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Re: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers.
By:Paul G. Jacobson
Date: 3/10/2009, 10:25 pm
In Response To: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers. *Pic* (Kudzu)

: . . . So, I remade the two frames at the ends of the cockpit and I notched them for
: strips instead of using plywood floors. Just finished lashing them in and
: I like the way they look much better. . .

I like the fact that you notched the underside of the frame for your floor strips. A little. There are at least two sides to this idea, and some other thoughts to consider.

first, your floor strips are making contact with the skin.

Tom hangs the plywood from the inside cut-out of the frames, That keeps the plywood about an inch above the skin fabric.

If the skin doesn't touch then any bilge water can slosh freely, and be baled out easily. There is also less of a problem with the fabic rubbing on frame parts, so less chance of it wearing through.

Of course, with the floor strips all the way down, you can sit on them and get your weight down lower (lower center of gravity) giving better stability.

Just to make your life more, um, interesting (or complicated): Have you considered making your floor strips with a cross section or shape other than square or rectangular? If you made them "V" shaped you could cut the grooves in the frames with a dovetail bit in your router. Two passes would give you a wide enough groove for a 3/4-inch-wide floor strip. Make that strip 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick in the center, but taper that to match the angle cut by your router. Strips cut like this won't fall out of the slots, even without being glued, and even a poor lashing job will keep them in place. The point of the "V" shape can be rounded over, reducing abrasion between the floorboards and the fabric. The ultimate in rounding would be to use dowels, or halves of dowels for your floorboards. If you use dowels, then holes drilled near the edge of the frames would be a quick way to replace notching.

Just some thoughts to trigger your imagination. hope you enjoy them.

PGJ

Messages In This Thread

Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers. *Pic*
Kudzu -- 3/10/2009, 4:29 pm
Re: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers.
Paul G. Jacobson -- 3/10/2009, 10:25 pm
Re: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers.
Scott Shurlow -- 3/11/2009, 7:20 am
Re: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers.
Will Clarke -- 3/11/2009, 8:20 pm
Re: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers.
Bill Hamm -- 3/12/2009, 12:21 am
Re: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers.
Kudzu -- 3/11/2009, 9:52 pm
Re: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers.
Kudzu -- 3/11/2009, 8:37 am
Re: Skin-on-Frame: Seat stringers.
Bill Hamm -- 3/11/2009, 12:46 am