- Joined
- Jan 16, 2017
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 11
Thanks!
Good question. The hulls hold their shape well with the weight of two people. But, if I bounce up and down in the stern seat, the hull flexes. So, hard to say what I would change. The only material that was purchased specifically for these canoes, was the Kevlar. The fiberglass and epoxy were already in house....purchased for various projects we've done in the past. Certainly, like any manufacturer, we'd build and test many prototypes using different fiber, resins, lay up schedules etc to come up with best boat we could. We had a 15lb improvement between canoe #1 and canoe #2. Who knows were we could go if I had the budget to do it.
That is a funny story. My wife took the DNR form down to the recorder's office. She was told that she needed to have a DNR officer inspect the canoe before it could be registered. So she called the officer's number and left a voicemail. She then decided to call the DNR office in Des Moines. The lady she spoke to reviewed the state code and stated that the code does not require inspection by the DNR. So, my wife went back to the recorder's office and again was told it needed to be inspected. My wife gave them the phone number for the DNR office in Des Moines, a call was made and it was concluded that we did not require inspection after all. Ugh, our taxes and government efficiency at its finest.
Yes. I did a bit of low-tech thermoforming. I took a 1/8" thick HDPE sheet, screwed wooden strips along the two long sides and put it in the oven set at 325*F. Once the sheet was hot enough, I took it out of the oven and stretched it over the stem/deck area to form it to shape. The plastic was held there until it was cool enough. Once cool, it marked and trimmed off the excess and then riveted it to the hull. They're not perfect, but they'll work just fine.
