: Tom

:Could you compare the use of wood vs. aluminum? I am thinking about
: building a SOF version of my Sea Spirit design. Would it
: be possible to substitute wood for aluminum?

: Bobby

Bobby,

After looking through your site, I am impressed with the elegance of
your high performance designs.

For a cross-section built SOF, as opposed to a traditional "ribbed" SOF,
I have found wood stringers to be perfectly adequate. So yes, wood could
easily be substituted for aluminum. I've used aluminum more often, due in
part, to it's ease of construction. Meaning no shaping, sanding, or finishing.

The attached pic shows a Dyson designed wooden stringer SOF. The kayak was
designed for all aluminum construction, but as I had some redwood left over
from a woodstrip project, I used it for the stringers. In fact, I ran out
of redwood, so the keel and deckridge were made from aluminum. The connections
were simple screw and glue. The current owner has paddled this kayak for over
10 years, and the materials /methods used have proven to be quite durable.

I like the "flex" consistency of aluminum tubing. That feature allowed me to
construct the nearly 22ft "Combi" folder using only 2 stations ( 1 and 9) on
my strongback. For my folder construction, the round aluminum tubes are
essential as it is compatible with the snap-on connections of the plastic
cross-sections.

The site below illustrates the Epoxy/"Squidding line" lashing method used
for non-folders. (Click on each pic to move to the next).
It works equally well with wood. This lashing method created a surprisingly
stiff frame when combined with a tight nylon skin. Actually, I prefer the
additional flex of my folders.

Traditional SOF's are made of wood, but having never built using this method,
I must defer to the experts.

Hope this helps,

Tom