Date: Sat, 16 Sep 1995 13:51:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: George Dyson <rowlf.cc.wwu.edu!gdyson@imagelan.com>
To: baidarka@imagelan.com
Subject: Re: Baidarka building...
In-Reply-To: <013.01394762.MRPK81A@prodigy.com>
Message-Id: <Pine.ULT.3.91.950916134004.26772A-100000@rowlf.cc.wwu.edu>
A board (spruce being a bit over rated in my opinion and certainly
overpriced) between stringer IV (gunwale) and III does not need to be
very long, say from station 3 to 7 or about 8 ft to drastically stiffen
the boat. A zigzagged truss of tubing will have the same effect.
Assuming (as in original Aleut constructon but not necessarily ours)
that gunnels define the flexibility, stiffness correlates to the "moment of
inertia" which varies as the cube of the the vertical depth of the
gunwale. (Making a 3/4in dia tube solid or even filling it with stainless
steel won't make much difference). If you go the plank route, it can of
course be generously perforated with large lightening holes, and won't
ewigh that much.
Going to an all-wood gunwale, however, has some appealing consequences,
such as being able to mortise for ribs (tricky angles though) and avoid
those tedious gussetts or knees.
Long long ago some obscure kayak publication had ana rticle on reskinning
an old klepper using nylon/hypalon. Filed away somewhere, who knows
where. The owner was pleased with the results.
George B. Dyson gdyson@henson.cc.wwu.edu
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