuracy: ±15 seconds per month
· Approx. battery life: 9 months on
CTL1616 (Storage battery Secondary batter

Clock tower

Clock tower 

A clock tower is a tower built with one or more (often four) clock faces.The clock tower is usually part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall, but many clock towers are free-standing.

The mechanism inside the tower is known as a turret clock. It often marks the hour (and sometimes segments of an hour) by sounding large bells or chimes, sometimes playing simple musical phrases or tunes.

Although clock towers are today mostly admired for their aesthetics, they once served an important purpose. Before the middle of the twentieth century, most people did not have watches; clock towers were therefore placed near the centers of towns and were often the tallest structures there. The use of clock towers in the West date back to the ancient Roman period, while other civilizations such as medieval China also featured clock towers (see Su Song).

Some clock towers are famous landmarks. Three of the best-known are the clock tower which houses Big Ben (often itself colloquially referred to as Big Ben) of the Palace of Westminster in London, the Rajabai Tower in Mumbai, and the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin.

On New Year's Eve 2004 four 6.3-metre clock faces were added to the top of the Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science building in Warsaw, Poland making it the highest 4-faced clock tower in the world and the second highest clock tower in the world.[1]. The NTT DoCoMo Yoyogi Building 240 meters (787 feet) is 10 meters higher and is the highest clock tower in the world. The Allen-Bradley Clock Tower holds the record for largest non-chiming four faced clock. The chimes were intentionally left out so that the Big Ben tower would still have that record.


A turret clock is a large mechanical clock set in a tower for use by a large number of people.

Typically found in a church tower or other public building the clock mechanism drives the hands on one or more large clock faces visible from the outside.

Public and tower clocks are also known as turret clocks, and nowadays is not necessarily a large mechanical clock. Most of these clocks have some mechanical parts such as gears behind the dials known as motionwork, but often the hands are directly driven by electric motors.

MUSK Funds Pacific Underwater Expedition, Finds Godzilla's Watch

MUSK Funds Pacific Underwater Expedition, Finds Godzilla's Watch 









We're not sure what kind of person would enjoy this outsized watch from MUSK (even Biggs had a limit), but if he's out there, he's got one big wrist. The makers claim that this watch is the world's largest, and at 1.57 pounds, that's pretty believable. 

Despite the gigantic size, it's only 24,900 yen ($209). Which makes it, sizewise, actually quite reasonably priced. – Jason Chen

The Most Expensive Watches

The Most Expensive Watches 


In case you haven't noticed, it'll soon be gift-giving time again. And to those of you still struggling to find that perfect something for that special someone--even yourself--we'd like to offer some, ahem, timely advice. 
 



There are few more desirable, or desired, possessions than a fine timepiece. If the person you are thinking of this holiday season has been exceptionally good--and by that we mean had a platinum-selling album, brought in a multimillion dollar deal, named you to the board of a major foundation or gave birth to triplets--then they might themselves unwrapping an exceptionally good, and exceptionally expensive, watch this year. 

While many watchmakers make most of their profits from bread-and-butter product lines--which, at the higher-end levels, tend to retail in the $5,000 range--many of the top-end brands also offer watches that cost well into six figures. These include mechanical men's watches laden with grande complications or ladies' watches dripping with jewels from premier Swiss watchmakers such as Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, Girard-Perregaux and the like. Oh, they're going to cost you--$200,000 per easily, and much, much more if you really want to splurge. But the gift you'll be giving is as timeless, intricate and impressive as they come--even if it ends up under lock and key, as such timepieces tend to do. 

The creation of very expensive and very intricate watches is a long tradition within the relatively brief history of the industry, which really only got going in the latter half of the 19th century. During World War I wristwatches became popular with military officers and soon watchmakers such as Cartier and Patek Philippe began marketing limited edition and steeply priced models expressly for the connoisseurs' market. And it didn't take long for others to follow. 

"Then as now, at the most expensive levels wristwatches are status symbols meant for collectors," says Matthew Morse, editor in chief of WatchTime magazine, who notes that these days any watch retailing for more than $100,000 will likely only be of interest to true aficionados. "Though some watch companies don't make a lot of money off of their highest-end watches because of the cost of research and development, they still produce them to give their brand an ambiance of exclusivity. For people who can afford them, they're about the pleasure of owning something extraordinary, whether or not they ever actually wear them." 

Go looking for an exorbitantly expensive wristwatch, and what will you find? On the men's side, it's complications and plenty of 'em, including chronograph functions for timing laps, moon phase indicators for tracking slices of the lunar pie, and perpetual calendar functions which track days, months and even years for centuries--as if you really need a watch to tell you that. The new Grande Complication by Jean Dunand really packs them in with a mono-pusher split-second chronograph, split-second hand isolator, minute repeater, tourbillon, bi-retrograde perpetual calendar, and even a see-through sapphire back signed by its creator, Christophe Claret. Marketed by Swiss manufacturer World Première Watchmaking as "one of the five most complicated wrist watches in the world," the Grande Complication is certainly one of the most expensive, with a limited edition of six--three in 18K rose gold, two in 18K white gold, one in platinum--ranging $700,000 to $800,000 per. Alas, the first specimens haven't quite been shipped yet, and so couldn't be included on our list. 

Lately watchmakers have also begun loading their high-priced products with more useful complications, such as power reserve indicators that alert when your watch needs rewinding, or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) functions to make it easier for travelers to keep track of multiple time zones. 

One of the most prestigious and costly complications to be found is the tourbillon movement, an intricate mechanism that eliminates time-keeping errors caused by minute variations that result from shifts in gravity whenever a watch changes position. Invented in 1795 by Abraham-Louis Breguet, tourbillon movements have been so de rigueur on high-end watches of late they risk becoming overplayed. "There are tourbillons, and there are tourbillons," observes Morse, who notes that when less-exclusive watch brands latch onto the complication for "instant cache," they're really just "manufacturing luxury that has no soul." 

If the tourbillon is bordering on overproduction, "minute repeater" functions are still on the rise. First created in the days before widespread use of electric lighting, repeater watches aid wearers in the dark by chiming or "repeating" the current time at the push of a button. Using bells of different tones, a minute repeater will ring out hours, quarter hours, and the minutes past since the last quarter hour. Like most of the complications found at the priciest levels, it's convenient, unnecessary and totally cool. 

Of course, all such attributes are only worthwhile if you can actually purchase a watch that has them, which at the highest-end levels is often easier desired than done. Many of the world's most expensive watches are produced in severely limited quantities--including infinitesimal editions of one--and frequently have buyers lined up long before they're finished, often at rates of just a few per year. As a spokeswoman from Audemars Piguet responded when we enquired about the company's highest-end timepiece: "I was thinking of a skeletonized Grand Complication which retails for $700,000, but unfortunately it was sold as soon as we received it." Unfortunately for anyone who could afford it, that is. 

To that end, we've compiled a selection of ten highest-end wristwatches that are not only exorbitantly expensive, but are available right now. These are not classic watches, i.e., old watches, which can often cost considerably more. In 1999 the most expensive watch ever sold, a 1933 gold Patek Phillipe with 24 complications, was auctioned off at Sotheby's for $11 million. 

They include nine watches for the gentlemen, and one drenched in jewels for the ladies--though, these days, you can pretty much get away with just about anything on your wrist. You may have to hustle to get them, as more than a few of the watches are available in minimal quantities of just one or two. Just know that they're worth the time and trouble--whoever you're buying them for.

'The smallest watch in the world', 1929

'The smallest watch in the world', 1929 
This Jaeger- LeCoultre '101' wristwatch movement introduced in 1929 remains the smallest mechanical wristwatch movement ever made. It was put into series production and remained available at least until the 1950s. It comprises 98 parts, measures 14mm x 4.8mm x 3.4mm, and weighs only 0.9 grammes (including the dial and hands). LeCoultre company have manufactured precision watch components since 1833. In 1903 Jacques David Le Coultre entered into a partnership with the chronometer-maker Edmond Jaeger and together they manufactured some of the most technologically advanced watches of the era. They also introduced the Reverso watch in 1931, which became one of the best known watches in the world.

Grandfather Clocks

Grandfather Clocks 

Grandfather clocks have been around a long time now. They evolved from wall clock . The astronomers need more accurate clocks, so they made the pendulums longer and longer. Eventually, the became less specialized and the new makers put them into into long cases so they could be placed on the floor, and thus turned into long case clocks. Many more improvements occurred over time and refined them into the modern clocks you see today. They still all tend to have similar characteristics and styles. Tall, wooden, usually with ornate carvings and one of about a half dozen songs. There are a number of places you can get them, but there are also a number of things you should think about before you do. 
Classification
They are pendulum driven clocks in a tall wooden cases. These clocks stand on the floor and are six to eight feet tall. They usually has a classic architecture but over time different styles have come into and out of favor. 
Where did the name come from
They were first called long case clocks due to the long case they came in. Some people called them coffin clocks because the long cases looked liked coffins. For more information on the history of their name see the page on the history of their name. 
Who invented them
The idea for the first pendulum clock came into being in the 1500s. It was the astronomers that first came up with the idea of making the pendulums longer to improve accuracy. They needed the improvements to perform better calculations about the movements of the heavens. Many changes have occurred to their design since then to improve their ability to keep time. For more information on their history see the page on their history.