Confirms my hunch to avoid the foam
Posted by: DaveO1
on Mar-19-13 8:05 PM (EST)
Both you guys post great information, and I appreciate your answering my specific questions. You are confirming my hunch to avoid the foam.
I do not understand the construction well enough to know where the curvature of the junction of the inner and outer layers along the edges of the foam core is exactly, or why that would be in tension and the stiffest part of the boat. I assume this is the location that I somewhat ambiguously identified as the chines in my original post. I also gather from the discussion that the strap should be aligned vertically for optimum grip against the shearing force.
In my original post, I neglected to included kevlar in my materials list. I was thinking two squares about 2”x2” on either end of the strap, and maybe two layers, as suggested. The idea of two concentric oval layers would be better, but I fear that I do not have the experience or skill to effectively cut the kevlar into an oval with an opening in the middle for the raised part of the strap to stick up through. I bought a rotary blade and mat for the purpose of cutting Kevlar but have not tried it yet. I’ve concluded that it really helps to get some fiberglassing skills to go along with paddling skills.
The tip to make the bottom layer, of whatever dimension, larger than the next is also good and reminds me to do that.
Very helpful, cheers and thanks.