Scarfing the sheer clamps

The next step in the process is to join the scarf joints on the sheer clamps. The sheer clamps are ¾” by ¾” strips of wood that are attached to the top insides of the side panels. These are used to support the top or deck of the kayak. There are two sheer clamps to assemble, one for each side of the kayak. The sheer clamps are delivered in three pieces each. You join the pieces together with the scarf joints. Since these are long, thin pieces, they can be tricky to hold together during the gluing process. You also want to make sure the two match again as this will help keep the kayak true when we assemble the panels together in later steps. The total length of the sheer clamps is 18 ft when assembled. They will need to be trimmed later when the panels come together. The best approach is to clamp the strips 2-3 ft behind the joint on each side after ‘dry fitting’. You can then glue and clamp the joints much easier without the worry of the joints slipping a part. This is a good time to use some 2” clamps to keep the joints together. I used two on each joint. The joints are across the surface of the table so clamping down on the table is not useful here. It was a pretty cold day when I did this work. I kept two lights on each joint with some plastic over each.

Scarfing the hull panels

I purchased the Mill Creek Kit, which consists of the plans and all the materials for the kayak itself. This means all the plywood, other wood solids, epoxy resin, fiberglass and other miscellaneous hardware and parts for the boat. All the panels are pre-cut by a laser guided cutter at the factory. This is great because this ensures that all the panels are cut correctly, which would be no easy task if you needed to cut out all these shapes yourself. Maybe I’ll try that on a future project. Since the kayak is 16.6 ft long, the plywood that is shipped in the kit is obviously in smaller pieces. In some cases, you need to join together up to three pieces of wood to form the resulting panel for the kayak. The kit uses joints called scarf joints for this. These joints are angle cuts with epoxy resin and silica mix to glue them together. Some packing tape is used to keep the appearance of the joints clean. The hull panels consist of a bottom panel and two side panels (sheer and bilge). There are panels for both sides, so the end result is 5 panels in total. The sheer and bilge panels each come in three parts, which are glued together with the scarf joints.

The panels should be laid one on top the other to ensure the joints are even and matching. Panel alignment is said to be “fair” when the joints are evenly spaced across the joint. My table was very helpful in this step. I was able to use a string line attached with screws at the ends of the table. I was also able to tack the panels down prior to gluing with the epoxy to ensure nothing could get out of alignment. The other option if I did not have the table would be to glue them on the ground. This would be more error prone if I attempted this on my concrete garage floor.

I’m going for an all wood or “bright” finish, so it will look like a nice piece of furniture. Due to this, I used packaging tape around the joints to prevent leak outs and getting my epoxy/silica mixture on the outside of the joints. This would show up in the finish.

I used some cinder blocks to hold down the joints during drying. The joints need a good 24 hours to cure. I tried to keep the temperature at least 70 degrees with my lights.

The bottom of the kayak is delivered in two pieces and must also be jointed together by scarf joints. The two sections resemble triangles that must be glued together on one of the sides. Since this is the bottom there are no sides to match like the hull panels. The key in assembling the bottom is that the two pieces are glued together in a perfectly straight, true manner. A string line is run ‘end to end’, ‘tip to tip’; of the bow to stern and used to mark the middle of the panels before the joint is glued. The end points are tacked down after you ‘dry fit’ the joint to keep it all true. As with previous scarf joints, packing tape is used to keep the epoxy in the joint and off the surrounding wood. This is not a clear epoxy so it would show on the finish. Things will look cleaner if I keep it in the joint. Plastic is used below to prevent the bottom from accidentally getting glued to the table. Another piece is used over the top to prevent the clamp board from getting glued on also. For this joint, a long scrap board is laid over top and used to clamp down on the joint. This is done by the use of screws to clamp down on the joint. This joint is considerably wider than the previous one’s I’ve done.

Where to build it?

I had a number of factors to consider when figuring out where to build the boat. In order to work on a project like this, you need room. The kayak itself is 16.5 ft long. This means you need at least an 18-20 ft by 6-8 ft space. If you’ve read about building CLC’s boats, you’ve got an idea of what goes into a project like this. The construction method is called ‘stitch and glue’, which is used hold the plywood panels together of the boat itself. The second major component of the process is the use of two part epoxy resin’s. These have three uses with the project, to bond the wood together (scarf’s), fill in joints where the panels meet (fillets) and ultimately to waterproof the entire boat. From start to finish, there will be a fair amount of epoxy work, sanding, other general woodworking and polyurethane finishing work. In short, you’ll end up making a mess. Our house was not a good fit for this, plus I was not even sure I’d be able to get the finished kayak out of my basement. I choose the garage. When working with the epoxy resin, the ideal temperature would be 70-75 degrees. Given the fact that we live in Wisconsin, I needed to know how to deal with the cold weather in my unheated garage. My plan was to complete the kayak over winter to have it available for next spring.

How to warm the workspace?
I used CLC’s information on their website and it’s builder’s forum to get my plan together. I had no good heat source to start with. I was able to pickup a cheap, used kerosene heater, but that was really for my backup plan. My first plan was to do what many others do it my case, which was to rely on plastic and standard work lights for heat. I cleared out a space in the garage and started work in creation of my workspace ‘tent’. I also made a set of sawhorses and two 8 ft long tables to function as a workspace. My plastic tent would go over this. I kept a simple outdoor thermometer to monitor the temperature with my setup.

My tent is supported by two long 1x2” boards (actually several) hung off the ceiling joints in the garage. These are parallel to each other and take up roughly a car space in the garage. I needed to account for the garage door on the front side. I have two boards that were attached to the joints where the 1x2” attach to with ropes. These allow for the tent to be adjustable and easily taken down when I’m done. I opted for the thicker mill plastic to construct the tent, since I needed any possible insulation R-value that I could get.

The kayak is 16.5 ft and the total length of my tables is just 16 ft, so I have a gap in the middle. I screwed boards onto the sides of the tables to attach them together and create a longer workspace.

What am I building?

My kayak is a Chesapeake Light Craft (aka CLC) Mill Creek 16.5. The CLC company are suppliers of boat kits, boat plans and boat building materials. CLC's distinctive boat designs include kayaks, canoes rowing boats, dinghies and sailboats. CLC's been doing this since 1991 and nobody has sold more kits and plans. More than 20,000 CLC boats are on the water around the world. Their designs are built by amateurs and professionals alike. CLC’s web site is www.clcboats.com.


What's the Mill Creek?
The Mill Creek™ was designed as a wider, shorter, and more stable alternative to the typical sea kayak. It offers the stability sought by nature photographers, fly fishermen, and birders. The most versatile paddling designs in our lineup, the Mill Creeks™ are true high-performance boats. That is, if high performance is defined as comfort, good handling, rewarding speed, stability, and classic good looks. Originally drawn as stable and compact complements to our more traditional sea kayaks, the Mill Creeks™ have found fans among paddlers of all skill levels because they offer so much boat in such a light and easy-to-manage package.

Who's the 16.5 Model for?
The Mill Creek 16.5™ is enormously popular because it can be used in so many ways. Not only can you paddle it as a single or a double, but you can sail it, add a sliding-seat rowing unit, or even adapt an electric outboard. The Mill Creek 16.5's™ stability will reassure the most nervous paddlers, while the low freeboard and light weight yield better speed and handling in wind than the average canoe. There's enough capacity for camping gear (with optional deck hatches), and the boat can be easily trimmed by sliding the seats fore and aft on their mounts.

Why should I build a Kayak?
I’ve always enjoyed canoeing and kayaking, though never getting enough time to get out on the water since I didn’t own a boat. We have enjoyed camping and the outdoors and this fits in nicely with that. I’ve particularly been interested in kayaks for some time now. I’ve always enjoyed the feel of the kayak in the water. There are certainly no shortage of lakes and rivers in the area. I also live right next to Lake Michigan and know of several people who have been kayaking in the water there for years. That really appeals to me since it’s literally right in my back yard. I also wanted to make sure that I would get into this in such a way that my whole family could enjoy it also. Building a boat was the perfect fit for me. I’ve been doing lots of ‘do it yourself’ projects for years. I’ve done an extensive amount of refinishing and other related woodworking projects around the house. A neighbor of mine built two CLC’s so I got a chance to see them close up. That really set the plan in motion for me.

Why I chose the Mill Creek 16.5?
I have two children (ages 6 and 8) and wanted a kayak that I could use either by myself or with one of them. The Mill Creek is a hybrid that can be easily paddled either way. What is sacrificed in speed is made up with stability, flexibility and ease of use. I had targeted this model from the catalog and related research that I did. I attended a demo day that CLC had in Madison Wisconsin in September of 2007 where I tried out a Mill Creek before I bought it. This was really helpful and assured me that I made the correct choice.