Some Summer we are having here in NZ,pouring hard yet again!!!In view of that I decided it was time to document my attempt at a folding kayak. As per my posts in the Introductions section,I had bought a frame for a Klepper type folder,but once assembled realised I had no hope of sitting comfortably in the cockpit.So it was back to the drawing board,and the klepper frame was sold to another enthusiast ,who is going to make a new skin for it. Then,browsing through this site,I found Tom's Falco folder.At first glance i thought it would be ideal for me,but after more study decided I needed something a little wider,a little longer,and with a more comfortable seat. I alredy had the 680gsm fabric[truck curtainsider fabric]and a sheet of 6mm ply ,and from there on it was trial and error. The basic idea is similar to the falco,with plywood sides,but mine has a glued in section at both bow and stern[each 1200 long], and a centre section 1800 long that is removable.Since my first trial I have put a hinge in the centre of these pieces to make it easier to assemble. Alluminium J mould[sold as gutter mould]is fitted to each of these centre sectins,and this supports a frame to take the plywood seat and backrest for greater comfort..Alluminium tube is used for a full legth keel,and small blocks attached to this hold the hinging frames against stops on the opposite side instead of velcro. A deck ridge was made from 3x1 pine,and this slides in the same as the keel,but is then rotated to latch on to the frames.The coaming is supported by bent alluminium pipe ,through loops of fabric. I had a fair bit of teasing from family and friends[one of whom offered to send me a packet of Blue Tac from the UK],who all thought it would leak. However I am plesed to report that there was not a siongle drop of water in it after a 45 minute trial!!! Tracking is good and it seems fairly fast.Also comfortable and most imprtantly,easy to get in and out of. Assembly time would appear to be about 10 minutes at the moment.Folded it takes up more room ,and has more parts than the Falco, but folded size wasn't one of my criteria. After the trial i added two deck hatches,similar to the Falco,but just made from hull fabric in a 150mm tube.The top is closed by folding over and sliding on a split piece of plastic conduit to seal it. Now for the difficult part of trying to add a few photos. Many thanks to Tom and his falco for inspiring me to give it a go. Ken Mitchell.
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