C-Forum

When the hull is taken out of the hot mold, the inner and outer surfaces of the plastic cool/shrink at a faster rate than the center. Because of that differential in shrinkage, internal stresses build up as the part cools. Those stresses are significant, enough to change the mechanical properties of...

http://www.gruppofrattura.it/ocs/index.php/esis/ECF14/paper/viewFile/7791/5228 "...It can be seen that annealing for 24 hrs increased the fracture energy of HDPE by about 2.5 times..." In other words, annealing HDPE can increase its toughness by 250%. Here's the recipe: - gradually heat to 250F ove...

...Presumably once flame oxidized to use G-flex, you can forget subsequently making a successful weld in that area..... West Systems says that G-flex should be applied within 30 minutes of the flame oxidation for best adhesion, which implies the oxidation (at least the higher level achieved by flam...

...My test didn't have good adhesion, vinyl to vinyl scrap. On what materials do you successfully use it... I think Gorilla Glue has great marketing, for a mediocre product. I bought some once to try out, and after making some test joints (in wood), I threw it in the trash bin. PVA (good old yellow...

....The OT Cascade is a great answer to this FAQ, too bad they're so hard to find now.... The Esquif Pocket Canyon looks to have very similar specs to the Cascade. I have no first hand experience with it. To the original poster, I think your decision point should be the shortest hull that will hand...

...jack of all trades... handle a moderate load for long weekend river/lake trips (either solo or tandem), have enough rocker to handle up to class III but still have enough hull speed to avoid excessive frustration on the flats, and be a decent platform to introduce the girlfriend to OC1 in....My ...

Thanks Harry, I figured it was so you could avoid back pressure from a right angle fitting. Nice clean job on the install, I like how you put the battery on the front pedestal. Makes perfect sense for this setup. Regarding the hazard tape, it is good to see it is there, and all is well with the univ...

Harry, two questions. First, why is there no hazard tape on this boat? Second, why did you route the pump exhaust hose to the far side, rather than using a 90 degree hull fitting at the point where the hose rises up to the gunnel? [I see peapod did the same type of routing in the dual pump configura...

Nice work.

The 2" stainless steel scuba buckles have never slipped on me.

I use them with scuba webbing, which has a rougher surface than slick seatbelt webbing. That rough surface helps the buckle grab securely.

Harry I'm not a boatbuilder, much less an expert one, but I do have some woodworking experience. I would use modified shiplap joints to splice in the new sections of wood. There's a good photo of that joint here: http://www.edscanoe.com/14kndogusy.html The flat sections of the joint, where long grai...

... self locking carabs ... how's the handling of these things with cold & wet hands? ... some people might never had an autolock carab in their hands (I'm one of those), and might not now how to handle it?... I find autolockers to be easier and quicker to use than screwgates. I think the "acid tes...

Non-locking biners, and locking screwgate biners that you forget to lock, can and do snap to things unintentionally. Autolocking biners are the least prone to unintentional clipping because you can't forget to lock them, they lock themselves by default. Some say autolockers are inferior, but in prac...

I made the hip blocks on my kneeling thwart adjustable (side to side) by cutting 1/4" wide slots in the thwart, and mounting the foam hip blocks to small pieces of plywood. A 1/4-20 machine screw (pan head, so it has a smooth profile that won't grab anything) goes into the slot from the bottom, and ...

The OT Cascade has worked well for me for that type of use, neither me or the dogs have ever had a problem with it. There's one listed in the Mobile AL area right now: http://mobile.craigslist.org/boa/4295224359.html I rigged mine with a center kneeling thwart. Most of the time it also has the stand...