Neil’s Solace 16 EX in Wood Boat Magazine

We are pleased to share a successful build of Neil’s Solace 16 EX build your own plywood kayak and his article published in Wood Boat Magazine issue 301 (November/ December 2024). His build is also documented in the Blog Fast Learning where he adds photos and helpful information he has discovered through his experience and discussions with Timber Boatworks. His rigorous documentation of the build process gives information and guidance to new builders as well as us at Timber Boatworks on the experience of a first-time builder. This combined with Neils conversations with us at the store has given us valuable input on any misunderstandings, misinterpretations or better ways to write our manual or videos to guide a tentative builder. The article in Wood Boat Magazine describes Neils’ experience and reasons for building, as well as his input for anyone looking to build a kayak kit but may have reservations about taking on the project.

https://fastlearning.blogspot.com/2024/01/video-completed-boatcrafttimberworks.html

https://www.woodenboat.com/issue/301#editor_section

We celebrate Neil’s effort in skill development as well as his rigorous documentation of the build, in combination with the Timber Boatworks Youtube tutorials, the build manual, and our conversations in store to successfully build a Solace 16 EX kayak kit. Neils Blog posts at Fast Learning and his conversations with the shop offer insight into the construction process and his experience that he published in Wood Boat Magazine (issue 301).

Neils began by visiting our shop in Edmonton, Alberta, to discuss the necessary tools, skills, timelines and boat design for building a kayak kit for his grandson. The tools required are very basic, which include a drill with drill bits, flat nose pliers, orbital sander and sand paper, hand saw or Japanese saw and personal protective equipment. Adjustable work table and kayak cradles are also useful for the assembly process and well as make longer tasks more comfortable (ie: drilling and stitching or fiberglassing.) The skills required are not woodworking skills, per se, as much as they are epoxy and fiberglass skills, like how to mix epoxy in the correct ratio, using epoxy in its correct working time, injecting a bead of epoxy and saturating fiberglass e-glass cloths for transparent finishes. The panels are CNC cut to strict perimeters so they do not require much sanding or shaping, some basic bevelling and alignment is required for very tight and consistent joinery. No specialized tools are required to bevel (sand paper or a rasp) and trimming the coaming for the cockpit does need to be trimmed and the deck may need to be trimmed depending on the coaming size. The estimated time of a first-time build is 120 hours, but Neil added epoxy pigmenting to the deck and had to rewire the hull a couple of times which added to his build time.  

In our discussions with Neil we described the different hull shapes, deck designs, panel assembly, performance and capacity vs. weight of our models, in which Neil chose to build a Solace 16 EX. The Solace hull design is a 5 panel hull, 2 panel deck, touring kayak that is stable but also efficient in the water. This kayak style is our most popular because it is accommodating for novice paddlers, such as Neil’s grandson, but are capable of being used for long tripping, ocean paddling, shallow water and rapids up to class 3, and fishing. The Solace platform offers the most range in paddling style and environments without requiring specific hull shapes or composite materials (ie: white water kayaks or Greenland skin on frame kayaks) which are purposed based high-performance designs for a specific environment or skill. The Solace is offered in a 16 and 18 foot length (36 and 44 pound weight respectively) and an EX (low volume) or XL (extra large cockpit) shapes. Neil chose the Solace 16 EX for his first build.

Neils’ Fast Learning first blog posts describe his initial days on the project, which includes his guidance on tools, basic shop set up for building the kit, and disclaimers like “READ THE MANUAL” several times. This post is written from the view of the first-time builder, so it illuminates valuable information for those that are considering a build your own kayak project as well as reinforces the importance of following the build manual and following the Youtube tutorials provided at Timber Boatworks channel. Neil is capable of problem solving and trouble shooting any issues, however, like many first-time builders there is hesitation and resistance to attempting a build process that is unfamiliar. Included is every kit with a comprehensive 160-195 page build manual that we compliment with the Timber Boatworks 48 build videos for the Solace kits. The Youtube channel gives specific guidance on particular skills, it does not provide measurements and specific information which is available in the build manual provided in the kit.

https://fastlearning.blogspot.com/2024/01/layout-first-days-things-you-must-pay.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1hU63W2iW0&list=PLFDuYwhE0vOgcZhLBgUNbpsSoGBQTaUkd

The largest issues that we see with first time builders, and Neil is not part of this group, is giving clear information about the build process for the highest level of success without over complicating or overwhelming the builder. Timber Boatworks has been selling and building kits since 1955, with thousands of successful builds in many countries, most builders see the kits as a woodworking project with a little bit of fiberglassing, and use their personal experiences or Youtube watching to formulate how they understand and want to build a Timber Boatworks kit. Timber Boatworks struggles with this because we have written very close to a step by step build manual and Youtube Tutorials from our own shop to guide the builder to succeed in assembling the kayak kit to the standard in our showroom. It is most difficult for first-time builders to not be overwhelmed by information about the build process, all of the technical information, measurements for curves, drill hole locations and epoxy technical information.  We have found that the more information beyond the basic build processes and techniques will overwhelm and confuse the first-time builder. As always, the build manual and tutorials will be made better and clearer through the discussions and feedback, so we will always appreciate and value the discussions of our builders.

Neil has also described in his Fast Learning blog a few of the first time errors that occur with a kayak kit and is willing to share this experience for others to learn from. The major challenges when building our kits is for Timber Boatworks to provide enough information for a successful build without creating confusion or diagnosing the individual builders experience. Neil describes this in his blog posts, stating several times to read the manual and issues that he thought were problems end up being non issues since the build process itself will resolve these issues.  

Some of the things that Neil was unsure about was how close panels have to be aligned at the bow and stern as well as between each plank (strake) of the hull. Our tolerance is about 2 millimeters at the bow and stern, which can be reduced with beveling. Our alignment begins by measuring from the center puzzle joint working toward the bow and stern. If there is a 2 mm misalignment at the bow or stern, check the center of the panels. The bow and stern ends are sanded square and filled with epoxy in a later step that makes them identical. Always align the panels from the puzzle joint and make sure that you do not overtighten the wires and put a twist or warp into the hull. As you align from the center the bow and stern will also align, but a margin tighter than 2 mm is very difficult to achieve when you consider the margins of the temporary bulkheads, puzzle joints, beveling and the thickness of epoxy joints. Neil admits that he had over tightened wires when he began stitching, which led him to misalignment and having to loosen the wires and breaking the wires. This led him to having to restitch the hull a couple of times, to resolve the tensions that were holding the panels out of alignment. Neil ended up with less than a 2 mm difference at the bow and stern which are sanded square before the epoxy stem is installed.

Neil wrote about the awareness and risks when sanding the Marine Grade 1088 Mahogany plywood veneers, specifically when using an orbital sander on the edges (chines) of the panels. Neil had some epoxy drips and bleed through when he was gluing the joints, which led to sanding the epoxy away. The marine plywood is a very stable and durable material, however it is not nearly as dense as the epoxy, so when sanding the epoxy joints and epoxy drips it is easy to over sand and remove the veneers. This is not an issue if the epoxy joints are clean by using a syringe (provided in the kit) and wiping away the epoxy drips with acetone if there is any. When approaching the corners or edges keep the orbital flat to the surface and refine by block sanding/ hand sanding when most of the epoxy is removed.

The next biggest challenge that Neil notes is fitting the deck to hull for two main reasons, and two simple solutions. The deck is removed after it is stitched and glued so that we can fiberglass the underside of the deck as well as the inside of the hull (add permanent bulkheads, footbraces, etc.) but the hull has to be rewired after this process. Through the process of fiberglassing the joints will become tighter specifically at the sheer line (top of hull that joins to the deck) and the bulkheads on the top panel. The epoxy may have to be cut free of the panel so it can flex when the deck is wired to the hull. As we add the fiberglass to the inside of the hull and underside of the deck you will have to trim the bulkheads (or shape sand) and bevel the deck to hull panels for an even tight joint. This process can seem like the panels are no longer fitting together, but we are adding thickness with epoxy and fiberglass so the bulkheads and sheer line will need to be trimmed, sanded or beveled to accommodate the new sizes. The adjustments on the bulkheads will be less than 2mm to compensate for the epoxy.

https://fastlearning.blogspot.com/2024/07/attaching-deck-to-hull.html

The build is now at the stage were the deck and hull have been laminated, bulkheads completed, outside and inside fiberglass completed, but Neil wants to add some customization to the deck and coamings. In store we have Mika powder pigments that can be added to epoxy to create iridescent, metallic, pearl, flake, two tone and semigloss colours, which can be used to customize and create design features on the hull. In the past, we have had clients use iridescent (glow in the dark) pigments, painted designs and imagery, name plates and iconography, inlays and on lays, and swirls and casts on their kayak kits.

Neil has chosen to use a metallic teal mika pigment to accent the deck panel and coaming. The trick and skill with using epoxy pigments is applying multiple thin coats of epoxy and building up the colour versus pouring on the surface in a thick layer.  The mika pigments are small heavy particles, so if you pour a thick layer the pigments will settle to the bottom of the epoxy and not be very brilliant and not catch very much light. By doing thin layers the pigment is more suspended in the epoxy and have a deeper more even colour. This is a more time-consuming step, because every 60-90 minutes another layer of colour can be added until the desired effect is reached. This process of using the tack times is identical when we apply the graphite barrier coat to the underside of the hull. This thin layer application will use less epoxy and have a better colour effect than pouring resin since the deck is contoured and epoxy will bleed over the edges onto other surfaces or drip onto the floor. Once Neil was taught how to apply the pigment in this way, he achieved an even effect and brilliant colour on his Solace kayak.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_YJUvJxqbg

The article in Wood Boat magazine (issue 301) describes Neils experience with the build as well as included a photo of his grandson in the kayak. Neils goal was to build a kayak that his grandson can use for fishing and touring, as well as will be stable and useful in many paddling environments. Images of the completed build are in the link below. We greatly appreciate the work that Neil did during his build, but more so his effort in documenting the build, his comments and discussion with Timber Boatworks and his application and publication in Wood Boat Magazine. His blog and his discussions in store have provided us with insight into the build, any issues with the explanations and guidance in the manual, the build tolerances and fitment, the practicality of using the build videos on Youtube, and confirmation of certain steps that can lead to problems later. Through these discussions we have made adjustments in the build manual, as well as how to help and guide builders in store or through Youtube for some areas that hold the most hesitation and stress for first time builders.

https://fastlearning.blogspot.com/2024/07/launching-july-4-2024.html

Neil has decided to build a second Timber Boatworks kit, the Anuri 16, which is a high-performance hard chine ultra-light kayak. He has found the build process to be enjoyable and wants a second build to refine some steps as well as test a different hull design. The Anuri has harder edges and larger flat surfaces, which makes it cut through the water more easily as well as maneuver faster in the water. His interest stems from a conversation in store where our team stated that this performance kayak is more efficient than out Solace series of hull shapes and this model will be faster in the water than the Solace 16 EX. He will put it to the test, and hopefully report back to Timber Boatworks what his experience and findings will be. Neil also wants to play with other composite materials, like Carbon Fibre Twill with a red metallic tracer, to do his detail work in place of the teal blue mica pigment that he used on the Solace 16 EX. This has come along with discussions in store to guide him on how to treat these other composites, and we are looking forward to more updates as he builds.

https://www.timberboatworks.com/collections/performance-kayaks/products/anuri-16