Thread: to cove and bead?

Sorry about the delay in responding. I've been away racing my strip built K1.

I am currently building my 9th strip built kayak and have not used bead and cove for any of them. I am quite satisfied that there is no benefit, either in time or the quality of the job.

I use the method described by Rob Macks in the link provided earlier.

Apart from my first two kayaks, which were WRC, I have used mostly Paulownia with WRC accent strips. I have found the Paulownia very similar to the WRC as far as bending, cutting and sanding goes, but it is roughly 20% lighter.

I am very keen on the idea of light kayaks and that is just one part of the reason I use so much Paulownia. After the first two kayaks, I also became convinced that 5mm strips are better than 6mm and I notice that Rob Macks is also a big fan of the thinner strips. He explains why here. Laughing Loon Shop Tips

All my kayaks since the first two have been 5mm strips except for my to racing kayaks that are 4mm strips.

Fortunately I paddle my kayaks in water that doesn't involve bouncing them off rocks, so I don't need a bullet proof layup. Consequently my 4.5 metre sea kayaks weigh about 13kg with bulkheads, hatches and seat fitted and the 5 metre one is less than 15kg. The 4.5 metre TK1 is under 8.5 kg and my 5.2 metre K1 is exactly 10.8kg. The K1 is about half a kg over what it might have been, but I was building it from left over strips and a lot of the deck is WRC.

Others have explained the theory behind the advantages of a light kayak. if you want evidence of just how much difference it makes, go to the Blue Heron website, download the free kayak designing software, check the drag on the default design (or your own), then move the waterline up so that the Design Displacement is about 10 or 20kg heavier. Then check the drag again.
Blue Heron Kayaks

One other advantage of the thinner strips that Rob doesn't mention is that when you bevel the strip, you don't have to take as mush off. The gap you are trying to get rid of is about 20% smaller than if you used 6mm strips.

My reading on the subject of bead and cove suggests that if it goes well, it does a good job, but if things don't go well, there are a few reasons why it will look significantly worse than bevelled strips.

There are few photos of my kayaks on this forum and on the Blue Heron forum if you want further evidence that bevelled strips can produce a tidy job.