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Shearwater 17 · new build

Launched

Shearwater 17 in a one-car garage

by Example Logs · boatbuildlog.com

An example log following a first-time builder through a stitch-and-glue kayak over seven months of weekends. Shows how much detail is worth recording.

This is an example log, not a real project. It exists to show what a useful build log looks like — dated entries, tagged to a step, with hours recorded and mistakes written down. The technique in it is illustrative; don’t follow it as instruction, and check anything structural against your designer’s drawings. Its hours are excluded from the site’s median figures.
10
Entries
86
Hours
217
Days elapsed
10
Photos
Jan 2025
Started
All steps Planning & Research Shop & Tooling Hull Panels Stitch & Assembly Fillets & Taping Glassing & Epoxy Deck & Coamings Fairing & Sanding Paint & Finish Launch Day
Oldest first
Planning & Research 3 h

Ordered the kit

Went back and forth between this and a 16 for weeks. Settled on the 17 because I want to carry camping gear.

Worth writing down now: garage is 9 feet wide, boat is 17 feet long. Measured twice before ordering. The bench has to come out.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Shop & Tooling 5.5 h

Cleared the garage, built a strongback

Two sawhorses and a ladder frame from construction lumber, levelled with shims and a long spirit level.

The thing nobody mentions: you need to walk all the way round the boat. I lost a weekend to rearranging before I accepted that.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Hull Panels 7 h

Puzzle joints

Panels came pre-cut with puzzle joints. Dry-fitted everything first and labelled each piece with pencil on the inside face.

Mistake to avoid: I marked two panels on what became the outside. Sanding pencil out of okoume before varnish is not fun.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Stitch & Assembly 9 h

Wired the hull together

The moment it stops being a pile of plywood. Took most of a Saturday.

Wire tension is the whole job — too tight and the panels distort, too loose and the seams open. I went round three times adjusting before I was happy with the sheerline.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Fillets & Taping 8.5 h

Fillets and tape

Thickened epoxy fillets inside every seam, then glass tape over them.

Shop was 8°C and the epoxy took forever to kick. Ended up running a heater overnight. Temperature matters more than the instructions imply.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Glassing & Epoxy 11 h

Sheathed the hull

Cloth over the whole exterior, wetted out, then two fill coats over the following week.

Got blush on the first fill coat because I recoated too late. Had to wash and sand it back. Read the epoxy manufacturer's recoat window and set a timer.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Fairing & Sanding 16 h

Fairing — the long one

Sixteen hours across three weekends and it is still not perfect.

This is the step everyone under-photographs and under-estimates. Longboard, low-angle light, and accept that you will find another low spot every time you look.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Deck & Coamings 9.5 h

Deck on, hatches cut

Deck glued down and the hatches cut out. Suddenly looks like a kayak rather than a canoe.

Cut the hatch openings before glueing the deck if you can — reaching inside afterwards is awkward.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Paint & Finish 12 h

Varnish schedule

Six coats of varnish, sanding between. Deck bright, hull painted.

Dust is the enemy. Wet the floor before each coat and stop opening the garage door.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Launch Day 4 h

Launch day

Floats, tracks straight, and is faster than I can paddle it.

Total: about 96 hours over seven months. I had estimated 60. Nobody's first boat takes as long as the plans say, and that is fine.

Illustration — example log, not a photograph.
Illustration — example log, not a photograph.