Crazer Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 I have started on building Vardo after flirting with the idea of SOF kayak for much longer than I should have! I built the strongback last night, using the clamshell method described in the manual. Despite the fact that the original evidently warped, I decided to use this method as it will be easier to manage in my limited space. If I find I really want to build more boats this way I can invest in a proper plywood strongback. The strongback I built is pulling apart at one end. I guess the screws didn't have enough bite to withstand the force of the sides being pulled apart. My strongback uses two 8 ft 1x6 pieces for a total length of 15 ft (no greater than two feet less than the boat's loa per the manual) and I believe that is a contributing factor. My thought is to disassemble that side, put in new screws and glue the end to solve the issue. Any thoughts? It's great that there is such an active forum here as a resource for builders of this style of boat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 I might be tempted to use nuts and bolts with fender washers. That should hold the ends together! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazer Posted February 21, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 I might be tempted to use nuts and bolts with fender washers. That should hold the ends together! I came to that conclusion too after a "duh!" moment while staring at the thing. I generally prefer bolts over most other fasteners, when they make sense. There's also a slight, very slight bit of twist that I need to work out. Overall it's much better than I had anticipated, I do like this design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Action Tiger Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 If you check my Firefly build thread, you can see a fine example of my own "duh" moment. Hey, we're both human! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted February 21, 2015 Report Share Posted February 21, 2015 don't worry about it warping, mine was 2 years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazer Posted February 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2015 Thanks, good to know! You'll get an order for sinew etc. from me very soon. If you check my Firefly build thread, you can see a fine example of my own "duh" moment. Hey, we're both human! The world would be very boring if we were all perfect. I got my marine ply home today so there should be more to see soon. Still too cold to work on the sailboat so I should make good progress for a while... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazer Posted February 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 I'm finding it impossible to correct the slight twist in the strongback. One board is slightly curved relative to the other and there's no way to wrestle them into alignment without throwing everything else off. So I think what I'll do is just level the brackets relative to one another and just scrap the strongback if I intend to build another boat. ::sigh:: I hate imperfection, even imperfection that can be overcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzu Posted February 27, 2015 Report Share Posted February 27, 2015 .....I think what I'll do is just level the brackets relative to one another and just scrap the strongback if I intend to build another boat. I will not go as far as recommend this method, I had to do that on the last boat I built on my old strongback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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