Re: [Paddlewise] FEATHERCRAFT EXTENSION BARS

> Oddly enough, but I can't extend the cockpit keelsen  bar even to the 2nd
> hole.  Stern frame half is on the 3rd hole (i.e. the longest set of frame
> half) , though.  Manual for Big Kahuna recommends 3rd hole for a rame
half,
> and so I did.
> Alex.
>
> Are you extending the keel bar first , then going to the chine bar and
then
> to the gunnel bar.  When I speak of the holes I call the first hole (the
> hole you reach first when extending)          second hole(the hole you
reach
> second when extending)
>   the third hole ( the furthest you can extend the bars)
>
> Could be in your particular boat you only need to go to the first hole.

Yes, I'm extending the keel bar first, then going to chine bar and then to
gunnel bar.  Same as you, I'm calling the first hole the one that I reach
first when extending.  I don't have problems extending chine and gunel
bars - they are tensioned much less than keelsen.  There are 2 sets of
adjustment holes in Kahuna - one set on stern half-frame and one on middle
extention bars (i.e. in a cockpit area) .  Stern half-frame is extended
permanently to the 3rd hole according to the manual.  Manual warns, though,
that due to skin variations I might want to shorten stern half by going to
the 2nd hole.  You may be right,  it could be that my boat needs only 1st
hole in keelsen and gunnel/chine bars - but still 3rd hole in a stern half.

Now, this is complicated but I'll try to explain. If I shorten stern half
going to the 2nd hole, and then, to compensate this, will extend keelsen and
other cockpit-area bars to the 2nd hole (like I said, so far I could extend
keelsen to the 1st hole only), the keelsen will *aready* become loosened.
The reason is - cockpit-area adjustment holes are 1/4" closer to each other,
than adjustment holes on the stern half-frame, therefore compensation will
not be absolute.  Like I said, I have no problems extending chine/gunnel
bars (only keelsen is tight), and wouldn't like to loosen them even more.
Often I can *dissemble* either chine or gunnel bars (but not a keelsen)
without a lever  - so you can see that chines/gunnels are loose enough. It
could be that my skin, even with keelsen so tight, doesn't need the above
slackening by 1/4".  I might try that slackening, and then I would *both*
assemble and dissemble chines and gunnels without a lever - but I suspect
this would slacken the frame too much.

Interesting that when I rinsed skin and frame with fresh water (I don't
always do that),  bars became easier to extend.  Either it was salt
contracting the skin, or dirt preventing fame halves from being shoved all
the way into skin ends, or salt deposits on extention tubes making extention
efforts more difficult - I have no idea.  Keelsen still doesn't go farther
than to the 1st hole, but previously mentioned "bend" or "lateral rocker" of
tensioned keelsen, has disappeared. So the boat is now back to what it was
at the day of purchase, and assembling of new post-2002 hulls is really
consistent.
Alex.

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