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Kudzu

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Everything posted by Kudzu

  1. I wonder if it is the thinner? I have not thinned the ones I painted?
  2. If you are talking commercial products, Yakima or Thule, hands down. I prefer Yakima because there is a large used market on Ebay and you can put together a rack much cheaper. I have tried cheaper racks and that is just what they are. My absolute favorite is my trailer. Easier to load and unload.
  3. It is the link you are using. It is a search results and bring up ever page that mentions hatches. Even the older page without photos (now deleted). Here is the page. http://www.kudzucraft.com/web/adding-hatches
  4. I used to carry a bilge pump but rarely do now. They take forever to empty a boat. I learned to empty most of the water from the boat while swimming. Enough for me to be able to re-enter. If I have someone with me we can get 95% out and just don't worry about the rest. If we take a break I can get out of the boat and dump it out. But, generally I just don't worry about it and empty it when we get back. That is why I said turn it upside down.
  5. Before I designed boats I built a skinny, little boat that was WAY less stable then my skills at the time. I rarely paddled it and because it was a struggle to keep up right. I was sitting on an old typewriter pad (are you old enough to remember those?) about an 1/2" thick. I borrowed something similar from a fellow paddler because I forgot mine. He left early and I pulled up to a leaning tree, braced myself and pulled out his cushion and tossed it to him. Sat there in the boat a couple of minutes talking and suddenly realized that I wasn't struggling to stay upright. Without the pad I was much more stable/comfortable. I could paddle the boat without having to watch every move I made. It was still an unstable boat but the difference was night and day. But that thin pad raised the Center of Gravity enough to make that boat unstable. The difference was unbelievable. If you are sitting on a thick pad, get rid of it and get something thinner. A 1/2" in height makes a huge difference. If you start paddling a lot, I HIGHLY recommend a Redfish precarved seat base. They are not cheap but they are the most comfortable seat I have ever used. https://www.redfishkayak.com/minicell-foam
  6. Not sure what the image is but it is not a real boat. Probably an image of one of the developmental models of the Messabout Series. The Mess About 15 has the extra stringer but it is flush, not a chine.
  7. All my designed are chinned. Very hard not to in a SOF boat. I don't remember any specifics on the Book offsets but there isn't a multi chinned Messabout.
  8. Check out my web site, I have at least two videos on there show skinning. Building Shad part 6(?) is my latest and shows my methods best.
  9. My intention was let that beams just extend enough to clear the skin past the laminated beam. What I do is clamp the lower coaming ring in place then stretch a piece of fabric (old t-shirts work great) to determine where the beams fall. I trim them so that they don't leave any ugly humps under the skin. HBREWS solution seems to work out rather well. Was not what I had in mind but it if looks good that is all that matters.
  10. NICE! That is the first Fly Fisher I have seen. Going to have to share these photos. Maybe it will motivate some other builders.
  11. PHOTOS, MAN! We need photos!! Seriously, send me photos. I haven't gotten any of that boat and really want to see it.
  12. I think it time to make a new Gunwale. Yes it is extra work but if you don't you will always regret it.
  13. WRC doesn't make a strong coaming from what I have seen. I prefer a hardwood on my boats. But I would use what ever the designer calls for.
  14. It's fixed. I found the photos and uploaded them.
  15. Thanks for the heads up. I will look into that and see what is going on.
  16. It will take some digging but usually problems like this are a piece wood that was forced to bend into an odd shape and then when released it starts to return to it's original position. The gunwale is the largest and would be where I would start. It has more influence on the shape of the boat then you might think. I suspect one side is trying to return to it original shape. I remember one that did something similar to me. I know it was the gunwale but I don't remember what I had to do it fix it. Maybe it had a bad twist in one end and I cut it off and scarfed in a new straight section?
  17. First off you shouldn't use a heat gun, that is just asking for trouble. You should shrink it with a clothes iron.
  18. One thing to keep in mind is that it has to flex as the skin flexes. I wonder if the adding a harder would make it brittle and tend to crack? Rustoleum you find in the big box stores works perfect. I have painted a lot of boats with it. I have used tractor paint on some machines and it is durable. Just never tried it on fabric.
  19. I have 2 in stock, I will have to check the store inventory level. Keeping the inventory correct for some reason is a major hassle!
  20. Yes it would fit. But no it is not the same. I designed a better looking shape and used it on all the plans.
  21. Thanks, I am doing well. I didn't bother to mention it but had to have a second surgery last week. There was a leak in the spinal cord that just would not heal. So they wheeled me in Surgery and literally glued and sewed a patch over the hole. Doctor said I was one unlucky fellow. He wasn't taking me to Vegas! The hole was at the base of the original incision and was the size of a pin head! For what ever reason it opened up and just would not heal. The old incision look great. My wife said the surgery was over in only 26 minutes. All the issues this leak were causing are gone. I am feeling very good for a change. Walking close to 2 miles a day. Back to the sever limit on how much I lift but that will only last a few more weeks. SO READY to get back to working regular!!
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