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Re: Strongbacks, spines, & crustaceans *PIC*
By:Dan Caouette (CSCWC)
Date: 5/16/2016, 9:03 am
In Response To: Strongbacks, spines, & crustaceans (mick allen)

I've been using an external strongback exclusively since 2007. The biggest positive for using an external one is flexibility in designs. With an external you're not limited by the length of the 2x4. If you're only building one kayak than an internal one makes some sense. If you plan on build more that 2x4 probably won't be the right size for the next one. It's easy to make them shorter. Longer? That gets tricky. Also, some low volume designs (eg Black Pearls) do not have the physical room on the molds for an internal one.

My current external SB has a base length of 16' and is expandable to 20' with bolt on extensions. On it I have built strip kayaks ranging from 12 feet to 20 ft, S&G designs, solo canoes, and SOFs as short as 8 ft long. It doubles as a great work table for cutting and scarfing S&G panels.

I built it out of 1/2" MDO plywood as a 6x8 box beam with a replaceable 16" wide top. It's very flat lengthwise and side-to-side with no twist: within a 1/16" for all dimensions. This makes setups very quick. Very little adjustment is required once the standards are mounted.

Here we're using it as a base to built by daughter's S&G baidarka:

Yeah. I personally don't see any good reasons to switch back to an internal SB. My external one is just too versatile.

Messages In This Thread

Strip: strongbacks
Marc Donnelly -- 5/13/2016, 7:52 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/13/2016, 8:12 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Donnelly -- 5/13/2016, 9:01 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Mike Bielski -- 5/13/2016, 11:16 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Upchurch -- 5/14/2016, 3:03 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Mike Bielski -- 5/14/2016, 11:22 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Upchurch -- 5/15/2016, 3:46 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Bill Hamm -- 5/16/2016, 1:07 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/17/2016, 11:01 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Upchurch -- 5/17/2016, 11:41 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/17/2016, 12:18 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
scottbaxter -- 5/17/2016, 12:47 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Upchurch -- 5/17/2016, 3:41 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/17/2016, 4:11 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Upchurch -- 5/17/2016, 4:26 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 5/17/2016, 9:33 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks *PIC*
ian johnson -- 5/21/2016, 5:39 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Larry C -- 5/23/2016, 7:14 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Bill Hamm -- 5/24/2016, 2:29 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks *PIC*
Larry C -- 5/24/2016, 11:57 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Bill Hamm -- 5/25/2016, 12:35 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Mark Rakestraw -- 5/27/2016, 10:02 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
jaybabina -- 5/13/2016, 8:18 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Upchurch -- 5/13/2016, 10:31 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Olli -- 5/14/2016, 7:03 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Bill Hamm -- 5/15/2016, 12:39 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
John Messinger -- 5/14/2016, 7:19 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
shotcar57 -- 5/14/2016, 10:25 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/14/2016, 11:26 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
John Messinger -- 5/14/2016, 12:00 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/14/2016, 12:20 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
John Messinger -- 5/14/2016, 12:24 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/14/2016, 12:40 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Donnelly -- 5/14/2016, 2:31 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Bob B -- 5/14/2016, 7:07 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks *PIC*
Marc Upchurch -- 5/15/2016, 4:00 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Justin -- 5/15/2016, 4:45 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Upchurch -- 5/15/2016, 11:15 am
Re: Strip: strongbacks
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/15/2016, 12:33 pm
Re: Strip: strongbacks
Marc Upchurch -- 5/15/2016, 12:40 pm
Strongbacks, spines, & crustaceans
mick allen -- 5/16/2016, 1:35 am
Re: Strongbacks, spines, & crustaceans *PIC*
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 5/16/2016, 9:03 am
Re: Strongbacks, spines, & crustaceans
Paul Sylvester -- 5/16/2016, 6:51 pm
Re: Strongbacks, spines, & crustaceans
Bill Hamm -- 5/17/2016, 1:34 am