I havnt done any thing along this line but it should be good....

How about bending the ribs to go all the way around..perhaps doubled near the keel for extra strength... Add the stringers and kevlar, then remove the cardboard forms. should be stronger, lighter and tougher than stopping the rib at the sheer line.

: George,
: Well, I was going to keep this one under wraps for a while, but since you
: brought it up ... I'm currently attempting a kayak using Monfort's
: geodesic techniques. I'm basically using Platt's methods around the
: Redfish Return plans I bought a while back and have yet to impliment in
: wood :-) I thought I would try and make this a quick winter project before
: starting the real stripper version in the spring. Currently, I'm only at
: the forms stage, but hope to layout the keelson and stringers in the next
: couple of days.

: In construction, it doesn't seem too different than the traditional native
: methods. The main differences I can see are the epoxied joints and the
: kevlar roving. Monfort does some interesting things that might be
: applicable to other building methods. For example, he is very big on
: cardboard for forms and even a strongback (external ;-) I was sceptical
: about this at first, but found that two pieces of double thickness
: cardboard glued together is a 1/2" thick and quite tough. Made good
: forms and was cheap (appliance boxes at the local recycling center =
: free). If you haven't already, you might want to consider checking out his
: video for more info.

: Other methods are possible too. As you can see above, Mike is the undisputed
: champion of light weight Putz boats! Me, well I managed to cover the heavy
: weight end of Putz's pretty well:-) Hopefully, this boat will be my
: redemtion ...

: Bill Price