Stitching together a plywood sea kayak.

video Stitching together a plywood sea kayak.

This video shows the process of converting small piece of plywood into the parts of an 18' long sea kayak. The CNC cut plywood panels are assembled together with CA glue. These panels are then wired together with copper wire to hold them in the shape of a boat while more CA glue is used to spot weld the seams together. After the wire is pulled out, epoxy thickened with wood flour is piped into the seams and smoothed with a plastic spoon to create a fillet. The inside of the boat is then reinforced with fiberglass.

More description of the building process is available here.

lucek says: Jul 6, 2012. 5:06 AM

I've heard that zipties(cabletie) instead of wire.

Guillemot (author) says: Sep 17, 2012. 5:29 AM

Yes, you can use zipties, but they require a bigger hole.

lucek says: Sep 17, 2012. 6:53 AM

Well as far as it goes the majority of the boats strength comes from the fiberglass. The difference between a 1/32 and a 1/16 hole wouldn't affect the craft much at all. But given its much easier to install and remove some zipties it is a valid end effective method of building a boat.

Guillemot (author) says: Sep 18, 2012. 6:13 AM

Absolutely, it is not a structural issue. The size the holes is an aesthetic difference. A ziptie would likely need a 3/32" or 1/8" hole instead of the 1/16" you suggest.

However, I really don't see much advantage in the use of zipties. A wire can be pre-curved to make it easier to get through holes in tight spots like the stems, You will still need pliers to get zipties tight and wire cutters to get them out.

Seems to me the only significant difference will be the larger hole which will be there as long as you own the boat.

lucek says: Jan 2, 2013. 6:11 PM

Cable ties are actually come in pretty small sizes while being strong and far more flexible then wire. Plus they are easier to tighten then wire in my opinion.