Whitedog70810

As you all are abundantly aware, one of the perks of SOF is how crazy light the hulls are. The Folbots and Kleppers that I like are all 60-70# and don't exactly fit in to one big checkable bag. As mentioned, the Folbots take three large bags. That effectively negates the attraction of a folding kayak for me. Oh yeah, I also can't afford them new and am not enthusiastic about buying a 40-50 y/o one that I could afford sight unseen on EBay. I think I'll be better served to build two Crawfish tandem hulls. The first, i.e. the introductory hull, can go to Texas and stay there while the second, and hopefully better, one can stay with me. I'll just make sure my friend knows that she and her husband can feel free to use it in repayment for storage privileges. I hope to line up a job in Texas next, so if all works as it is supposed to, I won't have to ship it twice:) Nate

Fair `nuff. Thanks. Nate

The title pretty much sums it up. I travel to Corpus Christi from DC about twice a year. The Texas coast is very conducive to kayak fishing. I'd love build a SOF folding hull much like the Castaway for travel purposes. Plans for folding yaks generally use inflatable sponsoons, aluminum tubing and PVC skins. I prefer to work with wood just to be difficult. Additionally, most folders seem to be Greenland style hulls that don't fit my needs. I have some ideas about how to tension the skin and stabilize the frames that would work with a Kudzu style hull, but I can't seem to think of an elegant way to stiffen the longitudinal members if I make them so they can be broken down. I could just build a Crawfish, ship it there and leave it at a friend's, but I find boats fall into disrepair if not regularly used. Besides, I want to use it other places also. If you have any thoughts, I'd be very interested in hearing them. Nate