Re: [Paddlewise] bulkhead

Bhansen97_at_aol.com wrote:

> A couple of thoughts - First, a non-idea which seems crude, but which works
> pretty well to start making your cardboard template, if you're not comfortable
> with taking the curve of the boat by measuring: if you have access to a thick
> strip of lead, such as might have come from an old plumbing pipe, you can lay
> out that strip in the bottom of your boat and take a nice fair curve from it,
> then transfer that to your cardboard template. Julio says a wire will do, for
> this - I haven't tried that, but I'd think you'd need a pretty thick wire.

You could also get a flexible curve from an art or drafting supply shop.
This is made of thin strips of flexible steel imbedded in rubbery
plastic.  They come in a couple of lengths and would be a tad safer
than handling lead.

My neighbour is an architect and occasionally tosses out sheets of used
foamcore.  I grab it from his garbage pile when I can.  I used it instead
of cardboard when I retrofitted a bulkhead.  I find the foamcore easier to
work with.  I cut a piece slightly larger that half the width of the kayak
and cut a rough curve larger than the kayak by eye.  I then got into the
kayak and kept shaving off strips of foamcore with a very sharp knife
until I got a good match to the shape of the inside of the hull.  I then used
this half piece to make a full size one but cut it deliberately slightly larger.
I shaved this down just a little until I had the full bulkhead shape.  This way
I could eliminate the errors I made in cutting the half-width form.  I then
traced this onto the plywood and had my bulkhead.  This was perhaps
slow but it worked.



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