I am building my Atlantic 19 outside. I have it covered with plastic while I'm not working on it. I supported it as in Nick's book with custom built sawhorses. I would first like to recommend that if you are building outside you make the "feet" longer to keep the 'yak from tipping in wind. How do I know??? After a relaxing 2-week vacation away from home I found my kayak frame (Thank goodness I had not yet started stripping) laying on its side. It had flipped over in high wind. The strongback had cracked causing the frame to bend to the left. Perhaps I could build a Venetian Gondola out of it, but I prefer to fix it. Here is what I have proposed...

Since I Screwed and glued the forms to the strongback I don't want to have to take it all apart. What I want to do is put a splint on the cracked part of the frame. This will fix the break, but unfortunately the strongback is slightly warped from laying on its side and getting wet (plastic blew off). To fix this I am going to try hammering 2x4's upright into the ground in a straight line and using deck screws to screw the kayak frame to the 2x4's. This will keep it straight while I build the bottom. Once the bottom is done I will unscrew the frame from the 2x4's and hopefully the strips will keep the kayak's shape after that. The warp is only minimal (about 3" off center over the 19' length) and would not put a lot of pressure on the strips. What do you folks think? This is my first kayak, so don't laugh if my idea is dumb. At least I asked first, right!!!!???