The Strongback

Over the weekend I completed the bow form by laying a few random strips on the bow mock-up I had made to see the lines and reshaped the bow and forms 2, 1 and 0.5, this took a little work shaving and trimming so as to get a nice form to the bow section. I'll have a similar effort for the modified stern that I am looking for but that comes later.

I bought a nice and straight 16 ft. 2x4 to use as a strong back. I marked off the adjusted form locations along the strongback starting in the middle and working out towards each end. Then I located the center point on each end, drove a nail and ran a string along the length of all four sides of the 2x4. I used this string to mark a pencil line along the length of the 2x4. This establishes a straight line for me to use when aligning the forms prior to securing them to the strongback.

Then I located the center of mass of the kayak and marked that on the strongback. I located the center of mass for two kayakers and marked the two cockpits locations on the strongback. This lets me know which forms fall in the cockpits. For easy removal when building the cockpits, I will cut these forms horizontally along the center and glue them back together. I can simply break them at the joint when I get to the point of making the cockpits so they will not be in the way.

The following are some photos of my progress:

This is the 16ft. 2x4 I'm using as a strongback

Here is the nail and string marking the centerline on the top side, this

was repeated on all sides



I'm marking the centerline with a pencil for use later when aligning the forms

This photo shows the forms temporarily placed on the strongback

The kayak is starting to take shape, next I'll start securing the forms to the strongback. Then I'll attach the newly modified bow form and begin working on the stern.