Cutting the Hull

Posted by Pete Roszyk on Feb 28, 2006

Hi there, Petewp,

I converted a Pygmy Boats Arctic Tern 14 into a 3-piece a couple of years ago. It is a fairly short kayak, and this wasn't intended for harsh expedition duty, so the changes were not too serious.

The extra weight penalty was a couple of pounds, but I didn't actually weigh things at the time. Aside from the two extra bulkheads, there are several square feet of glass and epoxy, plus the set of eight (8) bolts and nuts with oversized washers, and then a wrench to use on them.

If you are building a longer boat and expect all-conditions usage, I expect you'd want to beef this design up a bit. I've seen some conversions done using up to 12 bolts per bulkhead (or rim, as a full bulkhead isn't actually required).

The conversion was a very time consuming project as well, at least 1/3 of the time it took to build the original kayak. Some of this was due to my inexperience and hesitation, but there is a lot of fussing to keep things aligned properly, and much more 'interior' work in tight spaces getting the glass reinforcing in place properly.

Take a look at my little homepage website at the link below. I photographed much of the conversion process I used.

Good luck on your project.

Pete Roszyk, in Snohomish, Washington

http://www.wiredweb.com//~petros/WEB%2005/MVC-464F.jpg

CAT'S PAW KAYAK ASSEMBLY

In Response to: Sectional Hull by Petewp on Feb 27, 2006

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