A CAD program?! We don't need no steenkeeng CAD program!
Building a kayak on the fly.
A new kayak is in the works! As you can see, the stringers are in appoximate place. The white poster board is to trace a bow out on. The middle frame is just an approximated size to hang the stringers on. As I make the pieces the other parts will be adjusted accordingly.
[Mar. 29, 2005]
The stem and stern pieces. Like almost everything on the boat at this point, they are temporary. This allows constant adjustment between the pieces as I go along. After getting it this far I realized that I didn't like the deck ridge so high, so on v.2 of the stem and stern pieces the top will be cut down 3/4" and the then the wood will be elongated at the top to accommodate the deck ridge mounts.
This little gizmo I call a stringer tree. It allows one to move the stringers around until you like what you see. Notice the level. This makes it easy to align everything.
After several changes, the frame is finally the shape I want. The cross frames are temporary and are made from regular plywood. They allow me to not only get a shape for my frame, but will actually work for the boat as I skin it and then take it out. Eventually they will be replaced by something better.
Notice also that I have a better, more substantial strongback, which makes for an easier time working on the boat.