: I have been looking in the archives for a mention of steam bending the
: cowling for the cockpit. No luck.... Since most of my "new"
: ideas have already been tried on this board, I thought I might see it. I
: plan to hook a tea kettle to a pvc pipe with my 6 ft. or so 2 piece
: cowling in it. Then, I want to clamp these to my cockpit hole while they
: stiffen up in that shape.

: Questions: Is too much of the strength around the cockpit in the cowling to
: allow me one joint in this piece, or is the strength in the underdeck
: fiberglass?

: Is there a reason not to do this and make it like a big snowshoe?...I would
: do the lip in one piece and the other part in another.

: Thanks for any replies. - Scott

I hope I'm understanding this correctly, but I see no reason why it would make a difference how many joints you build it with. As long as the piece is joined to the deck securely and then strengthened with F.G. and resin, you should be O.K. Folks have used everything from a multitude of verticle strips, plywood rings to glass/resin built-up coamings and all seem to work. Juat a matter of getting it attached securely and of course, personal taste.

The only thing I can think of that would be a problem might be the thickness of your coaming material and it's ability to steam and bend into the shape you are using.

On my Walrus, I varied from the original in that I laminated several 1/8" x 3" sheets of bending plywood around a mold to build up my own shape and then attached it to the frame. I'm making an inner ( decorative ) rim as well, to hide the canvas edges and staples, and will add a wood strip around the outer edge to clean it up and both give it some extra strength and a good hand hold for picking it up.

You could also rip several thin strips and laminate instead of or in addition to steaming. Would make it easier to get the proper bend, and would be stronger to boot. Hope this helps!

Rehd