I recently acquired a Granta kayak kit (Angalmagsik? I knew I should not try to spell it from memory) for a rediculously low price from someone who had second thoughts about building & paddling it after buying it. Though I am adding epoxy and 6 oz FG to both inside and out, I was amazed to find that the directions which came with it suggested using resin and FG tape only on the seams between panals. This leaves 4mm okoume sealed with varnish for most of the rest of the boat. Is this configuration actually used? I would be afraid to paddle in adverse conditions with a boat so constructed. Am I just overly conservative? I see that the christmas ballast rock market is being innundated with ballast rocks of Asian origions at extremely low prices. I suppose that it was only a matter of time....... mark *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
The 4 mm okoume boats I design and build have fiberglass cloth on the lower outside surface of the hull. The rest of the seams are fiberglass taped. The "exposed" surfaces have two coats of epoxy and several more of varnish. These boats are not babied, and handle the San Francisco bay chop and nearby ocean without problems. They also weigh 40 pounds and lighter, which is nice when you are car topping. I have been interested in the strength question myself and have asked on this list and Nick Schade's kayak builders list if anyone has ever experienced a structural failure in an okoume boat. The answer, so far, is no. This doesn't include failed seal landings in 6 foot ocean swell or being t-boned by your buddy surfing a wave, or other accidents that would equally damage commercially available boats. Follow the designer's instructions and you probably can't go wrong. Keith Kaste (Megan loves her new Lightning paddle) "Mark H. Hunt" wrote: > I recently acquired a Granta kayak kit (Angalmagsik? I knew I > should not try to spell it from memory) for a rediculously low price from > someone who had second thoughts about building & paddling it after buying > it. Though I am adding epoxy and 6 oz FG to both inside and out, I was > amazed to find that the directions which came with it suggested using > resin and FG tape only on the seams between panals. This leaves 4mm > okoume sealed with varnish for most of the rest of the boat. Is this > configuration actually used? I would be afraid to paddle in adverse > conditions with a boat so constructed. Am I just overly conservative? *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Mark wrote; > I see that the christmas ballast rock market is being innundated >with ballast rocks of Asian origions at extremely low prices. I suppose >that it was only a matter of time....... You get what you pay for. Only Genuine Canadian Ballast Rocks (TM) provide the stability one needs in a kayak. Inferior clones will only submerge one in a false sense of security. Sad but true there will always be those who hope to make a buck off the uneducated public. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft http://home.ican.net/~735769/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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