Frej – David Long

den 29 september 2016 (Frej, Sjösättning), 0 kommentarer

Från Rockland, Maine – David Longs nya Frej. Jag blev nyfiken på betsjobbet och eftersom jag fått en hel del frågor om just bets, la jag till Davids svar på mina frågor i mailet nedan..

"Hello Bjorn,

Here is another Frej in North America - specifically mid coast Maine, USA. I have only been able to paddle it once thus far. It turns and maneuvers extremely well, is smooth and solid in wind and waves, and with a little bit of the skeg down it goes in whatever direction it is pointed without any difficulty. I especially like the 2 rope skeg control.
I will send more when I have had a chance to paddle in different conditions. Thank you for this excellent design.

The lower hull is western red cedar with a brown mahogany stain and the top deck is eastern white pine with a red colored stain. The stain is brushed and wiped directly onto the wood before the fiberglass is applied. A careful sanding job without skipping grits and making sure the whole surface is sanded to the same grit should result in an even color application. Fiberglassing should seal in the even color. I used West System resin with the special clear hardener and finished with a semi-gloss spar urethane. On the top deck where I inadvertently sanded through the epoxy/glass and into the wood in some spots, I added more stain on those spots and blended it into the surrounding color before varnishing. On a couple of spots on the hull/deck seam where I sanded into the fiberglass tape just a bit and did not feel like putting on more epoxy, I matched the color with a mix of stain and liquid acrylic paint before varnishing - lots of trial and error. Eventually you decide that the color is good enough and what you really want is a kayak to paddle and move on and call it done. Hope this helps a bit. This is the first strip kayak that I have built after building 8 skinboats over the years. I like the results though the epoxy and sanding are messy and tedious. Trying to decide between Nanoq and Black Pearl for the next one. But I have a baidarka and a skin-on-frame sailing pram to build before then.

Regards,
David Long