All original material copyright 1997-2007 Michael J. Edelman unless otherwise noted. No material may be reproduced in any form without express written permission of the owner(s).
Site last updated July 4, 2008
Recently a friend asked me, why bother with faster times? Several reasons. It leads naturally to more hours on the water; the less you spend getting the thing together the more you can be paddling or sailing your craft. Long assembly times are a disincentive to impromptu trips and late afternoon quick jaunts out on a lake or bay Also, perhaps more importantly if you are achieving faster assembly times, it means you have undoubtedly licked those stubborn steps that can hang you up for what seems hours, Your assembly/disassembly times became highly predictable; you can count on catching a ferry or train after a day paddling without panic about possibly missing scheduled departures. Besides, quick assemblies and takedowns puts you in control. It impresses onlookers, something always good for the ego.
I've given long thought to the tricks of assembly/disassembly over the years. I see a lot of different model boats, more so than do other people. So, I have to struggle more with things new to me than you might. While manufacturers differ in how their boats put together and there are even differences among models within the same marque, I've discovered that there are some underlying principles that prevail in nearly all the foldables. If you grasp these principles and apply them along with the assembly/disassembly instructions that come with your foldable, you will be well on your way to greater speed and confidence in the process.
Just like anything in life, you have to be in the right spot. It is always amazing in watching a basketball game, to see just how some small guards pull down more rebounds than taller forwards. They've positioned themselves well, used their heads not just their height.
The same is true in assembling or knocking down foldables. You have to be in the right position. Generally that means on your knees (use a seat cushion to go easy on those old joints) or crouched down low. Don't be in a standing position bent over from the waist (this is tough on your lower back). Be close to the work.
That position need not be a stationary one. The experts at the factory can often do everything from just one spot. They are that good at it. Don't try to do it their way. We common folk need to move around to gain positions of advantage. Don't bend into any awkward reaching out position. What you are looking for is a spot that allows you to apply good leverage and dexterity. I find that being on one knee works well for me.
How do you know that you have the right spot for a particular task?
Easy. Try another position, say the other side of the boat. Is that side
better for dealing with connecting some parts. If so, then make a mental
note to switch to that spot when doing that particular process. It really
is okay to jump around from one side to another While it may seem to lose
time, it really saves handfuls of minutes if the position shift leads to
a smooth rather than chancy connection.
You might want to see if there are some other steps you could do on one side of the boat before having to bound over to the other side to do a repeat step there. Generally though there aren't many such shortcuts.
2. The umbrella principle.
When people insert frame halves into the skin of their foldables, they seem not to realize that what they have in their hands is virtually an umbrella frame (early German brochures for foldables often called the frame an umbrella-like structure). The frame half is trying to expand out to the sides. That's how it helps keep the hull in tension, It's the same way an umbrella frame stretches out the nylon covering material.
Some frames don't snag up when putting them into the hull or taking them out. Others do, and when they do, the frame half either cannot be fully inserted or twists into an uneven, off-center position that can affect later assembly processes such as proper connection of coamings.
To virtually guarantee that the frame doesn't go in badly, squeeze that umbrella inward toward its center. For example, with the Feathercraft K-Light, hug the open end of the frame half with your arms. Depending on the length of your arms, the lower stringers should be resting in your hands while the upper stringers are either alongside the inside of your forearms or in the crook of your elbows. Squeeze inward on the frame with your arms while inserting the half, It will slide perfectly into position. If it starts going in crooked you can adjust the angle by squeezing inward some more on the tubes resting on the inside of your arms, This principle works also for Nautiraids and Pouchs. The reverse works too. When removing a frame half on these boats, squeeze in the open end with your arms to reduce the outward pressure that is sticking the frame half in the hull.
3. Toothpaste tube-and-cap principle.
I can't tell you how often I've seen people suspend precepts of physics
that they use in everyday life when it comes to dealing with assembly parts
of a folding kayak. Simply put, would you try to remove the cap on a tube
of toothpaste without hold the tube itself with your other hand? Of course
not.
Use both your hands when doing anything around your foldable. Grasp
both pieces of the work. Steady or position apart with one hand while connecting
another part to it with your other hand.
The biggest offenses against this principle seems to occur when dealing with aluminum tube connections such as those on the Feathercraft K-Light. For example, when connecting the center rods (those resting in the sling seat) to their bow and stern mates, people often fail to grab those bow or stern rods when trying to insert the center ones into them. Often what happens then is that the collection jams while only partly or halfway seated. About the only place I've seen where you can get away with not holding end rods when connecting center ones is in the Klepper Aerius I and 2000. The connecting point is under deck but you can usually slide the center rod into position holding just one end. I think it has to do with the more generous tolerances in Kleppers at the joining spot.
4. Different angle/different order principle.
This applies to aluminum tubes connections mainly but also to the wooden frames of some models.
Let's start with the trouble with some wooden frames. Klepper singles, either the Aerius I or the 2000, often give people trouble when connecting the numbers 2, 3, 4 ribs to the gunwales. This is particularly true when the boats are spanking new and the gunwales have not taken a set or curve to them. What needs to be done is, using the two-hands principle, grab the gunwale at the bottom and pull it innards to twist it into an angle in which the gunwale's fitting lines up properly with the mating fitting on the rib. It doesn't necessarily take strength, just leverage which you will have if you are in the right position (Generally this is the opposite side of the boat. But as can seen from the photo above, sometimes the near side position works too). If this still doesn't seem to work, then change the order of ribs you are working on. For example move to the center open top rib aria another end. There is usually a prescribed order for a particular model, but, in the real world, wooden ribs and gunwales have a mind of their own and you may find it easier to defy the suggested order of rib placement.
On aluminum tube frames the same process applies. In the Feathercraft K-Light, using the two-hands principle, adjust the angle of connection. Say you are trying to move the slider at the center of the boat so that it bridges two tubes (Folbots have a similar situation for their stringers at the center of the boat). First see if the slider will simply slide fully into position without sticking part way. If not, then pull the aluminum tubes toward the center of the boat; does that allow the slider to seat fully. If not, lift or lower the tubes slightly; try the slider again. It is a matter of feel. It helps if you were a safecracker in an earlier life. Finesse and feel not force. A good thing to try is to make the connection without looking. Do it by feel alone, i.e. close your eyes. It is amazing how often your fingers can "see" better than your eyes when it comes to such motions.
Whatever you do, don't ram the slider into position, It will likely only get stuck. If it gets stuck, do not waste energy trying to loosen it. Instead, move to another set of tubes and their slider Getting others set up properly often makes the errant slider behave better when you go back to it.
5. Mountain to Mohammed Principle
This is not to take the name of the Prophet in vain, but rather to get across the idea of moving bigger objects to smaller ones. A case in point in assembling or knocking down foldables is the K-Light. I've seen people have trouble snapping rods into their holders on the ribs. If you look at the video, the individual is doing it with just finger pressure. But some of us do not have that finger strength or knack. In such cases, reverse the procedure, i.e. press the rib down against the rod to get it into the holder.
Doing it this way gives you a lot of leverage. You have a full hand
grip on the rib, you press your weight down to press the rib to the rod.
It also can save you getting your knuckles scraped. If you reach around
the rod to pull it to rod holder you can rub your skin against the boat's
skin and its skin is a lot tougher than yours. [In the photo shown earlier
on page 3, I'm pushing the whole boat down to snap a rib to a rod rather
than getting my hand inside against the skin to position the rod.]
The other day I was knocking down a demo K-Light when a K-Light owner came up to me saying "I want to see how you get the halves out; they always seem to get stuck inside the hull on me". I showed him the simple trick based on the umbrella principle, one of six covered in an earlier article in Folding Kayaker (March/April 1994) He was astonished how simple the solution was. The episode got me thinking about some follow-ups, including a suggestion from one reader and a question from another. Here they are.
1. Fitz Pannil of Woodbride Connecticut writes about his Folbot Aleut
1.
Next, follow the advice from the six principles, namely the position-is-everything principle and the different angle/different order principle. In Folbots that would mean working from the opposite side of the boat, which would give you a better position to apply the proper force. And apply a different angle on the connected tubes by pulling them up a bit and toward the center of the boat, You're aiming to get the aluminum sleeve and the connected stringers to align in a straight line. This will relieve pressure on the sleeve from the slight bow shape created by the connected stringers. When you get that straight alignment, the sleeve should slide off easily.
Regarding the spring buttons that hold the deck bars to the crosspieces at the front and back of the cockpit: They are a pain, no question about it. But, they will yield, First, make certain to lubricate the spring buttons with some WD-40 or better yet, Boeshield T-9 which was developed by Boeing Aviation (see writeup below). It is important that the spring remain free-moving. Next, don't try to do it with your fingers. Often, it is much too hard to depress with a finger tip alone. Instead, use the tip of a house key to press the button down to free the deck bar I hope that this is enough of a "modern design technique" for Fitz.
[A few notes: There's an easier way to remove the two ribs that attach to the deck tubes that doesn't require any tools. Harry Shin wrote to mention this technique that a lot of Folboters have discovered on their own: Unlatch the rib, rotate it 90 degrees, and bring the bottom up. (In other words, you're rotating the rib around the deck tube). The rib will pop loose from the deck tube. I discovered this accidentally while reaching for a key...!
As for the sleeve couplings that join the floor tubes: Getting the little detent button into the hole in the sleeve can be a little bothersome, as can getting it out again. The answer? Don't bother. Friction between the hull and the sleeve and tubes seems to keep it in place just fine without the detent. Think of the detent rather as a useful feature that keeps the sleeve from getting lost when the boat is disassembled.
As for lubricants: It may not be a good idea to use WD-40 anywhere around a folding kayak. WD-40 is basically kerosene and DMSO and has no real long-term lubricating properties. It may not be good for some synthetic hull and deck materials,. either. --mike ]
2. Tom Anthony of upper New York State, a happy owner of a Feathercraft
K-Light, e-mailed me the following.
Leaving the boat assembled is your first step before you try changing anything. Recently I saw an example of a brand new Aerius I in which the new owner filed down fittings and sanded down some wooden parts because they were not mating properly. If he had just forced the assembly and allowed the boat frame to sit around for a week or more along Tom's suggestion, much of that tightness would have begun to disappear If you loosen an Aerius I or 2000 too much at the outset, you may have a boat that is too loose as it takes a set later Be patient.
Next, I like Tom's suggestion about taking notes, He is a scientist, so this comes naturally to him but we can all benefit from such a systematic approach. Make not only a mental note, as I suggested in the six principles article, but also some written ones. This is particularly important if you don't make your foldable often. Six months later when you go to assemble the thing, you'll be happy you have a written record what works well to get it put together.
How fast can you assemble or knock down your folding kayak? Most people with Kleppers, Nautiraids and Folbots take in the 15-20 minute range for their doubles (it's a bit longer for the Feathercraft double because of the distinct cockpit coamings and hatches), Or at least that's what we say when asked by a doubting friend.
What's the hurry? Lots of reasons. Quicker assembly means less reasons
to put off going out, more time on the water a chance to socialize with
friends while gathering at a put-in. If you want to improve your time for
what ever reason and have more fun with your foldable, enter a folding
kayak race, or organize one yourself.
Last year I was approached by the New York Harbor Festival. They were looking for an event with which an ordinary person could identify unlike the world-class sailing yachts that are the Festival's main event out of sight in the harbor I thought of the folding kayak race from Port Townsend and, suddenly we were on the schedule. Being New York, the race took on colossal proportions. Assemble the boats at the South Street Seaport before a crowd of a few thousand onlookers. A 100 yard run that included snaking through a fence and launching off a high pier (remember this is the cruel big city). Then a mile round trip to Brooklyn and back across the treacherous East River with a [??] knot beam current, while maneuvering among the many tugs and speedboat traffic of a July weekend, Then, back up the pier the land run and disassembly back into bags. A Klepper won, but, then again, no other type boats had entered. Eric Stiller with a friend Craig Uher did the whole thing in just 22 minutes; their actual assembly of the boat was under 5 minutes. I was in the race with a partner Al Ysaguirre. We assembled the boat in just over 7 minutes including putting on the tuck-under spray deck and rudder. But we were knocked out of the race when we collided with another Klepper team on the water and came dangerously close to being chewed up by the screw of a cruise boat.
Take a look at the accompanying box [see below]. While it is aimed at the double Klepper the tips and approach work equally well with the Folbot and Nautiraid. In fact, the Folbot may have a head start. The zippered decks help the process as does having some parts already connected to the keel ends. Scott Walter of Queens, NY and his wife Michelle practiced with their Folbot for an aborted race this year. Even with their two preschool daughters climbing all over them, they still managed to get assembly down to around 1O minutes with just a few tries and a systematic team approach very similar to that of the military. Special considerations for the Folbot include Michelle making sure the frame pieces fit into the metal groove in the hull, her zipping up and velcroeing while Scott works on the cockpit ribs, etc.
Klepper Aerius II: Two people can assemble the basic boat in about 7 to 8 minutes. (See above for tips on speed assembly instructions used by the military. They would also apply to the Folbot below.)
Folbot Greenland II. Two people will take about 10-12 minutes for the basic boat.
Feathercraft K-Light. One person can make this boat in under 12 minutes.
The first few times you are trying assembly make just the frame. Without the resistance of the skin, which the frame is trying to stretch out and keep in tension, everything will go together easier. You also have more room to see what is going on without having to deal with deck overhang obscuring the process. This will also convince you, for example, that, indeed, those sliders do slide over those rod ends in the middle of the boat; i.e.,, the manufacturer has not made a mistake and shipped you mismatched parts. That confidence will help you when you are struggling when working with the frame inside the skin.
Mark every part with color-coded tape. Manufacturers are getting better all the time at making it easier to identify what goes where. But, you can always improve on even the best factory-provided identifiers. Keep it simple and easy to see. Make it so that an onlooker can immediately discern the pattern of your color-coding, You may want to indicate even starboard and port sides on gunwales such as Kleppers. While these can go on either side, the wood does take a set eventually. Why not have the advantage of that proper curve when assembling the boat?
Lubricate everything that can be lubricated. Aluminum framed boats benefit the most from this procedure but so too do their wooden frame brethren. Feathercraft generally provides a tube of SuperLube with its boats. Use it at every male-female joint and for any parts that slide such as the sliders on the K-Light and any rods that are stretched out by the levering process used in some models. You only have to do it every couple of months. On Kleppers and Nautiraids, put a little grease or wax on the fittings. They will close or snap together more smoothly. On both these makes, you should wax the perimeter bead that is used to attach the deck to the coaming.
[Klepper fittings are a little rough at first but quickly smooth out after a few assembly/disassembly cycles. Peter Schwierzke of Klepper West tells me that Klepper used to tumble fittings to smooth edges before anodizing them but discontinued this process as part of their effort to keeps costs down. --mike]
According to the instructions for Kleppers, connecting the bow and stern pieces to the forks on the keelboards requires you to lull the forks apart until prongs on the end pieces can slip into holes in the forks. This operation requires strength to get both prongs Eared into position. For most people, the time honored way of doing it with the Aerius II is to slip one's knee slightly between the forks to hold them far enough apart to slip in the prong fittings.
It has never been easy for weaker individuals to perform he feat with the Aerius I because the tension at the forks is even greater than on double Kleppers. And, now with the advent of the Aerius 2000, it is even more difficult because there isn't any room o slip in one's knee to hold things apart. The 2000 is aimed partly at the women's market, and, so, some remedy is needed. The solution is fairly simple. Ignore the instructions that lave you trying to get both prongs lined up at their respective holes and instead do one prong first and then the other.
It works beautifully and seems to last and last. Boeshield T-9 bills itself as a premium metal protection product but it is also a superb lubricant. Over a year ago, I sprayed some of it on a sliding iron gate. Despite snow, rain and heavy exposure to New York City grime, the coating on the gate's moving parts, wheels and rail remain as fresh as the day I sprayed the stuff on.
I got my 12 oz can from a marine shop for about $10. Boeshield T-9's great advantage is that it is waterproof, so it will not easily be washed away by bilge water and ocean spray. It has many other applications beyond the marine world. Use it for your car to lubricate locks and hinges and battery terminals and wire harnesses. Good on tools, too, and fishing and gun tackle. And, of course, on your folding kayak's metal parts and pieces.
| You can donate a dollar (or more) via PayPal to help keep the site going. If you donate this way, everything goes direct to web hosting- no cash to me. It just helps pay my hosting bills. |
|
| You can buy Folding Kayak merchandise at Cafe Press |
By buying kayak books through Amazon you help to defray the costs of this site. Every book you buy generates a small dividend for this web site, at no cost to yourself. (See the Books page for specific kayaking recommendations).