: Allan; I a'm more than happy to
: share any building
: technique's BUT please let me warn you I am a newbe to kayak
: building my background is in home construction and kitchen
: cabinets
: there is a huge wealth of information on this forum.There are
: builders that turn out"drop dead gorgeous boats, some are
: professional
: boat builders and repair men some marine engineers and I could go
: on( hope I haven't missed anyone)unfortunately you picked a
: beginner, if you wish you can email me -nicola91028@gmail.com hope
: this helps and as always Thanks to All. Nick R.

Sorry Nick, but I am not convinced. Someone who can produce a boat that looks as good as yours has to have something useful to offer, not just to me, but to the kayak building community in general.

The fact that I am halfway through my 10th kayak and this one might be your first is irrelevant. Some people appear to think that my kayaks look pretty good, but that doesn't mean there is nothing new for me to learn. I know I am not the only one who is impressed with the workmanship in your kayak, so I'm quite sure that I am not the only one who could pick up a useful tip or two from you.

Your background is irrelevant. I spent 34 years teaching English, yet I believe that I have once or twice been able to help other builders. I have discovered over the last 8 or 10 years that sometimes even first time builders come up with a trick that either saves time or produces a better result. They also make a lot of mistakes, but that is not the point. :) Maybe some other people already knew about that technique, but that doesn't mean that everyone does.

Did you know, for example that normal PVA glue can be made to behave like contact cement? I discovered by accident some time ago that if I applied glue to both surfaces and heated the glue with a heat gun until the glue bubbled that when I pressed the pieces together, the glue set almost immediately. Maybe professional cabinet maker already know that or maybe they would be horrified at what it does to the properties of the glue. However, I have found that it works really well for gluing the little vertical bits that form the coaming. People who own a hot glue gun probably aren't impressed, but if, like me, you don't have a hot glue gun, it works just as well.

So, my point is, all of us are probably still able to learn something new and all of us probably have something to offer.

So my original questions still stand. :)