Kite +6%

[BigandSmall]

@Gamma1214 I've had enough experience with poor judgement that I'm more careful now.

Everything is taking a lot longer than it should at this point sine I don't want to screw it up. I made a small drill guide to drill the holes for seat brackets. I wanted the holes low enough on the brackets so there would be some material left above the rivets for strength. The opposite on the aluminum. Since the inside of the aluminum gunnel is slightly shorter I flipped the boat up on edge and drilled from the inside out. I drilled 1/8" pilot holes then enlarged them to 3/16" after before lining up the seat brackets and drilling them to match. On my Caribou there are only 4 rivets holding each bracket on but I thought with the material I remove drilling holes It's about even with an aluminum rivet weight wise so I added a couple extra.

As for the location of the seat: In another thread I saw @memaquay sharing his experience of 10" aft of center being a good compromise in his Osprey. I went with that and added 6% to it for 26.9cm aft of center to the front edge of the seat,

I used a Q-tip to paint epoxy in all the holes to seal the wood before riveting with an aluminum backing washer on each side.

With the brackets installed I spent some time squaring then drilling the seat. I mounted the seat with M6x40mm SS flanged socket head cap screws but I was short on 6mm nylocks. I put some 20mm SS washers underneath on the 2 nylock nuts I could find. I need to order some more nylocks and the seat bolts are also still a hair long. I might pick up some M6x35mm or I might just cut these down a little.

Off to the ski hill today but will get back to it Friday.

 

[stripperguy]

I gotta admit, I like the looks of those extruded alum gunwales.
I bet you can hardly wait to get it in the water!

 

[Jim Dodd]

Just a note.
I spaced the leading edge, of the seats on all my solos, regardless of the hull length, or symmetry, at 5-6" aft of center.
10" aft of center, seemed too far back, when paddling empty.
You can adjust with weight if you need to.
Nice thing about Aluminum gunnels ? No finish required !
I think you will find those seats comfortable !

Jim

 

[BigandSmall]

@Jim Dodd When I read Dogbrain's build thread he had said he mounted 8" aft of center but he commented in this thread that he later thought he moved it back further. I believe it was in Dogbrain's thread where I found this quote by Memaquay and saved it to my build notes.

"I paddled a cedar strip Osprey for many years. It is the same boat as the Kite, except for the difference in the tumblehome construction. Factory Ospreys come with a sliding seat for adjustments to trim. I just installed my seat about ten inches aft of the centre point. I found this to be a good all around compromise, and didn't struggle much with broaching from the stern. I put several thousand tripping miles on that canoe in a variety of demanding conditions before I finally wore it out. It was my first dedicated solo and only my second build, so I have very fond memories of it."

In order to copy the cockpit from my Caribou I need the seat mounted as a reference point so I can install the footpegs and the thwarts. I really appreciate it when guys share their experience like that.

Also I forgot to mention I used longer rivets to mount the seat and hangers that the 3/16x1/2 ones I was using previously. These ones were 3/16x 25/32. Also a picture of the excellent conditions on the hill yesterday.

 

[stripperguy]

My Kites are sensitive to fore-aft trim. As such, I made my seats adjustable. If I’m paddling with gear, it’s easy to achieve ideal trim, but if I’m day tripping, it’s very convenient to be able to adjust for wind and water conditions.

Now, on to the important stuff… where is that marvelous snow? Is that lift served? Or back country? Sure looks nice. Powder this season is done, unless I want to drive over 4 hours. It’s strictly corn fest from now til the end of my season.

 

[BigandSmall]

That is Powder King. It's a 3 hour drive for me to get there but worth it. Since there's almost always soft/fresh snow my daily driver is a powder ski and my actual powder ski is a Japan type powder ski. However that soft snow that doesn't set comes at a price. -20C/-4F is a pretty normal day. Lift served half way up the hill, T bar to the top. Other than airfare it's an inexpensive ski vacation for you compared to the prices I see listed for the Vail resorts. Message me if you need details.

 

[BigandSmall]

After some chores I spent some more time in the shop. I mounted the stern carry handle, placement was dictated by the width of the drill. I wanted it close to the float tank but far enough out that there wouldn't be any knuckle contact and also easy to clip a dry bag onto. The soft jaws in the vice didn't work. Extra tape and metal jaws worked well though. I bought some heat shrink grip stuff for these. I painted some contact cement on slipped the cover and hit it with the heat gun. After riveting it feels pretty solid.


After laying out the footpegs in the morning I flipped the boat on it's side and mixed up some epoxy and wood flour to get the studs started. I gave myself the distance to my footbar in my Caribou plus a few extra notches if someone taller paddles it.

 

[Pseudonym]

Very nicely executed. I'm excited to see an updated shot of the whole boat soon to see how it has all coming together.