Filling in Some Gaps

Trimming the ends of the strips where the meet tightly at the keel line is a little, shall I say, challenging. I ended up with small gaps in several places. One way to fix gaps like this is to mix some sawdust with epoxy and use it as a paste. The sawdust/epoxy mixture ends up darker than the original wood, though. So for the larger gaps, I decided to fill them with wood shavings that I made by planing along the edge of a scrap strip. The process is:

1. Create the shavings by planing the edge of a scrap strip with a color similar to those bordering the gap. Trimming it so it is wedge-shaped in cross section may help to fit it in the gap.
2. For a wider gap several shavings can be piled together.
3. Put a little glue on the sides of the shavings.
4. Wedge the shavings into the gap. Note they will likely stand above the surface of the kayak. This is not a problem.
5. After the glue has dried, sand or plane the shavings down so they are even with the surface of the boat.

These photos illustrate the process.

The gap between the ends of the strips where they meet at the centerline.

The shavings used to fill the gap

The gap is filled.