i know making a kayak would be a 2 part, top and bottom, how would the top and bottom parts be joined? would this be a weak spot?
Yes, the joint is the weak spot.
The hull spreads in the center as it bends up at the ends
and the deck is forced up and away from the center of the
hull as this happens.
I’ll be adding a rectangle of wrapped core all along both
shear lines to strengthen the seam and to add additional
surface area for bond strength. This will be done while
adding a couple of ribs in the seating area and down the
interior of the keel to prevent oil canning in white water
and catastrophic collapse if the boat ever gets pinned. :eek:
My daughter suggested indexing the hull into the deck by
raising the shear strip on the hull and dropping the deck
exterior down over the hull shear strip. This makes sense
for several reasons. First the joint will self align creating
clean exterior lines and secondly there will be strength in
two directions, third, the hull must force the deck apart
thereby sharing the spreading load and lastly there is
additional surface area for the bond.
I will probably bond the shear line with marine
glue made for this purpose vs. thickened epoxy.
Jim