> I have just completed my set-up (molds and ladder jig) for my first
> attempt at building a kayak, using the Putz book for instruction. Per
> earlier suggestions from Mike Hanks, I have reduced the size of the bow
> upright by 4 inches and the stern upright by 1 inch. What effect will this
> have on attaching the bottom stringers, chines and gunwales to the stems?
> In particular, I'm assuming that I will need to impose some significant
> bend to the gunwales (other strips as well?) in order to have them end up
> resting on the shortened uprights. Should I anticipate any problem in
> achieving this? Putz's design, with its relatively unraised bow and stern,
> doesn't appear to require a whole lot of upward bend to the strips. I'd
> very much appreciate any thoughts from Mike or others. Gary

Gary,

It will shorten the length of the bottom stingers by a small amount, depending on the angle of your stem pieces. This will in turn make the twist to length ratio a little higher. That would be the biggest difficulty that I can think of. The extra bend in the sheer should be very easy to accomplish. I found the stringers to be more than flexible enough. What wood are you using to build it? I used all western red cedar, except for some mahogany around the cockpit for extra strength.

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I would also recommend cutting the top (finished upright top) of the floor beams to mach the angle of the hull of the kayak. This will maximize the interior space and help lower your center of gravity. I did this on mine, and it was still a snug fit. If you do this you will also need to minimze the cutouts on the bottom of the floors between the stringers.

Mike