: The mistake will add character to your boat. Fortunately it won't
: handle the handling of the boat one bit.

I am hip! This kayak has all kinds of character... if you could have seen the frame you'd have been shocked at the depth of "character"! : ) lol! This is a Black Pearl that I built Yost-style, but as an "experiment"... one, I'd never tried to modify strip station forms into fuselage frames, so I built the kayak in an awful hurry, and used plain interior project plywood.. which of course didn't bode well for wetting and drying and subsequent durability. I also ignored leaving at least 1" of thickness in some areas of the forms where deck stringers sit - else I'd never have gotten float bags in it through the tiny slot that would have been left in the isserfik frame. I also developed some hogging of the chines between the masik frame and the footbeam frame, it's a long span. But as it turned out, I loved the kayak, and used it hard for a year. Lots of broken or cracked places in the frames. I also had a great example of powderhorn at the stem and stern. Totally ruined the sheerline, but again, did not affect paddling, but I alternately loved and hated the look. I have rebuilt it, replacing the two frames aft of the cockpit with traditional deck beams and ribs, and added two ribs in the span from masik to footrest. All new masik double form (1" thick total of birch ply) plus a traditional masik backed up to that -- net effect is kind of an odd masik/seeqortarfik combo.

But the coolest mod was in adding shims along both gunwales. My intent here was to increase volume and get the kayak to sit a bit higher. This kayak was the same dimensions as a strip example I've paddled. The stripper had maybe 1-1.5" of freeboard, and was very nimble. My SOF version, I presume due to skin deflection, sat much lower, right to the sheer amidships. I felt this hindered some of the nimble quality, and also made it a little harder to push up to speed and keep there since more hull was in the water. So... I've taken 1" x 1/4" strips and glued them along the outside of the gunwales. Amidships they are even with the top of the gunwales, but I allowed them to come up and lap over the gunwales at the ends, and fixed them to the top of the stem and stern breasthooks/tips. Completely fixed the powderhorn, added 1/2" beam overall, and decreased the flare angle a little. I'm not sure how much volume that adds to the kayak, but I am thinking it will be significant. Can't wait to see what happens.

Experiment kayaks are cool, cause you can just do whatever you want, and try different things and not stress. Eventually I will learn what I like and then I will build a kayak and apply some craftsmanship. Or maybe I am just deluding myself, perpetuating the sickness, I don't know.

Anyhow, all I have to do now is patch up this frankendeck and slop some goop on the thing and go paddle it! Can't wait!

Oh, the other cool thing about making my gunwales 1/4" thicker is now I can drill my deckline holes at an angle, but from about 1/4" inside the sheerline, so I will finally for once have quiet gunwales in a SOF... so that when I edge it in the water, I'll be able to dip the sheer without creating any splash or disturbance from decklines. And maybe a little less leaking/seeping too.

> can't wait! : )