Jeff wrote:
Last winter an old friend friend from Ohio emailed that she had just
"won" a kayak on Ebay that weighed 25 pounds.

One of the weight issues with a kayak (or any decked boat)
is that the deck needs to be much heavier than the hull.


It was located near me,
so I picked it and stashed it until a co-worker of hers could pick it up
and drive it back.

While we were trying to figure out how best to deal with it (would UPS
deliver it?) I asked a friend who's a rigger how he do it, since he
sends masts around the country. He said that a virtue of the
lightweight glass kayaks is that you can cut them in half, ship them in
a small box, and glass them back together on site. (My friend didn't go
for that!)

Sure. It wouldn't take any great skill or technology, could
be glued back together just as strong as original. It would
be a good idea to set it up on a frame or jig to do the
glueing back together, but not absolutely necessary. In
fact, making an uneven cut might make it easier to go back
together.


Then he said he has a friend who builds carbon fiber kayaks
that are 12 pounds, but they need a proper shipping crate.


Depending on how it's layed up, carbon fiber tends to
splinter a lot when cut. More difficult to stick back
together, and that would also add a bit of weight.


Someday, small boats will weigh only a few ounces, which will actually
be a force field projector that allows you to dial in the type of
vehicle desired.


That'll be next years project.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King