Sailormon

Yep, agree to try one, will be ordering soon on I think the short shot, I may take the route someone here mentioned and cross lace with Kevlar seeing this subject did not originate with myself. I just cannot help solving problems that do not exist. It should be known, epoxy slow cure is made in a flexible form that is not brittle as that also was mentioned. I manufactured landing gear of this and in tests I was impressed. Nasty stuff however to use.

Can’t but agree. Due to the oblique angle and experience, this would allow flex, not prevent it entirely. Airplane wings do flex. I built one set of wings with pre stressed uni to stiffen them. I would not go that far of course. I had read on here that someone was looking for a way to reduce flex, thus my thoughts.

I suppose my solution is not going to be popular, but will not add much weight nor change the boat design. I am thinking of the short shot when I return to Michigan. I have noticed in photos and also others mentioning a flex in the frame of especially the longer craft and this more than anything concerns me. I also know many like to stick to tradition much like I did in building a lashed together 37’ catamaran in the 70’s. I considered, being a building, making the side stringers into a rafter which solves the issue. The easiest way is to get some 1” styrene, blue board and filling in between the side stringers. Simple gorilla glue or foam will glue this in. Yea, I know it will look like crap unless camouflaged someway, perhaps with stain? Glued only, 1” foam I feel would work considering the length of the joint. Better yet and I know many do not like working with epoxy and glass, but some six inch 6 oz glass wrapped every foot or so would triple the strength. As to outside finish, this would not show, it would just be a more solid side. I used this method on two airplane wings and they flew fine and the wings did not break. The concept is pretty much identical, two wing sections, one on each side to the kayak. I love the looks of the design and this does not change a thing other than add stiffness to the kayak. Also the lashing would still be used, just punch holes in the web and go for it. I plan this and if I do build will post here this spring.

Yes, the good and bad of texture. I built a canard airplane with laminar flow. I could land her at 45 mph normally, yet would stall at 55 in a rain. A series of crashes in small passenger planes using laminar and icing is the negative of this. The last I checked, I don’t paddle that fast so no worry.

I agree on getting low. I watched a new concepts, Zone here in florida for sale for two years. It was so unstable no one could use it unless you were into surfing I suppose. I bought it knowing the sit on top seat was raised a few inches from the bottom. After cutting out the seat and folding it down to the bottom and re-glassing, it is now a wonderful boat. Used it in the Gulf with waves from everywhere, what a difference.

First spell check won yesterday, the fabric is weathermax. I don’t think I would use it either. It really got lose over night, but looks good. I am leaning towards nylon and two part urethane. I have done a lot of building using resins and this is just another resin I am used to. You are right about texture and water. Some study was done on this and there is an advantage found in sea life due to the not smooth texture of a creatures body related to speed. In my planes, texture and anything else was a disadvantage.

I will follow with a few pics, and yes, I just signed up on this forum. Read a lot of great inputs here and am impressed. My first skin on frame was built in 1956 and followed with it’s destruction going down little Muskegon river into big M. My next was in 1961, a canoe, both without plans and old time canvas. I did do a few others, all pretty shaky, but fun. Also did two home built airplanes along the way with wood and poly skins shrunk on the frame, crashed one making kindling of Sitka spruce and foam LOL. For those smarter than me, Look up weatherman 80, 8 0z with a tight weave, uncoated, but will not shrink. I use it for boat covering on my catamaran here in fl. Just painted a sample with 3 coats of oil base furniture paint and it is quite smooth and sealed using already thinned paint wife used for porch furniture. The weave is very tight and fabric seems strong. I will test it tomorrow. Also some member suggested using micro-balloons mixed in paint to seal fabric. I just did a sample on large weave 10 glass and yes it works well for filling weave. I have a lot of experience building large boats and a few airplanes using composite glass, and epoxy and filling weave was paramount. As an aside, I plan to build a few kayaks this summer when I return to Michigan, wanting to finish a 42 mile event starting in Ellsworth and ending in elk rapids. Being 82 with five joint replacements makes this exciting, so I need something lighter than my hobie. Now exercising hard as suggested here so I can use a sit in as I do have limitations.