: Lately I've been trying to figure out how to both transport a kayak more
: easily but also paddle more often, and a 3-piece take-apart kayak sounds
: like an interesting solution to explore. Being able to fit an entire kayak
: inside my little hatch back has several benefits, mainly that I can carry
: it with me more often and will be able to "just throw it in the car
: and go", which should lead to paddling more often at more varied
: venues. Faster assembly time compared to a folder helps too. I don't have
: a roof rack, and the foam block method I've been using leaves a lot to be
: desired (nearly lost a kayak off the roof more than once - a flimsy roof
: panel allow tight tie-downs to go slack on the highway).

: The twist is that I'd like to try a 3-piece skin on frame kayak as opposed to
: a wood-core composite; I can't find any evidence of anyone attempting to
: build a skin on frame kayak as a 3-piece, so the engineering hurdles may
: be beyond my capabilities. It SEEMS straight forward enough, but the
: gunwale/chine/keelson connections to the solid bulkheads seem like
: definate weak areas. Reinforcing these areas with gussets or other methods
: might provide enough strength, but its hard to say just using armchair
: engineering.

: I've also looked at folders, but my boat building budget is very small and
: rules out buying lots of aluminum tubing (or large quanitities of epoxy
: and fiberglass for that matter). I've been unsuccessful in sourcing enough
: aluminum to build a folder, but have found/begged for/bought enough wood,
: fabric, coating, etc. over the past 6 months to make a "Yost"
: style wood frame. A wood-frame folder is a possibility as well, but one
: could build an engineering career on all the connectors needed to make
: this method work. I had all intentions of building a typical frame, but
: now a 3-piece take apart seems like a rewarding deviation from the
: intended course.

: Anyone else seen or tried to do something similar?

: Any potential problems that might need to be addressed?

: Getting others' opinions usually reveals potential problems that I overlook
: or believe to be inconsequential.

Other than adding a little weight, double waterproof bulkheads required where the pieces join, don't think you'll have any problems at all.

Yes putting gussets at the corners where cut would help with the rigidity specially when it's taken apart, should be fine once assembled, should be nearly the same strength since most SOF's don't have full bulkheads. I'd build the frame full size then chop it into the three pieces prior to covering.

This has been done with a fairly large number of dinghy sized boats, should work fine with a yak too. Btw you can make self aligning protrusions using cupcake tins as forms, their tapered sides align well, then you just need a way to bolt together the pieces. Will require hatches for this.

Bill H.