DGW Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 Hi SOF kayakers. I live in Thirroul NSW Australia. I am not new to kayaking (I have three sea kayaks) but I am very new to SOF kayaks and have commenced building a Shad. I paddle using Greenland paddles and figured I need a boat to match. My question is about the stern and bow pieces that have very sharp ends. They look fantastic but should I be rounding them off a bit so that they are less likely to cut the 8oz polyester skin I am going to use? It looks to me like I should. Cheers, DGW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 I understand your concern, but if the plywood will cut the fabric then you are using the wrong fabric. You can blunt the ends if you wish but I never do and never damaged one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy00 Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 DGW: See photos of the bow and stern of my Ravenswood. I'd say that I rounded off the ends to 3/16" or 1/4" radius with a rasp and sanding block. There are no signs of wear on the polyester skin at these points after 4 years of paddling. Fair winds, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGW Posted October 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 Jeff and Andy, many thanks to you both. I will be using the fabric that Jeff sent me and am now confident that if I just take the edge off (but without rounding) then that will be sufficient. Andy, do I see a hint of a rubbing strip on the bow of your Ravenswood? I know Jeff is of the opinion that protection at the bow and stern is not needed but I feel that I might feel more comfortable if I have something there until I am as familiar with a SOF as Jeff is. I read (I think) that Jeff once used strips off a cutting board and so I am thinking I will do the same. What a fantastic forum. Stay safe, Denis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapecodJohn Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 I built three of these Kudzu SOFs and used a 1/4inch round over router bit on just about every edge. The edges that did not get the router treatment got the edge sanded off. John C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy00 Posted October 6, 2017 Report Share Posted October 6, 2017 Denis: For a discussion on rub strips, including pics of the strips on my boat, see the thread entitled "bronze rub strips," which had the last post on 6/20. Happy paddling, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted October 7, 2017 Report Share Posted October 7, 2017 14 hours ago, DGW said: I know Jeff is of the opinion that protection at the bow and stern is not needed.... Actually I highly recommend adding at least a bow rub strip. I put bronze on my personal boats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DGW Posted October 8, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2017 This message is mostly for Jeff who has provided me, just a couple of weeks back, with the Shad plans, and the other things I need to attempt my first SOF kayak build. Things are proceeding slowly but steadily and today I started fixing the four frames to the four brackets that I have set up on my clamshell strongback. I like to think well ahead and played around with the bow and stern pieces to understand how they relate to their frames and brackets. I discovered that the bow piece did not sit properly on the keel stringer and for some hours I wondered if I was misunderstanding what had to be done. In the end, I did a Google search that fortunately led me to a discussions back in April 2013 about the very problem I was having. In the 2013 discussion, Jeff pointed out that the brackets in his Shad plans were wrong and he suggested a simple fix. The plans you sent me Jeff have not been corrected and are still showing the error with the brackets. The critical part of the discussion is copied below. Cheers, Denis Quote OK, a thousand apologies for doubting you! Several Shads have been built so I was sure the plans were right. You were the first one to mention this! Your statement that the keel had to bend down really kept bugging me. I went back and studied your photos and reread what you had written and it clicked with me. Quote I put a straight-edge on it between the 11'7" and 15'7" brackets. Note, per the full-size plans, both of these brackets are the identical height and interchangeable. Those two are not the same height, 6' 0" and 11' 7" are the same height. OK, here is the fix and it shouldn't be too hard. You need to remove the bracket at 11' 7" and cut the slot so that it is the same depth as the bracket at 6' 0". That should be 4.28" or just say 4 1/4" from the bottom. Slip it back an place and the keel should look a lot better. There may still be some gap but it should be much smaller. Again, my apologies! Not trying to make excuses but almost always the problem is the builder and not with the plans. When a boat has been built a few times without any one mentioning a problem I assume they are right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 Not sure how that happened, might have changed it and then forgot to save it? Anyway it is fixed and thank for letting me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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