For people who are new to the Stitch&Glue style of kayak construction here are some comments and suggestions for stitching with copper wire.

Wire ties are used in airplanes for securing many parts. My Father, who has been involved with the aircraft industry for over 40 years, was watching me stitch together the panels on my kayak. I would like to pass on the suggestion that he made for securing the stitches.

To make a good, low stressed stitch the main trick is to pull on the wire (instead of just twisting) to draw the panels together. Here are the details...

- after threading the wire, make 2 or 3 loose twists by hand leaving about 3/8" gap between the twists and the panels.

- grip the twists with the pliers and pull back on the wire to draw the panels together. The direction of the pull will determine how the panels draw together.

- start twisting (keeping some tension) and take up the slack while forming a spiral in the wire (the panels should remain in position being held by the corner bends in the wire). You would typically be working several wires in an area to control the overall form of the kayak. If the tension in the panels is very high in a particular area add a few more tie points.

- to finish - as the wire runs out of room to form a spiral, push forward slightly as you twist to encourage the wire to roll over its self and close the gap. Don't over twist - it just introduces stress in the wire and tears the wood (because the angle is wrong).

Stitches formed in this way will hold snug but still have a bit of give in them so that you are less likely to tear out a stitch or break a wire. Also, when you press the stitches in to the joint they will form better. Since the wire is not stressed too severely it may be untwisted a bit for making adjustments to the hull. If a stitch needs to be tightened - pull before you twist.

Work over an area to distribute the force on the stitches and control the shape of the hull. Depending how well you cut the panels you may not be able to make the stitches tight with out distorting the panels. There are bound to be some gaps needed between the panels, just shim with a bit of wood before tightening the wires.

I like to use duct tape to hold the panels in their approximate position for stitching. Taping give me a chance to look things over before starting to wire. A bit of extra time spent making sure that the panels have "fair" lines and taking care that the holes are at an equal distance in from the edge of the panel makes for easier alignment and a better end product.

I have found that a small needle nose locking pliers (Vise-grips) to be great for locking on to the wire to do the initial twisting. I use regular pliers for the final adjustments.

I hope this is of help.