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From: John Somers <somers_at_radonc17.ucsf.edu>
subject: [Paddlewise] deck reinforcing
Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 09:08:43 -0400
Greetings to Arthur Hebert, glad to see you on this list Arthur.
	And thanks for the details on rigging the Boulter sea anchor to your
kayak.  You mentioned reinforcing the underside of the deck, could you
describe how you did that? Materials and methods would be interesting to
me, not just for that use but for other spots on the deck like the area
behind the cockpit where I have a couple of fishing-rod holders.  The aft
deck on my boat seems to be thinner and weaker than the foredeck.
	Paddle on, buddy
		John Somers
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From: Arthur Hebert <seacajun_at_gs.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] deck reinforcing
Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 23:13:23 -0500
Hello John,
Glad to be on the list (good stuff, particularly Swede form and flow) and
happy to hear from you.  I really enjoyed the paddle with you and fellow
Texans a few months ago.  I am heading to Austin the weekend of July de 4th
for the rolling and Greenland endorsement.
On the deck reinforcing I claim no expertise just used a little laymen
logic.
~ After locating bolt position the area where  cloth was to be applied on
the underside of the deck was sanded with 150grit sand paper
~ If the area allowed the 6oz fiberglass cloth was a least 2" away from the
bolts in any direction.
~ Used the West System 205 epoxy hardener with the 105 epoxy resin.  Several
marine catalogs carry this product including West Marine.
~Makes it a little easier if you can turn de boat upside-down to have
gravity working with you while applying the cloth and epoxy
~ Be prepared to sand it smooth after the epoxy has cured, careful not to
sand into the cloth, more than one coat of epoxy can be applied
~ If possible use a over size washer on the end bolt that is exposed on the
underside of the deck, this will help spread the stress.
~If you are concern with your rod holder location and your deck aft of the
cockpit, you may want apply a layer of cloth covering as much area as you
can. I am thinking you can reinforce the entire area from the rear of your
cockpit to the rear bulkhead.  Or you could be a extreme weight conscious
person and not reinforce it,maybe you will get lucky and a big Red Fish will
rip your rod holder off your deck.  Just think how much lighter your vessel
will be then.
John please don't forget to give me a yell on your next trip to New Orleans.
We can paddle some swamp or salt and talk more on glassing
Arthur Hebert
-----Original Message-----
From: John Somers <somers_at_radonc17.ucsf.edu>
To: PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net <PaddleWise_at_lists.intelenet.net>;
seacajun_at_gs.net <seacajun_at_gs.net>
Date: Tuesday, May 25, 1999 11:39 AM
Subject: [Paddlewise] deck reinforcing


>Greetings to Arthur Hebert, glad to see you on this list Arthur.
> And thanks for the details on rigging the Boulter sea anchor to your
>kayak.  You mentioned reinforcing the underside of the deck, could you
>describe how you did that? Materials and methods would be interesting to
>me, not just for that use but for other spots on the deck like the area
>behind the cockpit where I have a couple of fishing-rod holders.  The aft
>deck on my boat seems to be thinner and weaker than the foredeck.
> Paddle on, buddy
> John Somers
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>

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From: R. Walker <rww_at_mailbox.neosoft.com>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] deck reinforcing
Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 01:28:45 -0500
From:           	"Arthur Hebert" <seacajun_at_gs.net>
> than one coat of epoxy can be applied ~ If possible use a over size washer
> on the end bolt that is exposed on the underside of the deck, this will
> help spread the stress. ~If you are concern with your rod holder location
> and your deck aft of the cockpit, you may want apply a layer of cloth
> covering as much area as you can. I am thinking you can reinforce the
> entire area from the rear of your cockpit to the rear bulkhead.  Or you
> could be a extreme weight conscious person and not reinforce it,maybe you
> will get lucky and a big Red Fish will rip your rod holder off your > 
deck. 

This is an interesting subject, considering that I was just thinking 
about this same thing this last weekend.   Now I have a plastic 
boat, so reinforcing isn't what I'm thinking of, and the bolts are 
secured underneath with some very large brass washers.  But how 
do you test this setup.  Obviously, a reel setup to give 50 lbs of 
pressure on its drag has a good chance of pulling the rod holder 
right out of the boat on a big hit; while one set to provide 5-10 lbs 
isn't near as likely to damage the kayak.  But thats all just seat of 
the pants guessing, and can't really do more than mount the 
rod'n'reel in the holder and see if I can pull line out without hurting 
the boat.  Somehow I'm not convinced that that is a good 
simulation of the stresses that might be experienced....

I also wonder about setting the thing up so that the weakest link is 
what holds the rod in the holder.  I'd hate to be 6 miles offshore and 
have a hole or rip torn in my boat, but I'd also hate to loose a $150 
rod'n'reel. Grrrrrrr.   Maybe reel + safety line to keep the reel 
attached by a shock cord to the boat; then I suppose there would 
only be the cost of having to spend that evening, stripping and 
cleaning the reel, and then convincing my wife to reassemble it.
Of course the pain experienced there is likely to be proportional to 
whether or not an interesting fish was brought home who can be 
blamed for soaking my reel...


Richard Walker
Houston, TX
http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html
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