> Hopefully this will link those interested parties to information on how to
> build more economical forms for the Walrus skin-on-frame kayak from George
> Putz's fine book "Wood and Canvas Kayak Building"

> Putz describes a method of building his forms that makes these things 35
> to 40 inches highso they can be set directly on the floor. Since many
> people on this board are familiar with the concept of using a strongback
> for building -- and may have one already -- I've translated his data to
> produce building forms that are 20 inches shorter. At the same time, I am
> providing them in a Cartesian co-ordinate form.

> These shorter forms can be cut from material that is 24 inches wide, which
> I chose as a maximum purely for personal convenience. The lumber store
> ripped my plywood panels to 2 x 8 feet so I could cart them home more
> easily, and I wanted to be able to use this narrower wood for my building
> forms.

> In Putz's book he describes how to make these forms by drawing arcs of
> various diameters. This requires a bit more skill than just plotting a
> point so many inches up, and so many to the left or right. Since this is
> new information, I'm not messing with his copyright, merely commenting on
> it. The calculations were rounded to the nearest 1/16th of an inch.

> You will still need Putz's book for information on form spacing and the
> location of the sheer chine, which defines the height of the side of the
> boat.

> There are two sheets with specifications for the two boats described in
> the book. The URL for the 17 foot Walrus is:

> http://www.geocities.com/eureka/business/7882/walrus17.htm The URL for
> the 18 1/2 foot walrus is:

> http://www.geocities.com/eureka/business/7882/walrus18.htm These should
> be easily readable on a full browser screen, and should print out neatly
> so you'll have a hard copy, should you want one.

> Hope this helps those who are building a Walrus.

> Paul G. Jacobson

Cool! I am building the walrus 17. And I wish I had your graphing points before. I have also shortened the forms by 15" and mounted them on a strong back. It was quite a gymnastic to have the coordinates of the shortened forms. I have almost finished the frame. Once I finish the boat, I will post some of the modifications I introduced and maybe a pic.

Ben