: This is on a 15'
: 9" Cormorant and was made with veneer that was 7 feet long and about
: 7" wide. The cockpit recess is veneered with quilted maple.

Grant

That's unfortunate that you can only get max 12 in and mostly less wide. Can you ever get more than 4 pcs, like say 6 or 8 if the grain if really vertical. How is it made - I presume sawn - and therefore the 8/4 resawn possibilities mentioned by george might start making some real sense as your accuracy would be almost as good and yet may get more flexibility. I bet you'r in the market for an achievably purchased resaw!!

The crux of what I was getting at was the belief that the veneers you used were tangentially cut like those for plywood. Assuming a 10 -12 in peeler log, the circumference or width of the veneer before repetition is half a yak and when repeated would give all the bookmatching top, bottom, some side, and across bow and acroos stern. Still blindly believing this, maybe the idea in the very first post about looking for 4 repeated pcs of ply is an actual way. Or talking to plywood factories who might make the run. I would surely assume that exotic plywood logs start at larger diameter than 10 in., so if 1/16in. for a rotation there should be lots of match out there somewhere.

But maybe the converse is true and 4 repeated rotational veneer is real cheap. Nice to dream, but it'd make the long continuous ply for the rest of the yak more possible that the real expensive veneer you have for the decks. And therefore the rest of us.

I think (but not sure) that the ply that most of us get from stores(not specialty) and get in kits is rotational. So somewhere, somehow one may be abel to get at it before it's made.

So if you can get it, as you already make ply in complex moulds, you definately can make it in flat sections for other ordinary stitch yaks like pygmys and clcs.

To me, the iconic quick image of a kayak is the profile view. It's the view that really sets the long swooping lines and curves. If it's broken up and ESPecially by 90 deg(unless matched) joints, it's jarring and contradictory to this continuous line or unity. The basic possibility of making this joint in the shear at least disappear and the grain and colour flow is what intrigues me.
Feels to me like the bass line in music. Like the sheer is almost the foundation. Interrupting either brings up issues.

so some asides

Beatiful deck you've shown, and because you only have 7 foot length I really appreciate the angled cuts you used near the cockpit instead of 90s. I think this is what all stitch yaks should do at all cross joints. I can't believe that the 90 deg joints aren't simply angled to more go w/ the yak flow of lines. Too bad the sap wood wasn't just a bit bigger.

Altho it would take guts to do, have you ever sliced(say a razor knife dont lose wood by sawing)a set of these panels(especially the dark ones) up into say strips 1in wide(or 3/4 or whatever curves) to say 2ft from the join line and then curved them to follow the sheer. Then inset in the middle in front and behind the cockpit. Like a stripper, but its all one pc still joined close near the paddler and his eyes and fading and curving off in front and behind?

And I want to compliment you again for making the cockpit recesses in your stitchers. It is another aspect that makes other stitchers clunky to me and is so so easy to remedy.

When you make your decks, I wonder why you put layers of glass in the ctr. I'm no engineer, but would it be better if you used more flexible layers(kill me here but dynel, nylon or poly?) in the ctr. and esp the layer just below the face veneer. Eliminate the second layer, and put one on the i/s and then one on the o/s when attaching. Or if you are using terrribley thin cloth for maximum deck beauty, glass below face, then flex, then thicker glass on i/s. Maybe someone else will comment.

When you place the veneer, you mentioned having difficulty keeping it all in line. What if you inverted the vaccuum and vaccuumed from below thereby sucking the pcs in place. I presume the first thing you do to the veneer is seal it incase it gets stained so there is some surface to it. Drill 20 say 1/16in holes thru the front deck and 20 thru the back deck and stick in kebab sticks. Attach blanket or bleeder ply below deck, then plastic, attach hose and pull vaccum. Take out the sticks for the front 1/4 pc and push down. With any luck might stay. Take out back 1/4 pointed sticks, lay out and over lay corresponding back 1/4, and only then double cut thru. etc etc. Then when all laid out use a t-fitting and apply the vaccuum from above like before so you don't pull epoxy down the littl holes.

might work

sure be fun screwing up whole deck mold w/ little holes just find out

-mick