Preparing to Attach Hull & Deck

Here is some good reading, courtesy of Outer-Island Kayak in anticipation of my next major step. Now I have to decide if this method tacking the glass tape in place with hot glue is better for me than the epoxy-saturated roll of fiberglass tape method described in Nick's book and also well-described in the One Ocean Kayak's shop tips.

Regarding my previously posted "To Do List", I can take a couple more items off the list.

7. Build hatch lips . The hatch lips have been trimmed and permanently installed
9. Make & install soft padeyes . I made the padeyes and cut the slots in the hull for them to be inserted into after the final varnishing steps.
10. Make & install regular padeyes (to be used for internal tie down points). Done. I used some scrap 5/8" mahogany pieces to make padeyes to secure the backband and hatches to, and also a hook which will become the better part of a paddle park alongside the cockpit.
19. Drill holes at bow & stern for grab loops. I grabbed a drill bit from the rack that looked about right and proceeded to drill a 7/8" hole in the boat. As soon as I saw it I knew that it was way too big, but at that point the only thing I could do was proceed to drill one at the other end too. As it happened, I had some 7/8" dowel on hand for some long forgotten other project (too bad it wasn't walnut or something fancy) so I cut a couple of short pieces, drilled a smaller hole through the center (maybe 3/8") of each dowel piece ( a drill press would have been handy), then epoxied them into place. With the dowels trimmed flush to hull, my oversized holes now look like a contrasting feature rather than a f$%& up.