> I have never had any difficulty cambering the decks on my kayaks and
> wondered what the fuss was about until I received my plans for the CLC
> Chesapeake 17 - Wow! 16 inch rad! No wonder decking has been described as
> a wrestling match.

> On my kayaks, designed for fresh water lake & river touring, I
> typically use a 24" or a 30" rad for the decks.

Hank, Most of our boats have a 14" radius on the bow half of the deck. This gives extra cockpit/foot room without raising the sides and really sheds the waves well. We usually use a 24-26" radius on the stern deck.

With our pre-cambering and glassing the interior of the deck (see earlier posts) there is no "wrestling match". The deck halves go on very easily.

I think the higher camber in our bow decks actually cuts down the effects of wind. It allows us to keep the sides about an inch lower, while still providing the same cockpit/foot space as a lower camber and higher sides. Once you get away from the middle of the boat to where the beam is down to 12", the difference in center deck height between a 14" and 24" radius camber is only about 1/2". Closer to the ends, the difference is barely noticeable.

I expect that the higher camber would also make the boat roll better, at least they sure don't float upside down 8-).

Grant