reading offset chart

Submitted byMichael Moberly onSat, 04/04/2020 - 15:10
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Kayak Building

Hello, I am new to this site and kayak building. I read Nick Shades book "strip built sea Kayak" several times over and I plan on building the Great Auk. But the more I read about how to Draw the sections, the more confused I get. I am sure for most it is a simple thing to read the offset chart but apparently not for me. I am having a problem understanding exactly how one transfers the numbers on the offset chart into a section drawing. Wood working I know, boat building not so much.  any help would be appreciated thanks in advance

JohnAbercrombie

Sat, 04/04/2020 - 23:43

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The process is called 'lofting', so you need to search for "lofting from table of offsets".....

You'll find plenty of info online.

If you'd prefer a book, I think Ted Moores Canoecraft and KayakCraft have some lofting instructions.

The classic book on lofting is by Alan Vaitses :"Lofting". 

Once you know the process, you can loft that offshore sailboat as easily as a canoe or kayak! 

JohnAbercrombie

Mon, 04/06/2020 - 01:16

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It's interesting to me - things which seemed aggravatingly slow in the past are now just what I want, to pass the time!

Some of the 'hurry up and finish' has faded away, which is probably for the best.

:)

 

tomcoates

Wed, 04/08/2020 - 11:09

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the free S&G guillemot offset chart was like reading x,y coordinates. each x coordinate (points along the length of the boat) has 8 y coordinates because it's for the 4 pieces of the hull. forms have the same x,y coordinates. i had an engineers scale and made a practice boat ( 10th scale) from poster board and tape. it would have cost me about $800-1000 USD to build the boat, that is when i looked into the used boat market.

tom

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