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![]() Backyard Renegade wrote: Brian Nystrom wrote in message ... Backyard Renegade wrote: "Lefty" wrote in message . net... I borrowed the book with this title (title of the thread) from my cousin. It was written by Robert Morris of the Brewery Creek Small Boat Shop. I wonder if any of you have built using this book, or would recommend another as an alternative or supplement? I had thought of building a stitch-and-glue kayak kit as my fist boatbuilding project, but now I'm leaning this way. The anotomical design rules (based on hip width, armspan, etc.) appeal to me (and will make a fast boat for my 6' skinny self ;-), and I'm not sure I want to do a lot of fiberglass work anyway. Comments? Fiberglass work such as stitch and tape is much easier and faster than woodwork and joinery. I beg to differ. SOF building is a series of very simple steps. Remeber, these boats were originally built using nothing but stone/bone/shell tools and whatever wood happened to wash up on shore. The process is VERY forgiving, because it had to be. I could build a S&T with only stone, bone and shell tools, a few intestines for mixing glue, and a few pieces of sinew (sp?) to hold things together, if I had to... And still with much fewer pieces to cut with the stone, bone and shell.. Uh...yeah...right. I'd pay to see that! ;-) Having never built a skin on frame, I can only say that there will probably less parts too in a S+T. Absolutely, but I'm not sure why that matters. None of the parts in an SOF is complex. They don't need to be held to anywhere near the level of dimensional exactitude required for S&G construction. But there is really no level of dimensional exactitude required for S&G. A 1/4" gap is perfectly acceptable when filled with thickened epoxy in many areas of construction. Acceptable to whom? Anyone can do a crappy job of building a kayak, regardless of the method employed (I have a commercially made wood boat that's seriously lacking in construction quality). The point is that SOF construction methods are very tolerant of variations without sacrificing the quality, appearance or performance of the final product. One could argue that SOFs are more "primative", regardless of how well they're built, but that's the nature of the beast. However, they give up nothing in terms of performance compared to S&G boats. It's also extremely easy to custom tailor an SOF to the paddler, since it's an integral part of the construction method. It doesn't require CAD or lofting skills to do so. But, I digress... Hmmm. It's starting to sound like I'm trying to claim superiority for SOF boats, which is NOT my intent. 'Nuff said. Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking S&G and plan to build at least a couple soon. There are definite advantages to hard shell boats, which is why I own a few, including one S&G. No problem at all, I am not a fanatic either. My dream boat is a 17 foot mass produced fiberglass kayak that I have been eyeing for a couple of years, and I am constantly sending potential customers down the street for other than wooden boats when I think a composite or other construction would be a better tool for their needs. I've got all the composite boats I need and really don't see myself buying more unless the manufacturers start producing lower volume boats. There are several wood boats that I WILL eventually build. Perhaps after my current SOF is finished, I'll... -- Regards Brian |
#13
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![]() "William R. Watt" wrote: skin on frame is labour intensive due to the many small parts. the boat will not be a durable as plywood but will be much lighter. www.gaboats.com is a skin-on-frame site. boat weights are listed. This is only true in regards to Platt Monfort's boats, which are very light and have very fragile skins. Traditional skin on frame boats (baidarkas and Greenland kayaks) are much more rugged and weigh about the same as an equivalent size S&G plywood/glass kayak. We're talking about two entirely different animals here. -- Regards Brian |
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