: PS - Is it piossible to build a foldable SOF, or do those pretty much need to
: be bought from a manufacturer?

I believe I mentioned the Clark Craft site (www.clarkcraft.com) earlier in this thread. They have TWO plans for foldable skin on frame boats.

Somewhere around my house I have a copy of the plans for the foldable single. I built a rigid version of this with the intention of using it as a form for shaping the skin, and also to see if I was too big for it! I planned on later fabricating the braces and hardware for the folding version, and never got that far.

Actually, after looking over the drawings, I was fairly confused for a while, but as I started to cut pieces for it, and saw where they went together, I could see the underlying ideas on how the frame was constructed, and I realized I could use the same techniques with a longer and wider boat (something that would be more my size).

Since then I have seen the inner workings of more "folding" boats and realize that there is no secret to how these are constructed. Just forget the word "folding". Substitute the word "collapsible", or maybe the words "take apart". The whole idea is to make the frame from small pieces which can be packed up, and make the skin so it can slide on the frame. Lots of good ideas going around on how to do that.

PGJ