: hey Grant,what I am asking is on the offsets at the bottom side panel when I
: connected the dots it dips upward slightly instead of a smooth curve like
: when you normally see drawn on a side panel. see side panel station 7
: 3/4" bottom to station 12" bottom 2 5/8" is where my
: problem is at. so the bow should make a smooth curve from top part of bow
: then continues on to 0" at station 72"then starts back upward to
: stern?I have no doubt it is my error(my first kayak)but I just wanted to
: be sure before I cut.thanks in advance

OK T-bone,

Let's walk through this to see if we can isolate the problem. The station at 7 3/4" is the lower end of the rake of the bow on the side panel. This point should be 3 1/8" above the baseline. This point is where the forward end of the bottom panel attaches. Note, at station 0" from the bow there is only one point, at 8 1/4" above the baseline. This is the bow end of the kayak. So a straight line from the point at station 0" to the point at station 7 3/4" marks the lower edge of the bow of the kayak (actually only about half of it since it continues on the bottom panel). At this point you turn an angle (not a curve)to get to station 12". At station 12" the point is 2 5/8"- (the - means 1/32" less, so this is actually 2 19/32". + means 1/32" more). And so on it keeps going until station 187 5/8+", where you turn another angle to get the lower edge of the rake at the stern, a straight line between this station and station 195 7/8"-. The line between stations 7 3/4" and 187 5/8+' is not completely a simple curve. It actually reaches a low point at station 72" and then rises to 1/16" at station 84" and to 3/16" at station 96 and then starts dropping again to reach 1/16" at station 120" after which it gradually rises again to the stern. This slight rise in the center of the side panel is by design, so don't think you did something wrong here. (this is BTW what caused the glitch in the peaked deck offsets that gave Mark the headache). You will note an even slightly more pronounced "hump" in the center of the upper edge of this panel. This levels out the shear in the cockpit area when it is bent out to beam width.

Anyhow, hope I haven't lost you. In summary, the lower edge of the side panel should be a fair curve, bow to stern with a slight rise (1/8" max) in the center (but note that the curve is only between stations 7 3/4" and stations 187 5/8+". You will have something similar on both ends of the bottom panel). Both ends should turn an angle and slope upwards in a straight line to the point of the bow and stern.

One other point: When you get everything stitched together you will note that the upward rake at the ends is not exactly a straight line going from the bottom to the side panels. Trim it off to suit, either a straight line or a slight curve, it will not matter.

Hope everything is OK now. If not let me know. I WILL help you get a good kayak, even if I have said that these offsets are "unsupported" .

Grant