With four coats of varnish applied I’m moving on to outfitting the kayaks. It is time to install the hatches, seats and foot rests.

This process is exciting! It is so rewarding to see the beauty of the wood grain revealed by this quality wood finish.

Exterior work is far easier than interior, but there is still an awful lot of sanding… Ensuring the plywood and joints are smooth before proceeding with epoxy and fiberglass sheathing is laborious

Watch a parade, sand the kayaks, watch another parade, mix and apply some epoxy, catch a third parade, more sanding… sleep.

No, you can’t hurry love when you’re building three kayaks from plans.

Time to cut the hatches! I was nervous about this step, but I took my time and it was easy.