Hi- I have an across the street neighbor who is new to woodworking. He has asked me to help him put a cowling on a kayak. I believe it is called a cowling. It is wood that runs around the opening of the kayak. Get it? I was thinking of using a piece of cardboard to get the curvature and a sliding bevel to get the angle. Then I would cut it out of a plank and fit and join it with other pieces to make the whole cowling. The wood would have to be, probably, about 8/4 thick and a heck of a lot of it would be wasted. Does anyone have any ideas or knowledge or resources that I could go to for help? Thanks Ralph4
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Replies
I think it's normally steam-bent into an elliptical shape. You obviously want it to be as light weight as possible.
There are kayak plans for sale from the usual woodworking vendors; you might want to do a Google search to see if anyone has any free ones posted online.
-Steve
Ralph:
I have built a couple of SOF kayaks and made a coaming (not cowling) out of two pieces of Marine ply.
You need to create a lip so that the bungee on the spray skirt will firmly attach to the cockpit and make for a waterproof seal.
There are a number of ways to build the coaming. Solid ply or steam bent or built up. Some make there own composite. There are numerous sources on the wen that will give you ideas. Here's one such example:
http://oneoceankayaks.com/Wshophtm/Shop14.htm
I would not try to shape it out of a single "billet".
Regards,
Hastings
Ralph,
have a look at the Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) site. they do layers of ply for the coaming, including a keyhole shape. The section on assembly should give a clear enough picture of how to and what shape.
http://www.clcboats.com/buildaboat.php
Dave
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