Bending ribs and coamings

Ahh, what sublime satisfaction there is, in coaxing a piece of wood into submission. Not to destroy or to ruin, but merely to mould into a more accordant shape.
Kiln dried wood was never such a good candidate for steam bending but patience and persistence triumph. A smile is in order!

Home made roof rack update

A few months have now passed since the roof rack was initially trialled, and I am happy to say that it has lived up to my expectations.
There has been no issue with the wood itself which was made from structural pine (MGP10, aust). A coating of wood oil has held up quite well, considering the rack lives outdoors when it's not in use.
No scratches, dents, paint fade, rubber seal damage, whatsoever, to the car itself.
On each paddle outing, I have to go on the freeway which is limited to 110 kph. The area in which I live is renowned for its enormous potholes and rough roads, so I do get bounced around quite a bit. Never has the rack shifted. Or the kayak, for that matter.
It takes less than five minutes to set up and go.

Home made roof racks

Roof racks for a 19 foot skin on frame kayak

After looking at a few overpriced and sub-standard roof racks, i tried to look at the problem from a logical point of view. The commercial racks are flimsy (roughly 60kg max), the feet of the cross bars have a footprint the size of a sausage, and they are held on by one allen bolt.

Now when accelerating or braking, simple physics tells you that excess weight and torque on a small area generates a large amount of force, enough to either dent your roof or completely shear the allen bolts. Not to mention what happens at speed, and the effects of lift and side winds. I've heard too many stories of roof rack damage to remain complacent.

So my idea was to combine the feet into one. Sitting on the rail either side of the roof, a 2x4 carved to fit the longitudinal contour of the roof, with a concave bottom to hug the raised rubber rails (your car may be different). To protect the roof finish, a pool noodle split lengthways is stuck into the concave bottom. Two 2x4 planks are bolted on athwart, and an extra length added with v-shaped ends to support the stern and bow of the kayak.

All joints are shallow halved joints.

Commercial roof racks all seem to mount less than a metre apart. Stick a 19 foot kayak onto it and the overhangs and subsequent stress on your hull would be horrendous.

The idea of the extra length is to spread out this stress and also to provide a cradle.


Two 200kg ratchet tie-downs secure the rack to the roof. It has yet to move, even at highway speeds. I am satisfied with the strength and durability of the wood. However, perhaps one could be made of aluminium or steel. The bow and stern of the kayak will still need to be tied down.
All up cost including tie-downs was around 20 dollars and a couple of hours. I hope i have given you food for thought.
Please leave a comment, or provide some feedback, if this post was helpful for you.

Non

  Wheatie and his sister aren't their usual boisterous selves. They know... how could they not?

Vale

Wheaties' mum died yesterday. She'd been acting unusually the past month, staying on the porch later and later, almost to last light. Her beautiful plumage had been looking a bit ruffled and her sonorous call was muted.
There had been a kookaburra hanging around in the morning and i wonder if Wheaties' mum had taken on too much. I found her in the garden, eyes closed, claws clenched tight, lying on her side, convulsing. I held her in my hands and there was a yellow teardrop shaped streak on the left side of her head. No blood. Just before she died, one eye half opened and she looked at me as if to say goodbye.
She is buried in the garden with a simple headstone.

I will miss her.

Dissatisfaction

Housebound. 50 mph winds and rain. Fucking cold. Nothing a peter stuyvesant won't fix. At least dinner will be warm.

Putrefaction

    Out on the water again and what do I notice? The cloying stench of too many pet dogs. The smell of unwashed coats and fresh shit waft from the mainland. How charming.
    It seems that every household here has at least one dog if not two, and inevitably, some owners will not be as considerate as one would like.

    Anyway, this mornings' light threw a most ethereal dance upon the underside of a bridge. Mesmerized for quite some time amidst the swaying, sparkling patterns.

Baidarka days

How pleasant the sensation, of floating along in a boat crafted by your own hands.
  Gliding silently over the water, bold little striped fish rise to greet me, while the blue nosed bream ignore me. Nary a splash and the boat undulates with the rise and fall of the passing swell.
  That sweet ocean air and the glorious sunshine. Is there anything finer?.

Rain

Verily, this place is a sodden morass of mendacity and unfettered greed.