Waters Dancing In Calgary: Sectional Wooden Kit

http://www.watersdancing.com/

These photos exemplify some of the advantages of the sectional kayak. Upright storage. Small "footprint" when stored. Easy carrying. Lightweight sections. Watertight sections. Assembled, functions just like a hardshell kayak. Add transportation inside your vehicle (no ropes, straps, theft, exposure to weather and wind chafing and rocks, et cetera). It's a winner.

Marcus' Brand New Valley Nordkapp 2009

Expedition paddler Marcus has written a wonderful synopsis of his 2009 Valley Nordkapp sectional, and included photos of the upswept beauty of the NOrdkapp design. Thank you, Marcus, for your very respected input and early experience with the Valley. I agree, Valley is a sports-car of a kayak with regard to craftsmanship. It is apparent from first gaze. I look forward to your expedition paddles in this ocean-going vessel. Thank you, friend.







Marcus writes: I am now the proud owner of a sectional Valley Nordkapp! Hurray!!

I picked up the kayak last week from the Kayak Center in R.I. and it is better than I could possibly hope for.

My thanks go to Peter Orton & Andy at Valley Kayaks, and the actual craftsman at Valley who built the kayak ... and then had the nerves to cut this beauty in 3 pieces after he or she built it. Looking at the kayak it becomes obvious that the person who built this kayak, looked (and successfully found!) lots of little creative solutions which seem to arise when building a 3 piece kayak.

The kayak features a wire skeg, with the skeg control placed in the stern section of the kayak. The skeg control looks somewhere between hard to impossible to reach from the comfort of the cockpit, but one has not even to lean back to reach the skeg control placed in the trim on the left side of the kayak. After operating the skeg a few times, it becomes as second nature as if operating a skeg control in any other kayak.

The kayak has a customized bulkhead position which eliminates the need for foot pegs, provides a larger surface to push with you feet against, and provides a larger storage space in the front hatch.

The kayak is appr. 73 pds., a little heavier than my previous 3 piece, but I was looking for a sturdier kayak which will last a little longer. Thus, I am very happy with the way it is built and I do not mind the extra few pounds.

All 3 hatches are bone dry. As Sven (the man behid this blog) noted in an earlier blog entry, water is not even allowed to penetrate inbetween the bulkheads thanks to the tight fit of the sections and to an appr. 1" wide strip of window sealant which is applied to one only one side of each connection.

I am a strong believer that the aquisition of objects will not make people a happier self since happiness comes always from within. However, this boat is an exception to this belief.

Marcus

http://marcusdemuth.com/default.aspx

www.kayak.im

Gorgeous Rockpool sectional sea kayak at ocean's edge.

3 Piece Kayak Assembly at Water's Edge

bits and pieces from Kayak Quixotica, Derrick

Derrick Mayoleth in Wisconsin has a very long-running and interesting website. He also owns a very nice sparkle purple Rockpool Alaw Bach sectional sea kayak, which he used to circumnavigate Puerto Rico in 2008. It's similar to the white Rockpool pictured above. He is an accomplished paddler and roller, and an instructor. Derrick ran an eductional piece, titled "bits and pieces", answering my query about sectional take-apart sea kayaks. Here is a link to his site, and the many comments that followed his well-experienced observations. Be certain to peruse his entire website; it's full of information and entertaining insights on life.

www.kayakquixotica.com/2007/12/10/bits-and-pieces/

3-piece Kayak Chop Shop in Livingroom

No, this is not a kayak chop shop for stolen parts to be reformed into a Frankenstein boat. One major advantage of sectional sea kayaks is the ability to easily take the kayak inside for repairs and modifications. The middle cockpit section tends to be where the most mods come into play. Here I am adding a minicell backband to my Aquanuat LV, and I am vacuuming out and adding new rubber washers to the Nordkapp. They will then both be polished. All in the livingroom.

Tale of Two Sections: Bolt Placement

Here are the front of the cockpit section (the part that interfaces with the bow segment) for two Valley sea kayaks: the uppermost photo is a 2008 Valley Aquanaut LV and the bottom photo is a 2005 Valley Nordkapp. Both feature male interlocking pieces and rubber gaskets around the edge. What is different about the two kayaks is the bolt placement. The Aquanuat LV (top) has the two lower bolts placed to the sides, and not directly midline. The Nordkapp (bottom) has the bottom bolt placed right in the midline, at the v-bottom of the kayak. When I test paddled the Nordkapp, the lower bolt area allowed water to leak into the boat; the outside waterline was above the level of the lowest bolt. This would be less likely with the Aquanuat LV configuration.

I replaced the rubber washer (see prior post about rubber washers) in the lower bolt to see if this will provide for dryness. If not, then I will consider some form of modification to the outer rubber gasket. Should that also fail, leaving the lower bolt out (i.e. connecting with only three bolts instead of four) and filling the hole with removeable silicone would be mandatory.

Clip hull 3-piece kayaks, of course, have watertight sections as the clips are on the outside of the hull. Examples would be Rockpool and NDK boats. More on those later.

Compact Kayak Trolley

Mandatory gear for sectional boaters.

http://www.expeditionkayaks.com/2009/03/kayak-trolley-for-your-day-hatch.html

Oh, and you could say the kayak trolley is mandatory, too, I suppose.

Tipping The Scales: One Way to View Kayak Weight

My brother is an engineer. Like my father, he has an engineer's mind. I called him concerned about the weight of my sectional kayak. At 84 lbs, my Argonaut is heavy. A traditional fiberglass boat is typically about 56 lbs. The sectional is 50% heavier, and thus must be greatly less efficient in the water. All told, when I paddle with my friends, I am doing 50% more work than they are to push the kayak in the water.

No. If we both weight 190 lbs, and if we have 10 lbs of gear, water, etcetera, then my total on-water package weighs 284 lbs, and my paddling friend's weighs 256 lbs. I am only 11% more weight through the water than he.

Additionally, there are factors that come into play that might even make the difference closer. The sectional kayak is heavier, and acts like more of a laden, or gear-packed, kayak. Many know that a gear-packed kayak has a different trim and water line than an empty kayak. Some models, such as a Nordkapp, are better performers, more stable, require less directional control and may even paddle more efficiently (more straighforward paddling and less corrective strokes) when laden. This may be an additional enhancing factor to the extra weight of the sectional.

I feel better now.

Tip: Packing the Sectional Kayak During Transport

Here is European paddler Paul Murray giving a simple example of all the gear that can go into a kayak for a trip. Some expedition kayakers, out on the water for a week or more, pack well over 100lbs of gear. One small but tangible benefit of a sectional takeapart sea kayak is that one could pack the kayak segments at home, carefully and thoughtfully in the comfort of your garage. Whereas you are unlikely to pack a full size kayak with gear and then cartop it (hernia-inducing), one could pack each individual segment of a takepart boat and then stow each piece in the transport vehicle (usually a van or truck). When you get to the launch site, instead of a disheveled mess of gear that now needs to be stowed, you already have the bow and stern segments fully packed. Instead of empty weight of 20 lbs per segment, they might weigh 30-40 lbs per segment packed, but still full manageable to carry down to the waterside to make the kayak.

.

Even for day trips, keeping the basic gear (e.g. PFD, paddle float, pump, et cetera) in the middle cockpit segement at all times means that essential gear is less likely to get forgotten at home. And the boat is always carried inside the vehicle, so theft and wind are non-issues for your gear.

Body Bags in the Sunroom

Sunroom looks like the morgue on CSI Miami. But alas, I am not covertly running a suburban slaughterhouse. The giveaway is the nose of a snuggly kayak segment peering out from the nylon sleeping bags. One huge advantage to the sectional 3-piece kayak is the ability to store it in places where an 18 foot single-piece simply will not fit. I have a standard screen door to enter the sunroom, and the length of a single piece would prohibit it from entering the room easily. Catching wind and banging around would harm the boat; leaving it stretched across the entire sunroom would interfere with margarita-themed summer cocktail parties. Solution: sectional three piece sea kayak, stacked sweetly to one side of the sunroom. Protected from the elements and out of the way for safe keeping. Let the party begin!

17 mm Ratchet Wrench

Although I generally use a socket set to tighten my bolts, I have lately tried a 17 mm ratchet wrench. It works well (the one pictured is 5/8 US; Valley sea kayaks use 17mm metric). One end ratchet, for easy nut turning, and the other is a non-ratcheting 17mm for holding the bolt if I need to while I use a socket wrench on the nut. This wrench is particularly nice for easily stowing in the dry hatch for any beach landings and repairs or tightening that may come up. It's flatness makes for stowing convenience, and no chance or popping off a socket and losing it in the sand.

Sea Kayaker Magazine: DIY Article 1991

In 1991, "Sea Kayaker" Magazine run a DIY workshop portraying the efforts of a handy kayaker from New Jersey who converted his Valley Nordkapp HM into a 3 piece kayak by the means of a band saw, and then put it back together with amazing results by using the described Valley method.

The extremely handy and ingenious kayaker and author is Steven J. Szarawarski, who wrote the article "You can take it with you: Making your own kayak a take-apart", as published in Sea Kayaker Magazine issue 29, Summer 1991, starting on page 56.

--this informative description is courtesy of Marcus Demuth.

Sea Kayaker Feb 2009: Take-Apart Stitch-Glue Kayak

http://www.seakayakermag.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SKMOS&Product_Code=128&Category_Code=2009

Highly recommended article is in Sea Kayaker Magazine (back issues $4.95 plus shipping) entitled: Divide and Conquer - A Take-Apart Stitch and Glue Kayak, by Mark D. Johnson.

"A kayak you'd like to paddle isn't always one that you can store or transport easily. Building a take-apart from a kayak kit made a 22-foot double a good fit for a condo dweller."--Mark Johnson.

Great pictures, neat article of the complete build of this tandem kayak. Even a photo of it on his Murano roof. Note that he takes a regular non-sectional kit and makes it into a two-piece (not three piece) kayak.

Pete Roszyk

Only one of his very innovative projects - a 3 piece Pygmy take apart.

http://www.redfishkayak.com/peteroszyk.htm

Yahoo! 3 piece kayak, sectional kayak

yahoo.com yahoo aol.com segmented kayak, takeapart kayak, three piece kayaker, kayak

Sorry, had to add that so the search engine at yahoo finds this blog. Thanks.

Bicycle Skewers

I am wondering if a simple yet effective compromise between bolts, that require a wrench and gaskets, and clips, that are external to the hull, would be bike-type skewers. These are used on bike tires, seat posts, and come in all sizes. Using a Valley style bulkhead set-up, they could be put in the bulkhead holes instead of bolts and nuts, tightened, and when the lever is closed for that last little push, they are really rock solid. At least on a bike. Hmmm.

I think, before changing out the bolts, I will see if 17 mm wing nuts will hold. They might just be hand-tight enough, especially if the wing is large enough to get a great purchase by hand. WOuld be ideal to at least have spares for those "oh-oh" moments when the wrench falls into the lake.

Many Names for the Same Thing

Take Apart Kayak; Takapart Kayak; Sectional Kayak; Segmented Kayak; Traveler Kayak; Portable Kayak; 3-Piece Kayak; Three-Piece Kayak; Segmented Hard Shell Kayak; Jointed Kayak

Bulkhead Dampness

Much has been written about an advantage to clipped segmented kayaks is that the clips, being outside the hulll, allow each section to be completely watertight. With a nut and bolt system, there are four areas of potential ingress of water through the bulkheads at the four bolts. This could be catastrophic in a long ocean crossing. Today, I went on a four hour paddle on a large inland lake, 20 mph winds, and chop that sent spray over the deck occasionally. I did not practice rescues or rolls today. At the end of the paddle I took apart the segments and, not only were the dry hatches dry, but I studied the male-female union. As pictured here, completely dry! So, although I do use rubber washers at each nut and bolt (the black rings around each threaded bolt in the photo), there was no wetness at all in the "joint" between the segments even at the hull, which was in the water completely for four hours. This is a testament to the strong seal. Valley, and perhaps other brands, use a thin, dense gray "foam" seal around the entire joint, as you see in the photo. It seems to work very well. For water to get past that seal, into the joint, past the two rubber washers (one on each side of the bulkhead; I have two in the photo because I took off the one from the other side of the bulkhead to show you--likely made it more confusing) and into the dry hatch seems improbable. I will watch the bulkheads for wetness as I roll and practice rescues and do longer paddles, but so far, very encouraging.

Tip: Nuts

Not all nuts are created equal, and I learned something on my Argonaut that I am now using on my Aquanuat LV. Both use 17 mm metric nuts, four at each bulkhead. But the 2002 Argonaut seems easier to put together then the 2008 Aquanuat, with which I have to use a wrench or vice grips every time when I am putting the pieces together to hold the bolt head (inconveniently located on the other side of the bulkhead in the other section).

When paddling today, I noticed that the new kayak has lock nuts like the one pictured on the left. Lock nuts have a thin blue ring within the nut that literally bears down on the threads, preventing it from loosening. The older kayak has a standard nut, like the one on the right (notice , no blue ring). It uses a lock washer instead under the nut, but that seems optional. The point is, I changed out all locking nuts with non-locking nuts and what did I find? MUCH easier to put together. The bolt head now really doesn't turn, and if it starts to turn, I simply give the ratchet a little "impact", or sudden turn, and it cinches the bolt down in the other compartment neatly. In addition, should I ever forget or lose the 17 mm wrench, I can now screw the nut on by hand! That is not possible with the lock nut because of the blue ring creating force against the threads. (One day I will secure all nuts by hand only and paddle and let you know if it's successful).

The question will be if the nonlocking nut (and I did not add lock washers) will loosen as I paddle. This is hugely unlikely as there is really no motion between the two interlocking kayak segments, but I will tell you if it does.

Let's all get a new set of nuts!