Dick Robertson ) writes:
Anyone have a suggestion for a plywood kayak able to carry about 250
lbs and around 12 ft long?

There's plans for a simple double-chined open (undecked) kayak of 255 lb
displacement in TF Jones "New Plywood Boats" which may be availble on loan
from the public library. You have to subtract the weight of the boat from
the 255 lb to get what it can carry. It's taped seam but could be built
with chine battens for a couple extra pounds weigh. Some people put so much
resin on the seams they don't save any weigth with taped seam anyway.

Last summer I played around with the desing of a "dory skiff" kayak using
the free skiff design progam on my website and Greg Clarson's hull design
program for plywood boats (www.carlsondesing.com). Yu can built a "dory
skiff" hull by bending plywood around a central frame and fasten the pieces
to gether with chine battens and screws.

I'd rather it not be 'stitch and glue' or
strip plank (I know, I'm old fashioned). Incidentally, I came across a
kayak plan in an old book called "The Boy Mechanic" published from
1920 thru 1950's; all you need to know to build this boat on 2 pages!
Has anybody ever seen or built one of these?

I think what you are looking for is a plywood boat built by bending around
temporary frames (station moulds) with chine battens along the inside of
the seams. All you need is a tble of offsets like the one produced by
Carlson's program. If you download teh program I'm sure there is an
example kayak hull. The program will print out coordinates for station
moulds and also the shape of the plywood panels. Worth a look.

The suggestions of a lapped strake boat would produce a more attractive
boat better suited to many people's idea of what a boat should look like.
The only drawback is the greater amount of time required to achieve the
look. A minor point which wouldn't be important to most people is the
additional wetted surface on a lapped strake boat, ie additional surface
friction.



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