Here we are setting up the station molds for the very first TrueNorth Expedition kayak.
I already have a 17' Endeavour but really wanted to try a larger craft with more room for my knees and legs.

With some help from Kurtis Arnold (who built a two person Reliance spring 2002) we faired the stems and were laying on strips--much faster than building a canoe hull.

Here I am working with Jurek Okon who is Ron's main builder when it comes to strip boats. I do love this stage when the bottom is rapidly closing in.

This is the fun part...using a broad chisel to cut the midline so that the second half can be fitted into place. It is really nice to have FULL LENGTH strips..

So, now I have the bottom closed and am just about to complete the addition of the outstems.

And, after about 7 hours of spokeshaving, gap filling and sanding, the TrueNorth is just hours away from the fibreglassing process.

John Slana (on the right) came up with the idea of the pattern you can see on the sides. John is often around to lend a hand with projects like this.

After several hours, the hull exterior is sheathed with 6 ounce cloth and 3 layers of epoxy resin.

Several days later, the sanded hull is flipped roght side up in a pair of unique cradles Ron made for this part of the procedure.Once again, John Slana is there to help me with the setup for the deck construction.

Either I worked REAL fast or Ron forgot his camera, but the deck is now complete and the two interior surfaces have been fibreglassed. Now, it was time to cut holes in the deck.

Since this was the first of this design, and because I wanted to have it be real comfortable for me,we did a floor mockup just to be sure of where we would place foot pedals aand bulkheads.

Now, you can see the trim pieces around the cockpit and the hatch rims being epoxied in place--it sure does help to have a pile of clamps.

Ron came up with a fancy new lever system to close the hatches.

And, finally, the kayak was launched and padddled on Georgian Bay-a kayakers paradise.

Looks nice on the beach...

But, even better with me in it on the water.