That is one of the "engineering" problems that had occurred to me. But the more I think about it, perhaps trying to cut up a typical frame design is the wrong way to go about it, or at least a more difficult way to go about it. To solve the problem of maintaining the curvature of longitudinal components, why couldn't a kayak be designed to have the areas where it will be split do not have any curvature? Maybe not the most efficient kayak hull shape, but I'm not going for a race boat and from what I understand that alone is unlikely to make a huge difference in resistance numbers anyway. I'll play with that theory and see if it offers any promise. Another solution might be to laminate the gunwales, but that gets one into the realm of "its not worth the trouble".

: That is one of the reasons nobody cuts SOF's into pieces. The long stringers
: which bend around the ribs or frames achieve thier shapes by the actions
: of the frames (bulkheads if you wish) pushing out on them at certain
: places. The pieces are in tension as they are bent. If you cut them then
: then they lose their shape s the tension is destroyed. You could make some
: very strong brackets to force them back into shape, but why bother.

Sure, its a lot of effort, but building any kayak requires a sizable amount of effort. I have all materials except epoxy, so a wood frame (in this case) doesn't come at a huge expense. The thing about folders that has directed me away from them is that they don't really shorten the 'time-to-water' that I'm fixated on. It takes me a good 30 minutes to load up a kayak and gear, but if I exchange that for 30 minutes build time at the water access point I've really not accomplished much. Tom's Sonnet makes a much more convincing argument in that respect. There's also the possibility that I am just stubborn and have latched onto the idea of a 3-piece take-apart for no rational reason.

: It is a lot of effort and cost--and for less effort and cost you can make the
: whole thing fold up or come apart.

Sure it helps! There are few locals with which I can have this sort of discussion about kayaks.

: Hope this helps

: PGJ