Sorry I didn't jump in earlier with a response to this question but I was doing the unthinkable today...paddling!!! As others have told Allison, you can certainly leave a folding kayak assembled for quite a long period of time, which varies by the manufacturer and particular model. The most finicky models are the Feathercrafts because they have lots of male/female aluminum tube connections with very close tolerances. But even they can be left assembled for many months. Feathercraft is recommending in its latest literature (for the last 2 years or so) not leaving boats like the K-Light assembled for more than 3 months. But today I helped a fellow take apart his K-Light today that had been left assembled since October. No problem except he had forgotten how to do it and that is why I was called over while lulling around in an SOT awash with the cooling waters of the Hudson while watching the NYC skyline. I keep getting tips on keeping foldables assembled. The greatest and latest one is to place a plastic grocery bag over the bow and stern ends of the frame prior to inserting them into the skin. This makes the parts slide easier into the skin and keeps the frame from sticking in the skin. When helping this fellow today (who didn't know about the plastic bag trick) one frame half was stuck at the bow end of the skin. I managed to free it by twisting the nose of the boat's hull and deck. Sometimes adhesion develops between the frame end and the skin. The plastic bag works wonders. But if you don't have one in there, twisting and banging on the skin will relieve the tension. Someone else said that he left his K-Light assembled because it took too long to assemble and take down. It is really just a 15 minute job to make one and about 5 minutes to knock down. It is just a matter of practice and technique. Some foldable do however take in the half hour and longer range to assemble even for an expert. What's the fast boat to assemble and knock down? Probably the Klepper double. I have seen it done in 4 minutes!!! My wife and I can make it in 7 minutes. We did so for Pete Seeger's Clearwater Festival a few years ago to draw people into getting interested in the ACA and local paddling clubs. Someone videotaped us and we did it in such a non-chalant fashion that was unhurried. And we still got it done that quickly. I have about a zillion tips on assembly that would take so much bandwidth that it would drive people on Paddlewise nuts. But assembly really is easy on most foldables. Look at the instructions and video. Just make the frame a few times. Move around as you assemble to get the best leverage for each step. Take notes of actions that work, etc. Even while I find assembly not difficult, I do keep several boats assembled. Not because of assembly times but rather because I live in a walkup apartment and lugging the kayak bags up three flights of stairs is a real drag at the end of the day. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Jun 30 1999 - 19:41:09 PDT
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