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KAYAK / Al Engelkens / alengelkens@surfbest.net / 6-2-01: Started construction in January of 2000. Working in spare time took about 40 actual hours to complete. Place in the water on May 28, 2001. Went together fairly well. Initial stability a little rocky but seems to take quite a bit to tip completely over. I built the 15′ 4″ version to use as a double. 4-9-03: The email address is still good. I have been out in it several times on some small lakes and some mild rivers. I enjoy paddling it, the only thing that has surprised me is the weight of the finished kayak. It weighs in at about 100 pounds which makes it a little heavy to move around by myself, I did use 1/4 inch plywood for most of the construction and that may be the reason for the weight, living in the midwest makes it a little hard to get the thinner marine plywood.
KE-PAU / Tim Nichols / Kettering, OH / clearcreek@go-concepts.com / 3-18-05: Started: March 1, 2005. Sides are done. 1/2 of the bottom is on. 8-7-05: I finally finished it! My eight year old twins have been bugging me to get it done! So, I stayed up until 2:00am last night and finished it. It turned out pretty good. I learned a lot. I decided early that I wasn’t going to be too persnickety about the epoxy part of it. I didn’t do much sanding but it still looks reasonable. All of you epoxy perfectionists would probably laugh me out of here! I’ll have to get psyched up for the next project and actually sand it like it’s supposed to be! I was probably too liberal with the epoxy so, I basically ran out or, thought I would run out. So, I stole/borrowed some from a friend who had built 3 kayaks and had some left over. Anyway, you just can’t make a mistake on the epoxy measuring. The last portion of the final coat must not have had enough hardener in it. It was still a little sticky after a week. I did fiberglass the bottom, only because I wanted some experience for the next project. Regarding the bearings, I had decided to paint the stamped housing, shaft and bearings so that I could avoid rust. You know? I worked for a bearing manufacturer and you’d think I would know better! Don’t paint the bore of a bearing or the shaft. You’ll never get the bearing on! So, that’s why I was up till 2:00 am last night. I took more time sanding the shaft and bearing bore than I did the whole boat… not really but, it seemed like it. I commend glen-l for the engineering of this wonderful water toy! I couldn’t fill a gallon bucket with the material waste from the design! Awesome! I was suspicious of the efficiency of the paddles! Boy was I wrong! This little boat is surprisingly fast and tracks better than any old production paddle boat! The kids had a ball today and all the neighbors loved it. Mentally, I’m ready for the next boat. I learned however, that I have trouble being consistent with the build! That Zip is on my mind though!
KEY LARGO/Kevin Young/ Cleveland, OH/17kayoung@gmail.com/11-30-16: Building the frames, stem and building form.
KEY WEST / Carl / noah@drenthe.net / 11-1-98: Hull complete and flipped. Floor in, working on mahogany decks.
KID-ROW / Steve and Ethan Davis / email address not valid 4-8-03 / 2-3-00: Stitched, awaiting glue and fiberglass covering material. The project is our first and is a fantastic father and son project. We are looking forward to our next project…. Tubby Tug, or maybe a cedar strip canoe?
KID-ROW / Darrell Sisson / desisson@surf-ici.com / 3-5-00: Stitched together waiting on the fillets to dry.
KID-ROW / Frank Daly / Bay City, WI / gdhome@redwing.net / 7-14-04: The Kid Row is a stitch and glue, and so far I have stitched it all together.
KIDYAK / Jim Hollister / jhollister@objectspace.com (email address not good 6-01) / 7-6-98: Launched this past weekend. Coaming and keel installation remain. / 7-27-98 Update: Finished construction, waiting for epoxy to fully cure before final sanding and varnishing.
KIDYAK / D. F. Suggs / dfsuggs@acsu.buffalo.edu (email address not good 6-01) / 5-30-99: Successful launch on the lake. Built in the basement during winter months with help of 9 year old son. True to plans. Advice – sand sand sand the interior cockpit, bare legs vunerable to any sharp edges on epoxy/glass tape, especially under the deck. 4mm okoume is beautiful to work, don’t settle for less. Cockpit natural (or is that bright?) finish, exterior 100% acrylic latex, very durable. 3/4″ thick, closed cell, foam pad in cockpit relieved leg cramps and tingles.
KIDYAK / Ray Finney / Syracuse, New York / Finntec@yahoo.com / 2-17-10: I have cut out wood parts and am waiting for the fiberglass kits to arrive in the mail.
KINGFISHER / Anthony Karnavas / CJ3A@EV1.NET / 3-3-98: Purchased plans. / 7-1-99: Began cutting plywood patterns for all frame members. These were used to mark the 1″ white oak and rough cut all parts. Each part was mated to the appropriate pattern and run on a shaper with a straight cutter and collar of the same size. / 7-15-99: Assembled frames using resorcinol glue, bronze nails and screws. 4-9-03: Projet on hold until cabin done. I think it will be a great boat if I don’t get anymore projects.
KINGFISHER / Richard Steller / dicksteller@aol.com / 6-18-00: Applying plywood planking. 4-9-03: The project is still underway. The entire fiberglassing process is done and the boat is flipped over. My Dad is the one building the boat and has moved it down to Florida where he is finishing the inside. Ronda Steller (The boat builder’s daughter).
KINGFISHER / Alan & Scott Bailey (father/son) / email address not valid 4-8-03 / 8-7-00: Began construction Dec 1999 with cutting white oak frames from plans. Hull has been planked with marine plywood, glassed with epoxy and painted two-tone white bottom and black sides with imron 5000. Turned hull over 3 weeks ago and have began to install decking and floor. Also have contracted a local trailer builder to provide a trailer (hopefully soon). We have deviated from the center console design and are building a small cabin and full windshield to provide protection from the central coast winds where we plan to fish. Jan 9,2001: The trailer has been completed and the hull is now sitting on the trailer. The trailer is a single axel design and is fitted with bronze disk surge brakes. It turned out well and was worth the wait. The boat now has the cabin installed and painted. The windshield is still rough. We anticipate the safety glass will be ready to be installed thus completing the windshield installation in a week. With this done, the outside will be complete. We are now starting to work up the inside starting with the dashboard and the seating arrangement. We are also in the process of trying to locate a late model 150 HP outboard. We anticipate the launch date to be sometime in May, 2001. (See Customer Photos)
KINGFISHER / Bruce / WI / tkms002@netwurx.net / 8-4-00: Started building my Kingfisher better than 2 years ago and am about 80% done. I AM FISHING IN IT THOUGH!!! I constructed mine with okoume plywood over mahogany frames. Lengthened it to 20’4″ and hung a 200 efi merc on the 25″ transom. She’ll do 60 mph using the speedo pickup provided with the engine and 72 mph if you believe the paddle wheel on the raytheon depth finder. One disappointment for me is the ride. The book says she has a bulbous keel for a soft entry. Well, this bulbous keel when you add a lift strake to each side of it adds up to a flat spot from frame 3 to the transom that is about 15 inches wide. It makes her fast but she pounds a bit. I still like it!! Always eager to answer questions. Feel free to e-mail me. If you get boat builder magazine then you’ve seen my boat in various stages of construction already. Router scarfing plywood panels and fitting lift strakes. 4-10-03: Been done for 3 years now. She runs at 53mph with a 200 merc EFI. I lengthened the hull to 20’4″ and it has a 15hp kicker on it. Lots of great comments from onlookers.
How old is it?
Is that a ChrisCraft?
Lots of fun.
KINGFISHER / Gösta Ström / Sweden / gosta.strom@telia.com / 10-15-00: I started building in May 2000, frames are now in place.I have started the bottom planking, I think the boat will be ready for sea by May next year.
KINGFISHER / Tom Joiner / Salt Lake City, UT / tom.sue.joiner@att.net / 10-19-01: Have completely built the boat (in my mind) after hours of study and planning. Have read Glen-L’s book, twice! Found it to be invaluable. Boat will be 20′ long. Currently cutting out and assembling frames. 1-8-02: Frames completed. Assembly to start in two weeks.
KINGFISHER / James Johnson / Suva, Fiji / jdjohnson@nazarene.com.fj / 11-5-01: Started kingfisher 10/2000 and have taken two weeks off work. have set the planking and am ready to fiberglass. I live in Fiji and will be using the boat around the reef both inside and out. 7-1-02: My two sons and I began this project last year and registered our project in October. We extended it to 19′ which just fit inside the work area. We launched the boat two weeks ago and it performed great. I was impressed by how dry the cockpit stayed. I have equipped the boat with a dual system for safety. I have two independent fuel, electrical and power systems in case one has a problem the other will see us through. Many stories and disasters are told about traveling and fishing in Fiji waters. The waters here justify the added expense of a duel system. I also put Styrofoam under the cockpit floor for positive floatation, hoping never to need it. Fuel 2 tanks and 2 batteries are installed under the cockpit. I had to modify the stock fuel tanks I ordered by catalog for they were 1/2 inch too large. If I had purchased them first I could have adjusted the frames to accommodate their size. I have twin 40 hp Mercury outboards. Top speed is about 25 knots which is fast enough for me. I modified the casting deck to make the cockpit larger in the bow. The new configuration makes the casting deck into seating. I also built an anchor well in the bow. I modified the storage area under the front seat of the control console by insulating it with Styrofoam and making it into a ice chest. A small drain was installed in the side. I found the plans very easy to follow and the materials list extremely valuable. 4-13-03: Email address valid. (see Customer Photos)
KINGFISHER / Ian Wiedow / Montreal, Canada / snakeyes9808@aol.com / 10-16-02: I just bought most of my plywood today. I started cutting wood for the frames and I am begining to assemble them. Can hardly wait to build the building form and start seeing things come together. Things are a bit tight in here but I think I can make it. 4-10-03: Hi, sorry I didn’t get the time to update my progress. As of today, April 10 2003: The frame members were assembled. I used epoxy glue with a mixture of silica and microspheres for most of my permanent contacts and stainless steel flat-head screws for fastening. Then I built the building form and started to place the frame members on the stringers. After that, I placed the battens, chine log and sheer clamp. I had a bit of trouble with the chine. What happened was, I had started fairing the chine just after frame #5 and in the blink of an eye, snap it broke, even with the boiling water on it, it broke. Oh well, better now than in the water. That was probably the worst thing that has happened, other than that, everything is going very well. I have all the plywood panels put on, I could not find any 10′ B.C fir plywood so I had to use 8′. It just meant that there were 2 extra butt joints. After that I applied the 10 ounce fiberglass with apoxy. I found the video that I bought from you great to have. I watched it about 8 times and didn’t make one mistake. When the fiberglassing and sanding was done I used a two part epoxy primer to cover the glass and then I used a white Interlux bottom coat for the bottom of the boat and ocean blue for the sides. It was 3 weeks ago today that myself and my brothers turned the boat over, it was quite a moment, I was very happy. The motor well is in, the deck is on, the cockpit sole is on, and now I am in the process of making the seats and the control console. Oh, and about a month ago I purchased a 150hp Johnson. It is a 1987, but I was told that she works great.
KINGFISHER / Robert Baudrie / Dubai, United Arab Emirates /robertb@emirates.net.ae / 2-4-03: Building started 3 weeks ago, we are now almost ready to start with the fibreglass on the hull. Will keep you up to date. (See Customer Photos)
KINGFISHER / Brad Blaicher / Vero Beach, FL / brad@indianriverpartners.com / 5-14-04: Started 5/4/04. Fastening the stringers to the jig tonight.
KINGFISHER / Roman Repic / Ptuj, Slovenia / romeno@volja.net / 12-6-04: I and my two cousins are building a KINGFISHER. In the near future we will install keel, chine logs and bottom battens.
KING PIN / Chris Willemssen / Minneapolis, MN / cwillems@isd.net / 8-12-99: Have purchased plywood, waiting for frame kit. 8-1-99: Frame kit arrived, all appears well. Am extending 20″. Building form and motor stringers completed. Transom and frames 1-5 are installed. Have scarfed 2 x 4’s for keel. Will use a GM 502/502 for the motor. Plan making hull/sides with 3/4″ plywood to accomodate high HP. 9-15-99: Have installed chine logs and sheer clamps; this was a bit more straightforward than I thought it might be. Starting fairing. 10-20-99: 1/2″ marine plywood installed on sides. This material was not too difficult to bend. During installation I realized that one cannot have too many C-clamps. Just beginning to fair plywood edges where the bottom will lap. 11-14-99: Bottom battens in place; 3 of 6 bottom plank sections in place. 2-19-00: All planking complete, outside fiberglassed. Used epoxy resin… easy to layup, slow to sand. Strut, rudder, and fin installed. The finishing began: 2 gelcoats followed by urethan prime coat. Final gelcoat was done 2-19-00, boat was turned 2-26-00. Had 16 friends over for the “boat flipping”–really only needed about 8, but the more the better. The sides, foredeck and cabin area are now framed out. Next step is to work on the cockpit area. Drivetrain progress: main strut, fin, and rudder have been preliminarily bolted in. Motor (502 BBChev), Menkens V-drive, and transmission (GM T-400) have been very preliminarily set in place, awaiting final positioning dependent upon exact strut angle and location. Currently the difficult part is planning the steering, gauge, and control console. 07/31/00: The drivetrain is completed, will start with a 13×16 3-blade Nibral prop. Topsides are finish painted, colors are white/white with maroon (wineberry!) accents. Upholstery is 1/2 installed. Steering system (Teleflex dual cable NFB) is installed. Miscellaneous rigging (cleats, hatches, bilge pumps, blowers) has been completed. Wiring has just begun, with about 1 week needed to complete the wiring. Definitely can see a launch date in the very near future. 9-5-00: Beginning of Aug was spent completing misc tasks: wiring, radio, gauges, etc. Then on Aug 18, the motor was turned over and started for the first time. After timing adjustments, the 502 Big Block Chev ran well and cool. Then on Aug 24, the boat made its maiden voyage to a local lake. I kept it “hovering” over the trailer for about 2 hours while I ran the engine and made some adjustments. No major leaks–only a couple of drips coming through a couple of the main strut and cav plate fasteners. The boat floated at a good level–not too high, but not low enough to worry about waves running over the stern sides. I then took the boat out for a short jaunt around the lake at idle or just above. Everything seemed good. The boat then made it back to “the shop” for more misc. tasks. I hope to get it back in the water around Sep 6 for more driving tests, possibly even some higher speed runs. 11-16-00: The Kingpin has now had about 10 hours in the water, and even 2 hours of skiing time. The boat runs well, and moves around very nicely. Time to plane is extremely short, likely helped a great deal due to large cav plates. The wake is extremely ski friendly, but not quite as minimal as a buddy’s Malibu (but my boat is 4′ longer than his!). The boat turns fairly well, with one small quirk I have yet to work out: At medium speeds and above, as you gradually increase the turn sharpness (rudder angle), there comes a point where the nose of the boat drops, and the boat kind of “falls out” of the turn. I’m pretty sure this is due to the rudder angle becoming too sharp and then not allowing the prop driven water to flow past the rudder correctly. I think this will be solved by adjusting the rudder tiller arm stops to an “earlier” position. I plan to do this and test it as soon as the ICE goes away here in Minnesota. Due to motor newness, I have not run an all-out top speed test. I have run the boat to about 55 mph, with the tach reading 3700 rpm. There is definitely some more engine to use once it gets broken in a bit more.
Due to my occupation as a control systems engineer, I decided to make and install an on-board monitoring computer, complete with a touch-screen operator interface. This allows all the things normally controlled by switches to be controlled via the touchscreen. In addition, by using photocells and thermocouples, things such as propshaft RPM, rudder angle, cav plate position, and current/min/max temps of v-drive, manifols, engine compartment. It has been enjoyable, and informational, to think of various things to monitor with the computer. Plans for winter progress are cockpit carpet, v-berth pads, and a towing cover. 4-10-03: As far as performance update, I’ll email you later today when I have a chance. Briefly, things have worked well. I am just doing some minor mods to driveline for tuning.
KLONDIKE / Curtis Gard / curtgard@aol.com / Colfax, IA / 9-28-03: Well it’s officially started. Finished the first frame, started on the next. Did frame #7 first because of no angles required on the outside bottom or sides. Still, there were angles to work with, in fact more angles than I had cut in the last year making cabinets and furniture. I weighed frame #7 and it tipped the scale at 145 lbs and there are 14 frames total.
KLONDIKE / Bill DiFilippo / New Jersey / billdifilippo@yahoo.com 10-2-05: I started building the Klondike in October, 2004. All frames, plus sheer, chine, side and bottom battens in place. I am now installing the bottom planking.
1-7-06: All Hydrotek plywood installed. Keel is laminated in place while upside down. One layer of Xynole poly. set in epoxy is on outside of hull. This can be seen in the pics. We turned it rightside up and now ready to start cockpit framing.
10-5-08: I have built 5 of your designs and enjoy doing the work. My problem was locating Plywood locally. I was paying alot of shipping charges. So I decided to stock BS1088 Hydrotek Marine Plywood. Please add to your list of suppliers. I am 70 % complete on the Klondike model. (see Customer Photos)
KONA KAI / Charles Newbold / SNIPE714@aol.com / 5-28-99: Getting ready to launch Kona Kai. Took about 2.5 years to build. Will be launched in Aransas Bay, Rockport, TX. Powered by Mercruiser LH 205 hp V6. 3-5-02: I would like to pass on this update on the kona kai that I built 3 years ago. I found the fly bridge to be cramped and made this modification. The boat is now docked in Rockport, TX
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