Alpha Four is a cross between a decked, or two paddle canoe, and a touring kayak. She is designed for one person plus camping gear and is suitable for weekend cruising along ocean coasts, bays, rivers, and lakes. The large cockpit can also be fitted with a second seat for tandem day trips. Another interesting option is to arrange the seats to face each other, which turns the boat into a traditional "courting canoe". The seats are fully adjustable fore and aft to accommodate cargo, small children, or pets. The hull, coaming and seats are molded fiberglass. The deck is constructed from thin wood strips, fiberglassed, and varnished to a bright, furniture grade finish. The beauty of wood and the strength of fiberglass. A very striking, and practical combination.

                                                Puget Sound

WOOD STRIP DECK STANDS OUT

    Two (crowded) paddlers

While fairly stable by kayak standards, the boat is designed for high performance and should be used by experienced paddlers only. You will eventually tip this boat over. A wet or dry suit is advised in cold weather and a PFD is required.

Alpha Four weighs only 60 lb., and has fine, slightly concave, low drag, asymmetric waterlines. The ends are low in profile to reduce cross wind effects, and rounded generously for increased pitch buoyancy. The waterline length is only 7" less then the overall length for low drag and good tracking. The bow sections flare slightly to reduce spray. The stern sections are fuller then the forward sections, which improves performance under surfing conditions and makes self rescue over the stern practical. When floating on her lines, the boat displaces 320 pounds, and has plenty of reserve buoyancy and load carrying capacity. Lightly loaded, she is very maneuverable (1" rocker) and responsive. Two watertight bulkheads with screw out ports allow storage in the forward and after compartments. Larger items can be bagged and tied down in the cockpit. An extra seat, sailing rig, foot braces, spray skirt, cover, and a foot operated rudder are popular options.

The hull is a solid fiber glass molding containing two watertight bulkheads and a keel stiffener. The deck is constructed from wood strips, glassed on both sides, and bonded to the hull with a 1" overlap joint. A molded coaming is bonded, using high strength epoxy adhesive, to the top of the deck and then glassed from below. The hull to deck joint is reinforced between the bulkheads with heavy 6" wide bias ply tape/mat. The wood strips are finished with bright varnish and the hull and coaming are painted a variety of colors. About the only maintenance is a fresh coat of varnish every four or five years and color touchup as required.

HULL

The hull is molded using a one piece female fiber glass tool. The mold is prepared by applying three coats of release wax, buffing each coat after a one hour dry time. Cover the release hole in the center of the mold with a small piece of tape. The waxed mold is then sprayed with three light coats of PVA. Four quarts of gel coat (3 color, 1 black) are required for the hull, coaming, seat, and base.

The hull lay-up is divided into three sections by the bulkheads. The lay-up in each section overlaps the next by 4". Bow and stern sections also overlap along the center line. Each section receives one layer of 3/4 oz. mat and layer of 18 oz. woven roving. Each end will require two quarts of resin, and the center takes three. 8 yards of mat and roving are required. When complete, trim along the shear line and sand of any burrs, but do not release. The hull remains in the mold until the boat is complete, insuring proper alignment and minimal distortion.

DECK:

The deck is built up from wood strips, over a male tool. The edge of the tool (shear line) exactly fits the hull mold, and includes an allowance for a one inch lap joint. 1/4" thick strips are white glued to each other and held against the building forms with clamps and elastic cords. Staples are not used. The first two strips straddle the hull center line and have one edge beveled to fit the deck camber. No beveling is required on subsequent strips. Many attractive woods can be used in a variety of arrangements. One of the most attractive is clear heart redwood or western red cedar. Each strip runs out over the shear line and across the coaming cutout. Use a minimum amount of glue, especially around the shear line and ends.

When complete, smooth with a small wood plane, belt sander, and long board hand sander. It is important to get the strips perfectly fair with no dips or hollows. Always sand with the grain. Trim around the shear carefully using a draw knife. The bottom edge of the strips should line up with the shear line exactly, and blend into the top surface with a slight angle and radius (1/8"). Next layout the location of the coaming, mark the strips to allow for a 1/2" glue joint, and cut off any surplus. Sand the strips smooth, finishing with 120 grit paper. Fill any holes and sand again. Apply several coats of wax to the tool shear line and cover it with a strip of 1" masking tape. Fiber glass the deck with one continuous layer of 7 oz. cloth, being careful to get good wet out and coverage over the shear edge. 6 yards of cloth and a quart of resin are required. When cured, paint on a second and third layer of resin ( about 1/2 quart each). This should fill all the cloth weave. Apply one coat of finishing resin and sand smooth. Position the coaming, mark the glue line, and bond it to the deck using thickened West Resin.

Gently pry the deck loose from the tool and turn over. Clean off the inside strips, smooth the joint into the coaming, and add one layer of fiber glass, using the scraps from the top. The glass should completely cover both the shear joint and also run into the inside of the coaming. Put two additional layers of 6" wide cloth down the center for extra strength during a self rescue. Clean the tape out of the deck flange and fiberglass. Mount a 1/2" eyestrap to the bow and stern using #10 brass machine screws, and lock the threads with epoxy. The wood strips are cut from one 1 x 12, 12’ long. Two yards of cloth, scrap cloth from the top, and two quarts of resin are required.

COAMING, BULKHEADS, KEEL, SEAT, AND BASE

The coaming and seat components are formed in female tooling similar to the hull, and prepared the same. The coaming and seat base get two layers of mat and two layers of cloth. The seat lay-up is one layer of mat and one layer of 18 oz. woven roving. The seat / coaming / base takes 2 quarts of resin. The bulkheads are cut (using templates) from 1/4" plywood and glassed on both sides with 7 oz. scrap cloth. The keel is cut from an 8’ length of 1’ stock, 1 1/4" wide. The bottom surface is cambered 3/4". 5/16" holes are drilled in the keel every 6", starting 12" from the bulkheads. Chamfer the edges of the holes. Fabricating the keel and bulkheads them takes 3 hours. Allow 2 yards of mat, 3 yards of cloth, 1 yard of woven roving, and 2 quarts of resin.

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Trim and sand the edges of the hull to deck joint on both the hull and deck pieces. Wipe with acetone before bonding. Bond both bulkheads and the keel in place and fiberglass all sides (requires 1 quart of resin and 3 hours. When glassing the bulkheads, leave the last inch open below the shear line for the deck joint. Use 4" wide cloth along both sides of the keel.

Apply a strip of masking tape along the hull mold flange. Position the deck over the hull and heavily coat both joint surfaces with thickened West Resin. Align, clamp, and hold for 24 hours. Use bracing from the keel to the deck edge to hold the deck in proper position. Ideally the top of the deck should be just level with the top of hull. Use wooden wedges to gently break the hull away from the mold. Work around the mold, adding water where possible. Water can also be applied to the center of the mold. Eventually the boat should pop free and can be removed from the mold.

Turn the boat on its side and apply 6" bias ply glass / mat tape to the hull to deck joint over the length of the cockpit. Glass the bulkheads to the deck. File and sand the hull to deck joint. Fill any voids with thickened resin and sand to a smooth radius. Bond the seat and seat base together using thickened resin. Add plastic access ports to both bulkheads using sealant and pop rivets.

FINISH

Repair any gelcoat flaws and polish the hull.  Varnish (Exterior, gloss) the deck. Paint the insides of the cockpit.