Wood Duck Hull Twist Question

 I purchased a partially built Wood Duck 12 from my neighbor who has had some health issues and could not finish. The hull is glassed inside and the deck haas been glassed onnthe underside. My son and I took on as a fun to do project. The deck looks great and appears to be formed very well. The hull has a 3/4 inch twist measured at the bulkhead, meaning when the kayak bow is level the panels on each side are different level. Is this something that can be fixed or to be worried about. The kayak was basically given to me along with all resin, hardener, glass and materials to finish. Thank you in advance for your help!

2 replies:

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RE: Wood Duck Hull Twist Question

With the inside glued and glassed, that twist is locked in. You would have to undo the seams to fix it. While technically possible, it's probably not worth the trouble, especially if you care about the weight. Re-fastening the seams and fixing the glass could add some surplus weight.

The main issue that comes to mind is the deck. SInce the bottom of the deck is already glassed into the correct shape, it may not be flexible enough anymore to accommodate the twist. That could keep the deck from fitting properly.

If it was my boat, I'd try to wire the deck in place. If it's possible to get it to bend enough to fit the hull, I'd just go with that. If not, I'd spile in some cheater strips (the way stripper builders do) to level off the hull so that the deck fits correctly and plan on painting the hull and leaving a wooden deck, like the older Chesapeake series kayaks.

That amount of twist should not have any structural effect, nor should it be really noticeable unless you're an expert competetive paddler racing that boat. But who'd race in a WD12 anyway?

Laszlo

RE: Wood Duck Hull Twist Question

   Thank you for your reply.  I was also thinking of somehow tacking in some strips to help better form the hull if needed, will advise as my sone and I progress.  Thanks again!

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