ORCA 17 Finished

[kick29]

hey fellow boaters i am 21 and i am building an orca 17 kayak for a school wood project. so far i have all the pieces cut out and everything is going great. I am going to continue work tomorrow on it and try to get everything stuck together with in 3 weeks. i am really liking this company they are so helpful and nice. the tutorials are simple and easy to understand and makes everything a breeze. so anyways about the wood topic. i purchased 4mm ockume plywood from canada at a pretty good price then the only thing that got me was the shipping it was about 40 dollars but i got exactly what i needed. you can look at this place called NOAH'S i am not sure what their website is but that is where i found marine plywood. being a youngster i am looking forward to trips and ALOT of them over the next 5 years or so. so i am trying to make the lightest kayak but that is strong aswell. since portaging SUCKS when you have to carry a really heavy boat around. i am a rather strong guy but i would like to make my life as easy as possible trying to make this kayak as easty to move around as possible. i don't know if i could handle the 85 lb kayak that is like having another member of the family or something. but i am glad to hear that you really enjoy it. i am an experienced kayaker so being really light shouldn't be a problem.

[zeuson]

My ORCA will probably never be taken on a trip that requires portage. I'm not that strong! I'm planning on building a strip built expedition kayak for trips like that. It will be as light as it can be. This ORCA works well for me here in the Chesapeak and I'm looking forward to doing some fishing in it, too. We'll see how it does when I take it out on the ocean. I think it will do fine.

Ken

[Evan_Gatehouse]

With 4mm okoume it will be about 45-50 lbs. First time builders tend to use more epoxy and do larger fillets than they need so make sure you build only small fillets (about 3/8" radius) and only wet out the fiberglass cloth till it is saturated (you can do this on a piece of 4mm plastic drop cloth material and then peel it up and place it on the seam)

For portaging can you use a small 2 wheeled carrier? - I used to use one when getting my kayak around, but your portages may be over rougher ground.

[Laszlo]

I am having a hard time finding Okume here in Norfolk Va and shipping really increases the overall cost of the wood

Beach,

If you don't mind a long drive, you're within driving range of a marine plywood supplier in Annapolis, MD. Since they also sell other stuff that competes with Jacques I won't name them here, but if you go to my website and see where I bought the wood for my CC14, that's them.

Laszlo

[zeuson]

All, just wanted to give an update on my Orca. I have fitted it with a rod holder and have been doing some fishing with it. I have taken it out in 2 foot waves in 10-15 knot winds and have had no problems. It will surf the waves, but if you get a little sideways it gets turned quickly. When I take it to the beach and the rolling waves there I fully expect to get dumped.
I am still very pleased with the kayak and can recommend it. It went together very easily and although I built it heavey I am pleased with the performance. I use it to execise twice a week and have found it to be the most enjoyable form of exercise I have ever tried. My arms are getting stronger, too!

Ken

[Evan_Gatehouse]

It will surf the waves, but if you get a little sideways it gets turned quickly. When I take it to the beach and the rolling waves there I fully expect to get dumped.

A couple of hints when in surfing conditions - be agressive and forceful with your paddling. Expect and anticipate the wave that will tend to turn you, lean into it a bit, and dig with your paddle.

Surf landings are a skill like anything else. Start with beaches that shallow gradually; the breakers there are more gentle. Steep beaches produce "plunging" breakers that break all at once in a more explosive fashion and should be avoided until you get better. Paddle fast for the beach, and get out quick before the next wave hits. Keep the boat straight in the waves or you might go for a swim.

And as far as your arms, try pushing more with the upward arm as well as pulling with the lower arm closest to the paddle in the water. Let your triceps do some of the work.

[Toni V]

Just for info, try to weight the kayak . You can use a usual "person scale" weight yourself an then take the kayak to your shoulder and weight again.

My orca (birch plywood) weights now 26,6 kgs (58,6 pounds). It's missing the seat and paint & varnish. I also did too big fillets and wasted more epoxy than I should have.

---edit---
It's funny how the small things adds weight, like my cockpit coamings (from plywood) weights 735 grams (1,6 pounds) without epoxy or tape. I guess the foot rests are weighting a pound or more. It all piles up...

[zeuson]

I thought I would give a quick update on my ORCA and maybe hear from some other builders. I have used the kayak twice a week at a minimum for the last few months. It is very stable and I am very confident in it. I have caught a few strippers fishing with it, but one got away because as I took the hook out it started flipping around on the deck and I couldn't catch and stay upright. I haven't dumped once in it, excelpt on purpose. I am going to scale down the plans so that it is 16' long, so I only need one joint using two pieces of plywood. If I need to buy another set of plans to build another one I will. I'm am going to use 1/4 exterior plywood again, but this time I am going to plan off a little to make it smooth and a bit lighter. I am only going to tape the seams, using much smaller fillets and that is it. I will use latex primer to seal the wood and them paint it with exterior grade latex paint, instead of covering it with fiberglass. I am trying to build it as cheap as possible and get it as light as possible, also. Mainly just for fun and to see if it works. If it doen't work out, I won't have much invested anyway. I'll report on the results when I get it done. That might be awhile, because I am finishing a CLC three placer and am going to build a Surfyak with my son, after I fininsh the eight foot foldable kayak2 go with my other son. I think I have got the building bug.

Ken