Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 07:00:47 -0800 (PST)
From: George Dyson <gdyson@janice.cc.wwu.edu>
To: List Baidarka <baidarka@imagelan.com>
Subject: Re: removable baidarka skins (was rib bending)
In-Reply-To: <9503012050.AA14152@imagelan.com>
Message-Id: <Pine.ULT.3.91.950301180204.13790A-100000@janice.cc.wwu.edu>
I am not doing justice to the full extent of this thread--and its
remarkable ascii graphics (I propose a certain prize to the best ascii
baidarka be awarded by this group, say within a year...) but am offering
a couple related and unrelated comments:
The drawstring closure seen at the stern of skin baidarkas was its
_uyuqlii_ or draining hole (in WS Laughlin's trsanslation its "pisser")
which is very useful...
As to replacing skins (eventually) or removing for repair (notfor a
folding kayak) it makes sense to cut along the gunwale and renew the
hull, leaving the deck untouched (it will stil be in good shape, and when
you skin a boat much of the work is on the deck--tedious sewing around
the hatchway, deck fittings, etc) You can reskin the hull with a narrower
width of fabric, lacing it to holes punched (melted) along the gunwales,
paint the hull, glue a webbing or tape over the new seam, and paint over.
New hull for much less trouble or cost than doing the whole thing. This
is something to keep in mind. And at this timeyou can make any repairs to
the frame.
As to the folding problem, it is very difficult, especially using the
non-heatset nylons with their tendency to shrink, to make a skin-frame
combination thatwill fit smoothly. The klepper solution of inflatable
sponson tubes to tension teh skin is a brilliant answer. In the nylon
case, you would probably need to wet the skin to loosen it up before
putting the boat together, and or use other tricks (and the lighter
weight skins).
And speaking of sectional baidarkas, Eric Jolley and Randall Jones of
Seattle built two stretched 5m al-framed baidarkas a couple yeqrs ago,
sawed them (the skeletons) in thirds, nesting the bow in the sternm th
stern in the midsection, and flew with them as checked baggage to
Santiago, Chile. They sewed the skins on upon arrival (somewhat
prefabricated) (while learning some spanish from their innkeeper) and
then paddled all the way to Puntas Arenas. Sold the boats to a fisherman
there and flew home.
One of their comments was that the villagers had never seen kayaks, and
assumed they were on a military operation, since they couldn't imagin any
one doing anything like this for fun....
George B. Dyson Fairhaven College / MS 9118
gdyson@henson.cc.wwu.edu Western Washington University
(360) 734-9226 Bellingham, WA 98225-9118