Duane said: <<<< I really lucked out with the cockpit. It fits great and is very comfortable and snug. I love carving out the closed cell foam for seats, and hip and knee braces. You can't get any more custom than that. >>>> Duane, what size blocks did you cut the foam from? <<<< As for the "woody" look, I chose wood because building a fiberglass kayak would've involved making a plug, a mold, and then the kayak. Another advantage of wood is the stiffness, which I really needed for that flat bottom. >>>> Duane, et al, I'm slowly contributing to my final plans for an ultimate storm surf play boat. I like your compromise in length, Duane. Is it easy enough to turn with a good lean; and are there any immediate comments about changes you would make, if you were to build another? I plan on building mine out of cloth and epoxy, with a continuos wrap around a foam plug. I was thinking of routing out a "U" shaped groove with a continuos spiral pattern that goes from bow to stern, then criss-crosses back again (like a barber pole, only both ways). I would go shallow around the underbelly where ones legs slide in. Thus the "female" groove in the plug would translate into an inside "male" half-circle ridge that would stiffen up the whole kayak as it spirals its way along the inside of the hull and deck. I've heard of a plane that had its fuselage done this way in carbon fiber, though in their case they filled the groove with a proprietary carbon-fiber "rope" for greater stiffness and safety (no, it ran afowl of authorities and was never permitted in the air). Anyway, thanks for sharing the pics and a piece of your life with PW. DL *************************************************************************** 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 2/10/01 3:42:47 PM Pacific Standard Time, michaeldaly_at_home.com writes: << I dunno about that kayak, Duane. The cockpit looks entirely tooo comfortable and cushy! >> Mike, I really lucked out with the cockpit. It fits great and is very comfortable and snug. I love carving out the closed cell foam for seats, and hip and knee braces. You can't get any more custom than that. As for the "woody" look, I chose wood because building a fiberglass kayak would've involved making a plug, a mold, and then the kayak. Another advantage of wood is the stiffness, which I really needed for that flat bottom. Duane <A HREF="http://hometown.aol.com/pirateseakayaker/built.html">Wood Strip Surf Zone Kayak</A> *************************************************************************** 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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