Hi, Does anyone have any tips on getting the frame centered inside the hull of a Feathercraft K1 during assembly? I end up spending a good deal of time fidgeting with trying to get the keel bar and deck bar centered on the fabric, only to have it nowhere close when I do the final spreading of the bars in the cockpit. This results in having to loosen the bars again and fidget for another 10-15+ minutes trying to get it centered again. The entire boat goes together effortlessly except for this one issue, which I'm spending a good 20+ minutes on in construction time. Any tips/tricks from the expert folder community is most appreciated! TIA, Woody *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Woodard" <woodardr_at_tidalwave.net>> > Does anyone have any tips on getting the frame centered inside the hull of a > Feathercraft K1 during assembly? I end up spending a good deal of time > fidgeting with trying to get the keel bar and deck bar centered on the > fabric, only to have it nowhere close when I do the final spreading of the > bars in the cockpit. This results in having to loosen the bars again and > fidget for another 10-15+ minutes trying to get it centered again. > > The entire boat goes together effortlessly except for this one issue, which > I'm spending a good 20+ minutes on in construction time. Any tips/tricks > from the expert folder community is most appreciated! I believe what you are saying is that the frame halves go in okay, i.e. well-centered when just the halves are finally in. But that in the process of extending the keel and side bars, the frame twists inside the hull to an off center position. If this is not the case, skip the next few paragraphs and go to one that starts with the words COME HERE. A couple of thoughts, one quite unorthodox: 1. I believe there are velcro ties to tie down the frame at the keel; they are located out of sight about 18 inches or so underdeck; this is in addition to a velcro tie dead center in the cockpit. I can't remember if that is true of the K-1 but it is of the Kahuna and K-Light. Have you closed those velcro loops to hold the frame halves in position? 2. Have you tried to do the extension in the pattern suggested by Feathercraft ( I think it is first extend the keel then the gunwales, then the chines) i.e. don't do all the extensions on the port or starboard sides all at once. If you have done the sequence as suggested by Feathercraft, try doing the sequence in another order say extend keel, then chines, then gunwales. Often when people are having trouble with a specific boat, if they switch the assembly sequence it can help. Now to my unorthodox suggestion: when the frame halves are in the boat, partly inflate the sponsons. The idea is to tighten the skin enough to keep the frame halves from twisting when you do the extensions. Inflating the sponsons may hinder extension some, so do it in some increments starting say from half inflated sponsons to less inflated sponsons. This may help. I have never tried this suggestion but I have not had that twisting problem. COME HERE. If you are having problems getting the frame halves to go in straight as you shove each one in, you may want to try the motion in which one uses a handsaw, i.e. go in and out a few inches at a time. Some models of folding kayaks absolutely demand that you put the frame halves in this way, most specifically the Nautiraids as they have external sponsons and the fit of frame to skin is tighter than on an internal sponsoned folding kayak. Also if this is the case (that frame halves are not going in straight) you may want to do it from the other side of the boat, i.e. switch your position from starboard to port or vice versa. People definitely have different strength in their right and left arm as well as different finesse and touch with each arm. Normally it shouldn't matter but in some case it can especially with stronger individuals. Try with your weaker arm. Oh, one last thought: when you shove the frame halves in are they really all the way in, i.e. can you feel that the frame is fully inserted into both ends. You may want to assure yourself of this not only by feeling the skin at the bow and stern but also by getting into the cockpit and pushing the frame halves further in with your feet. This was once a necessity with the older hulls with cordura decks that shrunk (worked also on the Feathercraft Klondike double). The fuller the frame halves are in, the less tendency for the frame to twist as you do the extending. best, 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 - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
> Ralph, as always, struck again. The sponson thing is something > I'll have to try, although the shifting problem has settled down > over time. This is good to know, and it is a new boat. So far, if I get the keel lined up, it seems the deck bar isn't. And if I get the deck bar lined up... A whole lot of time spent getting this right, as I know until the skin gets it's final shape getting it lined up is very important. I may play with the tension order of the extension bars as Ralph suggested. I've been doing it according to the video, but a slight variation might help. > the end of the first season. It was a wicked problem the first several > times I assembled it, though. So far it is a wicked problem. But I've only assembled it 3 times so far. I'll keep plugging at it. Thanks for the help! Woody *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 2/25/01 4:08:18 PM Pacific Standard Time, woodardr_at_tidalwave.net writes: >Does anyone have any tips on getting the frame centered inside the hull of a Feathercraft K1 during assembly? Woody, Ralph and David both had some very good suggestions. Since it is a new boat, I'm not at all surprised you're having trouble. The new welded skins are very slippery, so I have had the same problem with all models with urethane skins -- much more than the older fabrics. But only when the boat is new. The good news is that they are much easier to assemble than the older boats once the skin gets some shape to it. I find that carefully twisting the frame sections into alignment and then sitting in the skin while pushing with the feet helps a lot. Balanced foot work is the secret. You must do both ends and then recheck alignment before and in-between each bar expansion for the first few assemblies. The real helper is to leave the boat assembled with the sponsons fully inflated for a week or so after making certain the boat is aligned properly. The ends of the skin will take a set and become more self-aligning after a while. It probably helps to leave the boat in a warm place during this time. Another thing -- when inflating the sponsons, start with one big breath in one side, two in the other, three in the first, then back and forth, trying not to get one side ahead of the other. Check alignment during this process and, if the skin is off center, blow one side up more than the other to use the pressure of the sponson to pull the skin back on-center. Good luck and congrats on the new K1. Harold Khats pilot *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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