RE: [Paddlewise] Confessions of a boat abuser

To avoid what "eginears" call a "stress riser" (abrupt transition from a
stiff, inflexible area to a flexible area), one can use progressively wider
strips of cloth tape on top of each other. This will gradually transition
the flexible area to the rigid -- just don't overload the area with too much
resin. This used to be standard practice for patching prehistoric white
water boats.

Eric



-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Daly [mailto:mikedaly_at_interlog.com]
Sent: Monday, March 08, 1999 1:58 PM
Cc: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Confessions of a boat abuser


inetex wrote:

> 1) I can repair the inside seem with cloth tape and epoxy, but does anyone
> know a good way to stiffen or strengthen the joint so it is better than
> before?
>
> 2) Should I run an outside seam? It "seems" to me that these British boats
> are heavy and well built, but suffer from the fact that one little thin
> seam on the inside holds the whole thing together, and once an incipient
> crack starts, the whole thing un zippers (this happened to a notorious
> Nordkapp surfer on the Oregon coast a few years ago).
>

My only caution on rebuilding so that it's stronger or stiffer
than before is that you run the risk of creating a seam that is
too stiff.  That would cause the stress and flex to occur at a
point above or below the seam and weaken that point.
This could cause the next failure to be more trouble to
repair.  I'd be inclined to make the repair the same strength
and stiffness as before and not mess with it beyond that.


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