: Hi all,

: Just started a Guillemont, layed out and cut out the forms, made a box beam
: as it seemed so much better than the 2x4, but I did not count on the floor
: of the garage being less than perfectly flat. So now I have this nice 16
: foot beam with a bend in it. The bend is at only one place, about 10 feet
: down.

: So... do I throw it out and start over with the other half of my plywood, or
: is there any way to straighten it out?

: Thanks in advance Brian Brown

Whether or not the box beam is bent, hooked, twisted, hawked, hogged, honked or tapered can be completely irrelevent to how straight the forms are. If you are careful or good or lucky or craftsmanly usually you will end up w/ a straightish strongback. But I think why take the chance when it can be done fairly simply (I actually think more simply- but prejudiced) another way.

The important thing is if it is stiff, but even if it ISN'T, using stringlines will cure the alignment problems simply, readily, speedily and constantly. And the spacers will go a fair way to improve the stiffness.

Any way heres one idea below:

http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Building/KBbbsArchive.cgi?read=14239