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Re: Other: inside seams
By:Paul G. Jacobson
Date: 7/2/2003, 9:50 pm
In Response To: Other: inside seams (marc)

: I'm building my great auk kayak it is time to tape the inside seams ,but come
: to find out that some of the seam of the hull are out to far ,that is easy
: to fix but some are in to far so the seam of the deck and the hull don't
: line up. so how do i get the seams of the hull that are in to far to come
: out to line up with the deck?

Put a stick inside and use wedges to force out the area which is causing you the problems. Tie a string to the stick near one end, and after the hull and deck are bonded together you can give the string a sharp tug to dislodge the stick, and the wedges will fall out, too.

If you are careful in how you cut the stick, you might not even need the wedges.
Measure the inside width of the existing hull or deck at the point of the problem, and add on to that the amount that you want to force it out. Then make the stick a bit shorter if you are using a wedge, or a bit longer than this if you are going to just force it into place.

The end of the stick is going to want to slide all over the place. You might be able to keep it in place by hot gluing a few scraps to the areas around where the stick is going to sit. Arrange these to form a loose "pocket" in which one end of the stick will fit. A sharp blow with a hammer should dislodge these later. Hopefully friction will keep the other end in place. If not, then try using small blocks of scrap wood and hot melt glue to keep the stick in place.

It is worth spending the time to try to get the hull and deck matched up as best as you can before you glass them together. Carefully look at each area where there is a mismatch and decide if you would be better off forcing out one piece, or pulling in its opposite piece, or doing both.

Best of luck

PGJ

Messages In This Thread

Other: inside seams
marc -- 6/28/2003, 8:46 pm
Re: Other: inside seams
Paul G. Jacobson -- 7/2/2003, 9:50 pm