# how to build a Stealth Ski ,SERIES OF THE BUILD



## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

I have just received a new drawing called i believe a "rendering " of the new Stealth "Rocket " ski that will be on the market around july i would think . I had the bright idea that it may be a good idea to be able to follow the construction and construction methods as many of us are interested in such things and anyone wanting to have a go themselves will have more of an idea how to do it . The new rocket will be a very fast narrower ski that will be good offshore for fishing or just training . So lets start with the dimensions

547cms long X 602 mms w x 324 mms deep

Stage 1 is the planning and this is done on a computer and volume fore and aft are calculated so the ski has a good aspect on the water , then the drawing below , "the Rendering " is printed by the computer to satisfy aesthetics and see that the ski looks good and looks balanced . I have printed a photo of the start below, the next article will include the " plug " and you will see photos of the foam mould the female mould is made from . But more of that after i have the plug photo, which is being cut at the moment

The Rocket will be made only in Carbon fibre and weight should be around 15 kgs or lighter it will be fitted with a Rod tube to store your rods going out and coming in in the surf, and small gear container as well as 2 rod holders. The footwells will be self draining thus ensuring warmer feet . By the way this is not an advertisement for Stealth its a general interest article


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## zipper (Feb 27, 2008)

loving the idea baz. this new ski also looks sick, i've been wanting to find a ski i can take to train with my surf ski mates but if i get bored i can paddle off and have a fish, brilliance :lol:


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Hi Zip , the plan is to go through the build step by step with as many photos as i can get from Stealth ,with a full description of what is happening and what materials they are using ,until the ski is in the water , its very good of them to want to Co operate


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## kas (May 5, 2009)

Didnt know you knew anyone from stealth Bazz


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## ant (Aug 28, 2008)

Great idea Bazz I look forward to more installments   
Cheers
Ant


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## blahger (Feb 6, 2009)

Is the black bit in the middle where the mirage drive goes?


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## kas (May 5, 2009)

Bloody hell Blah, we were not supposed to release that info till the last installment


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

blahger said:


> Is the black bit in the middle where the mirage drive goes?


 :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

As you can see from my profile I own a barge that I'm WAAAAY too happy with.....but if I ever decide to spoil myself for a second time this is the one!


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Very genourous of Stealth to give this info so freely, thanks!!! Keep them coming Bazz and if you don't mind and possible, a little more tech info/explanation in the design to help an uneducated in kayak hull design understand it a bit better. They certainly are a great looking ski and look forward to future installments.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Ok Elm , i will email Stealth Designs and ask for as much design information that they can give me , mind you i may not understand a lot of it but will see if we can get some more technical stuff shortly


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Thanks Bazz, be interesting as I really no nothing when it comes to hull shape and design, a how and why on the profile etc. I started having a read through this; http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/smhydro/hydro.htm sometime ago to try and get an understanding but life took over and never got back to it, maybe a good opportunity to go back to the start for a re-read and compare note's for a better understanding.

Then if I can get this http://download.cnet.com/Stitch-N-Glue- ... 72327.html to download properly, I can have a play and possibly understand a little better just what and why I am doing.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Eddie , i have shot off an email to Stealth Designs for more info so hopefully by tomorrow or next day i may have some more for us , i wanna know too and i have designed the blessed things


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

WOW! She will be a rocket Bazz. :shock:


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

Baz

That's the horniest thing I've seen all week. Cant tell you how much I've been waiting for your update. Please please please keep em coming. Love the concept of this ski.

Dont be scared of talking tech! Give me more. So, to toss another question down before you start talking about it on this ski; can you define:
1/ Primary stability
2/ secondary stability
[Think you told me once before, but this seems a pretty good thread to bang in technical definitions.]

Design questions that come to mind are:
3/ why the volume behind the paddler (you answered before to get the nose down and increase water-line therefore speed?]
4/ punching through surf or a breaking wave. Some yaks go over, some go through. How do you design for each? Which has been chosen for the uber-ski? Why?
5/ sharp nose v round. BFS v Evo. What does each do, why the choice here?

The length still scares me a bit, but what a sexy beast.

Thanks Bazoo


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Guys , i am keeping this thread as much as i can along the lines of Hairymicks threads on building his timber kayaks , and will have some more information as it comes to hand from the manufactures, the build applies to ALL skis and KAYAKS and not just one manufacturer and i wanted to do this thread as a general interest thread so we may all know more about how things are made and even how to do it ourselves if we wish


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## whoohoo (Feb 3, 2006)

Bazzoo, appreciate your honesty mate!


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Dru, i will attempt to answer your questions myself from the [ Little } knowledge i have . although 30 odd years of playing with skis , i should have learnt something .Firstly primary stability is the stableness of the ski or Kayak in its designed position sitting flat on the water and its guaged by how tippy the ski feels when you wobble a little , or get hit with a small wave or ripple ,secondary stability is the degree that you can push the boat in a wobble before it goes over, some kayaks feel tippy at their Primary stabliity but you can actually nearly stand them on their gunnals and they wont tip , secondary stability.

You need volume behind the paddler to keep the nose down, you dont want an unbalanced boat that drags its arse all the time as it creates far too much drag and will not "run". This can be seen well when you are wash riding a kayak in front of you and hanging either on his rudder 3 inches away or to the side on his wave and right up on him towards the rear , to do this successfully , the nose has to be down so that you get as long a water line as possible, and when you succeed in wash riding you reduce the effort of paddling by a third approx for the same speed.

Skis with a rounded flat nose will bounce over a wave , whereas a sharp nosed ski will punch through a wave, it depends on your style which one you like best . A ski with a round flat nose will be very slow but will surf better than a sharp nosed ski . A sharp nosed ski will track much better and be much faster . i prefer to punch through , but that just my style, as in the surf i am very agressive with the skis

Dru , dont be afraid of the length as they are faster longer and once you have gained confidence on a long ski , its sooooo hard to drop back as they pick up the runners [ unbroken waves ]so early and ride them soo smoothly for a longer distance


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

I have just received another email that gives the very basics of ski or kayak design.

First the designer looks for what he wants out of the kayak , is he designing for a race boat , a training boat , a touring boat or fishing boat or a hybrid training - fishing . They look at what are the conditions that this ski will be working in , open water surf or lake . And then it comes down to personal taste and experiance , if it looks right it more than likely will be right . With an experianced eye its possible to look at a hull shape and say , nope thats going to ,push too much water and so have a lot of drag . And just because a hull is CAD designed does not mean it will go well , Garbage in garbage out .

The skis we are discussing here are designed with a program called Rhino, which is a good surface modeling program. They start with a target market and use for the craft and then draw a box with the dimensions that experiance tells them will work , The same as if you had a foam block in front of you and you cut out a rough shape . you can then get the computer to start to go to work and give you volumes fore and aft and seat positions etc, also Rocker, which is as it says a basic bend from fore to aft of the ski so it will peform at sea and be able to turn without any rocker the ski will go well in a straight line , but you will never be able to turn it .So then just add some depth to the craft to keep the water out of the cockpit and design the deck layout . I have been told thats its a fairly easy job once you have several kayaks or skis on the water and you can guage their performance and incorporate that into your design . below is a photo of a well balanced ski , showing how much rocker there is actually in the hull and note how the front and back are approx the same height off the water. I am hoping to have a photo of a laser cut plug for the next installment dont know what ski it will be but that dosnt matter as long as we are seeing how things are made


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## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

I dunno if I'm off topic Baz but any news on if/when the Toura is hitting our shores?


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Dan , about the end of April early may


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

Bazoo - thanks. Still thinking about the length. I like the concept of speed, but it's the off the water handling of a long ski I'm not sure about. Then, if its a 17 kg ski, maybe its not such an issue. ;-)


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## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

Fantastic looking beast there Baz and keen to follow the results. Would add just a little more info on the nose shape for you Dru (hope I'm right here Baz). If it's too pointy you get pearling where the nose sticks in and doesn't rise, but slews when you bury it going downhill.

Tis a fine, fine art shaping hulls. In case anyone thinks I know anything about it - I don't, but have followed the thinking and struggles of those that do and have been gobsmacked by the bewildering tangents, sine curves and sheer unbridled lust that goes into the shaping of a classic, solid, recognised craft.

Mind...you can still happily fish out of a wheelie bin....


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Varpie , i love ya mate , and yer right again , good to hear from you champion , wish you were in Sydney ya cheeky bugger


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## varp (Sep 12, 2005)

....and a big fat sloppy very Sydney kiss on your vast left buttock Baz ol mate!!!

;-) :twisted: :lol: 8)


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## Nativeman (Sep 6, 2005)

Baz,

Some great info there, I know you're talking about a glass yak but some of the information applies to plastic ones 

Looking forward to the new installments ;-)

Cheers


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

varp said:


> ....and a big fat sloppy very Sydney kiss on your vast left buttock Baz ol mate!!!
> 
> ;-) :twisted: :lol: 8)


Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha you idiot Varp ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

THE PLUG

The foam used in a kayak or ski plug is normally Styreen as most manufacturers have found this is the most cost effective medium to use. The Styreen is then placed in a jig and cut with a CNC machine.The CNC machine is like a giant router and is hooked up to the computer and the drawing of the ski , the cutting head of the CNC machine moves backwards and forwards and also round and round, and in and out on the foam plug ,the computer tells the router head where to move and how deep etc. The actual tool used depends on the material being cut and the quality of the cut depends on the speed of the tool path . The faster the material is cut the worse the finish achieved. And so machine time has to be balanced with the finished article as to cost. It normally takes about 14 hours to cut one side of a ski or kayak.

From here the plug will go to the glassing guys and be covered with 2 layers of 10 oz glass together with EPOXY resin so that it is compatible with the styreen foam. This is then sanded and finished to a very high gloss finish as it will be the ultimate finish on the outside of the ski imparted to the female mould. This can take about a week or so as it has to be perfect otherwise the female mould will be useless, it is all done by hand and very labour intensive. The Bennet rescue boards are made in exactly this fashion as are most SLSA skis in Australia .For the next stage in the build we will go to making a female mould


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Sorry for the delay in posting the photo , i was having a brain fade and it wouldnt load , OK now


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Hi Bazzo

Looks like they cut the bottom first then turn it over to cut the top but I cannot see how they hold its position which would be crucial I would think.

I can only guess that there are different densities in Styrofoam and the one they must use is very dense to obtain a good finish, not like the TV packing we get :lol:


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Yes Eddie they evidentally cut the bottom of the hull first and this takes approx 14 hours , and then the plug is turned over and the top cut , thats as i understand it , and yes fairly dens foam , actually when a plug is made and glassed it would make a good ski itself very solid , but also very valuable .


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Lookin good Bazz.
Does Stealth own there own CNC machine? Does the plug just get used once to make the mould and then stored away? 
I'm keen to see how they do the vacuum mould thingy, but I guess I'll have to wait for more instalments.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Paul , Stealth dont own a CNC machine thyey contract that out and yes mate the plug is glassed and smoothed off to a gleaming finish , then the female moulds are made off it and skis are made from the female mould . and the plug is stored away ,I have been onto Stealth for more photos and info so should have more soon Paul > Paul you asked me about fish storage on skis that dont have the fish box and Stealth make a dedicated fish bag that clips to the back cockpit of these skis


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

Bazoo

Another general design question. So everything else being equal, (which it wont be, but in theory) a yak designed for say 120kg load (flotation) will be faster than a yak designed for a 100kg load?


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Dru, I would have thought it would be the other way around, to increase buoyancy (payload) they would have to increase hull surface area to the water, which would also increase drag through the water ?


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Dru , Eddie is right , to carry the extra load they must increase wetted surface and so make the ski wider and maybe longer. The fastest boats are the racing K1 olympic kayaks and they are very very narrow , you almost have to put them on rather than get in them , but by gee they scoot along . But there again we have a trade off , if the kayak is too narrow and too tippy you spend more time balancing it and you have trouble getting the power down to the paddle and end up slower . So theres a fine line when it comes to Power and balance


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Come on Bazz, leave those lovely nuble's alone and get back on the project will you ya. Whats happened to the next installment ???


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Uhhh yeah , i get carried away with the new young ones , i will extract some more photos from South Africa Together with more technical info , Hang about guys mores coming , AHHHHH , now where was i my little one :twisted: :twisted: :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Good news , i have just received a heap of technical information from South Africa and he is hopefully sending me some explanitory photos tomorrow evening , so i anticipate the next stage of the build will be on tomorrow night


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

& looking forward to it !!!


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

The Glassing of a ski

I have quoted directly from the email i received from South Africa as his information is beyond my knowledge

And i Quote 

I am glassing a mould tomorrow and i do things a little different with an epoxy and vinalester combo which i think i am possibly the first to do things this way. I have been doing this for quite a few years now ,. so this should be of interest to the guys in the know .

There is a problem with shrinkage with polyester /vinalester resins of up to 6%. Epoxy has a virtually no shrinkage, but there are no good gellcoats for the mould surface that i know of . So here is the process.

1,,,, prep the plug to an acceptable finish [ the better the surface the better the result ]
2,,,,,Wax the plug , i use Mirrorglaze
3,,,,, apply 2 coats of vinalester tooling gellcoat
4,,,,,laminate 1 x surface tissue and 1 x 300 gm chopped strand matt using vinalester resin
5,,,,,allow this to cure over 2 days for the styrene to evaporate
6,,,,,Rub this down with a 36 grit sand paper to get a good mechanical bond
7,,,,,,laminate about 2x500gm Glass Quad which is either woven or stitched using epoxy resin [epoxy will not work with chopped strand matt that has a binder ]
8,,,,i then put in 5 mm core and finish with 2 x 500 quad.All with epoxy [ post cure for 2 days]
this way there is minimal shrinkage , so that when the joining process come together the part fit accurately

Barry if anyone wants to e-mail me with technical problems with fibreglass its no problem. I have been making boats professionally since i was 20 and have no problem sharing my knowledge , provided that payment is in copious amounts of beer.

end of Quote , Guys i had to copy his email direct as i was afraid of making a mistake with this technical stuff that has me baffeled .

Below there are some photos of a build and i suspect the deck is my splash deck , i dont know about the hull though, remembering that the deck and hull are made in a female mould so everything looks upside down


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Yep, mostly over my head but interesting all the same. Bit confused about the plug though Bazzo, it is cut from the styrene and in an earlier post you mention the plugs are "stored", in this last post it is quoted that after the first coat (parts 4 & 5) it sits for two days until the styrene evaporates. Unsure what they mean by "evaporates", has the styrene plug dissolved and the vapors evaporated, plug is now gone ???


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

I havent played with composites for a long time, and then it was creating moulds for concrete building panels - hardly the same level of finish required in a yak.

So perhaps...At this stage the plug is already finished. The polystyrene core has been glassed up and finished (to a high fish, because any imperfection then multipies through the rest of the process).

And now what he is doing (I think) is laying up the start of the moulds onto the finished plug. Gel coat first, then vinyl ester - I didnt really get the bit regarding epoxy in the mix because he didnt mention it at that stage, and he indicated earlier potential shrinkage problems with vinyl ester. That shrinkage could a) lead to finish imperfections and b) lock the moulds onto the plug and make it hard to get off.

But I think you will find that the styrene is in the wet vinyl ester (being laid up for the moulds). From recollection it helpd the vinyl ester and the gelcoat stick to each other(?). The surface remains "tacky" so you cant rub down or do any other preparation. So he waits for the the "tackiness" (the styrene) to evaporate before finishing off the mould. We would have cheated by rubbing in talc or something and left the outside of the mould sharp.

Looking at the pictures

#1 looks like the completed plug, being glassed up. This seems to be the the top half.
#2 and #3 looks like the bottom half mould, once the plug has been removed.
#4 looks like the plug top half (rotated on its frame for the picture), and I think the bottom mould has not yet been removed. (or is it a half plug with the glass lay-over visible?)
#5 it looks like the plug being removed from the bottom half mould - but if it is, the plug(s) seem to be in two pieces. Top and bottom.

So I'm confused by the plug. We would always build a full plug, then take off different moulds as required. Here they seem to have a top and bottom plug to work with the top and bottom moulds.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

The plug for the ski is the shape of the complete ski and its primary purpose is to enable female moulds to be made for the deck and the hull [the plug in theory could be thrown away once the female moulds are made ] ,the hull and the deck are joined at a later date as there has to be quite a bit of work done inside the hull for Rudder fittings and watertight compartments to make the skis unsinkable. The hull and deck female moulds can be seen in some of the photographs and i would say that for say a Splash 465 they would make about 3 or 4 female moulds so that they can lay up 3 or 4 skis at one time , The PLug is then put aside until they need to make more female moulds. The skis are left to basically breath until they have fumed off all the styrene gases and this apparently takes about 2 days .


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

bazzoo said:


> The plug for the ski is the shape of the complete ski and its primary purpose is to enable female moulds to be made for the deck and the hull [the plug in theory could be thrown away once the female moulds are made ] ,the hull and the deck are joined at a later date as there has to be quite a bit of work done inside the hull for Rudder fittings and watertight compartments to make the skis unsinkable. The hull and deck female moulds can be seen in some of the photographs and i would say that for say a Splash 465 they would make about 3 or 4 female moulds so that they can lay up 3 or 4 skis at one time , The PLug is then put aside until they need to make more female moulds. The skis are left to basically breath until they have fumed off all the styrene gases and this apparently takes about 2 days .


Barry, I'm with that buddy. And I would normally expect a one-piece plug. And two piece moulds subsequantly joined up in the process. But the pics have me confused (regarding the plug). I wonder if Stealth might put a caption to each piccie so we could make better sence of it?


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## ant (Aug 28, 2008)

Good stuff Baz keep them coming I'm enjoying the progress.   
Cheers
Ant


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Good idea Dru , i will email Stealth and get them to translate, , i know the plug is cut in one block , but i am not sure weather it is sliced in half or what , we better get the gurus advice i think mate , i'll be back with the goodies in a few days


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

bazzoo said:


> Good idea Dru , i will email Stealth and get them to translate, , i know the plug is cut in one block , but i am not sure weather it is sliced in half or what , we better get the gurus advice i think mate , i'll be back with the goodies in a few days


Thanks baz - I've re-checked the pics and know some my thoughts are wrong. The bits I can understand look great.


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

I understood the two female molds being made from the plug, I just didn't know where the styrene that "evaporates" came from. I thought if it was the plugs styrene, then the plug would be destroyed after the first use, if what you say Dru is correct


> I think you will find that the styrene is in the wet vinyl ester (being laid up for the moulds). From recollection it helpd the vinyl ester and the gelcoat stick to each other(?)


then that would make sense how they can reuse the plugs.

Also (pardon my ignorance never used glass before) the tooling gelcoat, does this stuff set hard for sanding a fine finish, or is it simply a release agent that is glassed over as soon as it goes on ?


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Elm , the tooling gellcoat sets hard , but has a release agent in it that allows the ski to be removed from the female mould . More to come after i ask some more questions from Stealth


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## mrwalker (Feb 23, 2009)

Great series Bazz, the styrene in polyester and vinylester resin reduces the viscosity of the product, making them easier to work with. Epoxy resins dont like the styrene so if you put epoxy over the top of fresh syrene based resin it wont go "off", so it is left a couple of days for the styrene to evaporate.
On a side note I went to a stealth organised fishing comp at Ras al Khaimah on the weekend, had a paddle in a Stealth Tourer, so sweet and quick after my hobie fishing machine, chalk and cheese! Ivan, the importer says the Splash isn't far away. Didn'catch anything worth weighing for the comp. but a great weekend was had by all.
Cheers, Dave.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Thanks Dave , yeah "the Splash " is now available and a few have been sold , and hopefully mine will be here towards the end of April , there a nice compromise between a race ski and a fishing ski although dont have a big fish hatch , but Dave , i only catch small fish champion . I have emailed Stealth for some more details on joining a ski so i imagine we will see more in the next few days


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS

THE 2 HALVES OF THE PLUG

AND I QUOTE DIRECT FROM AN EMAIL

i see the confusion . The plugs used to be a complete boat but not anymore . I design the complete boat then split the drawing , then draw a joining and locating flange . The computer now cuts the section complete with joining flange top and bottom . I now have half the ski to work on and the other half can be worked on somewhere else, and because the two sections are computer generated , they fit together perfectly . This is why the low shrinkage epoxy is so important

END QUOTE

I have now asked for photos of the top and bottom being joined and i do sincerely hope these procedures are of interest to you all


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Ok I am with it now and get where the styrene came from, Kayaksportsmark pm'd me with some extra details which really helped as well. Cannot wait for the next installment Bazzo, thanks for going to all this effort for us.


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## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

Hey Bazz,

Great series of photos and text mate.....huge thanks to Stealth for giving us this insight into their manufacturing process, you can clearly see that these are not mass produced yaks and take quite alot of manual labour to get the finished kayak. Amazing to know that there is six layers of fibreglass plus the core in the yaks and that they use a styrene based resin for the chopped strand and an epoxy resin for the rest. I have a couple of Q's I'd love to know the answer too while we have the fantastic link to the manufacturing process:

1. How are the two pieces joined together to get a really strong joint? I'm assuming that the flange is glued and fixed with bolts to hold it together but I don't remember seeing a flange on the stealths I've seen? (I think this will get answered next install)

2. Do Stealth use a vacuum bag system to squeeze the epoxy/fibreglass/core together? Doesn't look like they do from the photos but would be interested to know.

3. I can understand the finishing tissue plus the four layers of the 500 gram quadaxial glass, but why use a chopped strand layer just under the surface?

Cheers......Nick


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## mrwalker (Feb 23, 2009)

Hi Nick, in answer to your last question a very fine chopped strand layer, think its called surface tissue, goes in next to the gel coat to stop the pattern of the woven cloth appearing through the gel coat, cheers, Dave.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

More answers and moving forward onto the hull

ONCE AGAIN I QUOTE

Barry i think there is some confusion here between the mould making and the actual ski manufacture [ and i bazzoo take the blame for this ]. Tell the guys we will be covering the boat manufacturing process shortly after we have the plug out of the way . The boat building process is vacuum infusion . The moulds are vacuum bagged which i will also cover before the build.

The mould core and the final layers are vacuum bagged after 2 layers of quad are applied and allowed to set . This is to prevent the pattern from collapsing under pressure of the vacuum as the hand laminated layers bring strength to the structure.

VACUUM INFUSION AND VACUUM BAGGING

Vacuum infusion ,,,,,,,,,,is when all the layers are laid out in the mould, put in a vacuum see through plastic bag , the resin is then piped into the centre of the mould and flows through the laminate
Vacuum bagging,,,,,,,,,,,, is when all the layers are wet out before hand , a plastic layer with tiny holes is placed over the laminate then a blanket placed over this and then the bag which is then put under vacuum pressure. The excess resin flows through the tiny holes into the blanket. The advantage of infusion is that from mixing the resin to completion is quick, and correct catalyst levels can be maintained

The bagging is normally used when epoxy resins are used as there is a lot more time available before the epoxy starts to gel

Vacuum infusion and bagging is a relatively expensive process , but has 2 major advantages. The process stops the Styrene gasses from going into the atmosphere and the laminate resin to glass ratio is much lower resulting in a stronger product .

END QUOTE

So guys , we now start to build the ski , i am really learning a lot out of this and i have been fiddling with fibreglass most of my life for one reason or another . Once again if you have any deep technical questions , Bruce has made himself available if you wish to contact him direct via email

Boy hes making this old codger work for his supper :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

UMMMMMMM OOOOPSSS, forgot some join photos ,,,,,,,, sorry


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Bazzoo, you may need to get the Nuble's to concentrate on massaging your fingers for a change !!!


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Eddie , i have just placed an advertisement in CATWALK MODELS INC . for 4 extra NUBILES, and these ones better be able to type , ssshhiisssshhhh , my fingers are worn out :twisted: :shock:


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

bazzoo said:


> ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS
> 
> THE 2 HALVES OF THE PLUG
> 
> ...


Ahhh! Look at that. confusion no longer. everyone who PM'd about 1 piece plugs, go on, 'fess up! Beer money on the shelf please.

It's a different procedure - but the epoxy mix etc makes great sense now.

Baz - thanks so much for sharing.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Thanks Dru , we are in for quite a bit more i believe that will clarify everything including some of my silly questions , and hopefully a picture will be worth 1000 words


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Just received another email and there will be more building tips tomorrow i believe , in the meantime i have been asked about the Stealth Duo , so i have been sent a set of photos that have me drooling all over the keyboard as this one is Carbon Fibre


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

Barry

If you think this post is too off topic, let me know I'll drop it somewhere else. But this thread seems like a great place for kayak design discussion.

I found an interesting article. It suggests that longer waterline provides higher theoretical top speed. But most yaks aren't used at that high a performance level. Cruising speed tends to be the same or similar regardless of length. here's the link - click on "Reviews" tab on the left. http://www.expeditionkayaks.com/

To be fair:
a) it's written by a manufacturer who wants to sell shorter yaks - hardly unbiassed
b) it's talking about coastal cruising SIKs, not SOTs. I imagine they have a considerable "glide" advantage over a SOT, so perhaps a fishing SOT needs additional waterline to match these SIKS anyways. I guess the upshot is, will a yak like the rocket give enhanced cruising speed, or do I need to train with the Ironmen before I would be able to use the additional speed?

I am thinking that perhaps the extra width of a fishing yak (needed for fishing stability) impacts glide in a way that doesnt compare with the narrower cruising SIKs. Additional length helps narrow the gap. Interested in your thoughts.


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Hi Dru , your timing is very good mate as i just shot off another email to Stealth last night for more information to continue with the build and have been advised this morning that as soon as Bruce finishes filling this current container bound for Botany Bay [ Brisbane really ] he will send me off more details on the build , There is no noticable speed differance between a sit in and a SOT, this can be observed by a comparison of SLSA skis and K1 kayaks , their speeds are much of a muchness and yet the SLSA ski is sit on and the K1 is sit in , i would say the ski would have a slight speed advantage because of the approximate 2 ft extra length . The Rocket should be a fast touring training ski with the ability to fish off it , it should be comparable with a fast sea Kayak sit in for touring speed with a tad more stability to enable you to fish in comfort . Its not really possible to fish off one of the new SLSA skis as there far too tippy and as soon as you hooked a fish , i can guarantee you a swim . I have owned and paddled SLSA skis for many years and believe me the balance thing is definately a learned skill , but their speed is remarkable , but for fishing , no way.

And BLOO2 is in the container WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO

Typed by Nubile SANDY , for Bazzoo ;-) ;-) [hello Boys]


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## kas (May 5, 2009)

Hi Sandy ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-) ;-)

Cant wait to give it a good hard paddle & I might give bloo two a go as well.


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## mrwalker (Feb 23, 2009)

Been a while since we heard anything on this thread Bazz would love an update, cheers, Dave.


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## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

Oi Bazz, Bumpity bump ;-) :twisted:


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## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Hey Flumpie how are ya mate , great to hear from you champion , yes i will bumpity bump soon , i am asking for the next installment now from Stealth , so hopefully in a few days


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

bazzoo said:


> yes i will bumpity bump soon ,


Bazz we don't want to here of you nightly exercise program :shock: , we want an update on the stealth kayak build ;-) , and please don't confuse your "stealth" after the nubles :? with the kayak "stealth" 8) . :lol: :lol:


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