: I'm thinking of using Platt Monfort's geodesic building method for a sea
: kayak. Anyone in the world tried this? If not, anybody have a good skin
: and frame design that I can adapt? My goal is to develop a design that
: you've got to throw rocks in to keep it from going airborne.
: Geo. C.

George,
Well, I was going to keep this one under wraps for a while, but since you brought it up ... I'm currently attempting a kayak using Monfort's geodesic techniques. I'm basically using Platt's methods around the Redfish Return plans I bought a while back and have yet to impliment in wood :-) I thought I would try and make this a quick winter project before starting the real stripper version in the spring. Currently, I'm only at the forms stage, but hope to layout the keelson and stringers in the next couple of days.

In construction, it doesn't seem too different than the traditional native methods. The main differences I can see are the epoxied joints and the kevlar roving. Monfort does some interesting things that might be applicable to other building methods. For example, he is very big on cardboard for forms and even a strongback (external ;-) I was sceptical about this at first, but found that two pieces of double thickness cardboard glued together is a 1/2" thick and quite tough. Made good forms and was cheap (appliance boxes at the local recycling center = free). If you haven't already, you might want to consider checking out his video for more info.

Other methods are possible too. As you can see above, Mike is the undisputed champion of light weight Putz boats! Me, well I managed to cover the heavy weight end of Putz's pretty well:-) Hopefully, this boat will be my redemtion ...

Bill Price