Re: wavy chine lines

Posted by Petewp on Nov 7, 2007

HA!!!!

I builty my WR180 from plans. I know a thing or two about wavy chine lines lol. First... I dont hold with the trust your fingers more than your eyes. Just doesnt make sense as its something thats so eyeball intensive.

OK...here we go...

1.To locate waves [as you probably kno and have done already] stand at the bow or stern looking down the sides of the kayak. Te foreshortening caused by this perspective will have every wavy anomoly apparent and much to your disheartening as you already know. Fine.

2. I simply sanded it down where needed. In this manner sanding became more sculptoraly art-like. Sure in a number of places I sanded right down thru the glass and into the wood. Fine. We are looking for a fairness in line at this stage and this cos,metic plastic surgery is only localalzed to some areas so relax. Yes I know the perfectionist is you wants to say - "yeah but what if a rock hits me on that exact spot that i sanded down and i sink because its "weakened". go to step 3.

3. OK now that everything is as you like it and standing down at either end of the kayak and looking from either bow or stern you see straighter chines its time to actually treat what you've actually surgically lol "augmented". Two options...

a. If its really a minor area you sanded the glass away one that is, its quite small in square inches - AND - its on the upper portion of the hull, not the keel or the business end of your hull bottom - you could skate away with just epoxying the exposed would and leave it at that. Epoxy till the grain of the wood is totally covered and filled to a smooth epoxy finish and you will have encased it more than enough. If it really bugs your last living nerve you can glass, sand and so on but on the minor points dont bother - really.

B. OK, youve had to reshape the chine so much you literlay sanded through the glass and through a layer of okoume revealing the next layer of wood beneath. Again relax. Even going into through the glass and into the next wood ply still leaves you plenty of strength in reserve from your supporting structure of composite construct which is the boat. But you want to do more than just wet out the exposed wood here. Get some glass - the same weight you did the rest of the boat with and just cover the area. Make the glass about an inch and a half larger all around than the hole itself. This extra glass allows for you to smoothly blend it with the sander when its all cured so there is no patch lump. It also helps the patch adhese with a continuity to the glass surrounding it.

Fill the weave with epoxy till smooth then sand away till its invisible. Period.

Oh but you say: "Yah but the woods thinner where i sanded down - isnt that like structuraly unsound. What if that demon possesed rock comes hitten me on that exact spot?" Simple - reinforce the wood you feel is weakened from the inside with extra glass lay ups [pathches] over covering the zone . In extreme cases where you damned near went thru all the wood to straighten that ^#$^^ chine out, think nothing of putting an okoume patche over the weakened area but withinside the boat. Drill holes thru the boat as reference points so you know exactly where top place the patch once you are inside with patch cut to size. Leave about a 2" overshoot of extra patch size to act as a good bond to structurally secure the integrity of the hulls wood strentgh. Done right - lol - this patch which you aplly from the otherside [inside the hull] will more thsan likely be the strongest point now on your boats hull!!

OOOOOOOppppsssss...You sanded too much down on the chine on the outside now its too low and you need to build it up. Glass layups. As many layers as you need - keep applyiong the lay ups, then sand as you see fit.

Take heart here. So long as you are painting the hull this is a no-problem. What you want to ensure is the restoration of hull strentgth and integrity. Ive had my yak now a good 5 years or so... let me tell you I dont even rememebr the areas I fixed anymore and the chines are terrific. Nothing will ever be computer fair - and no wooden boat builder ever built a wooden boat with perfect symmetry. Then again my boat was nothing like that squiggly nightmare of ....oh god man. I hated it!!! Dipping up and done like that like a drunk built it. But the multichine can be challenging - and drawn from plans [and im an artist] it took a whole hell of a lot of finessing after it was all glassed and sanded. If I'd not straightened those dips and swerves out i think i would have sold it. Now its as healthy as ever looking [and wow is it ever strong] and I can barely rememebr where the hell those offending lines were.

Enjoy - hey - email me at [email protected] and let me know how its going.

Pete Sorry for the typos - im rushed here.

In Response to: wavy chine lines by Jeremy on Nov 1, 2007

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