I need to trim these braces at the black marks so they clear the notch in the large flat bar mid brace.
The large flat bar mid brace cut, drilled, and countersunk.
It looks like I have to go back and trim the other set of midbrace braces so they clear the notch in the aluminum
I thought long and hard about how I am going to cut in the nuts. The instructions said to use a 3/8ths inch drill bit. Then I saw a spade bit in the store, and thought that’s perfect. It will give me a nice flat bottom. So, I use a spade bit to drill the holes. I figure that if I do all my braces in the matched pairs, at the same time, laied out so they mirror each other, I don’t have to worry about putting the nuts on the wrong side of a brace.
Here is a brace with the nuts set. After this one, I lined up 2 edges of the nuts with the long side of the brace. I guess it is the perfectionist in me (some of my friends might have a different way to phrase it). It doesn’t really take any longer, and it looks neater when it is done.
I haven’t decided for sure how I am going to cut off the bolts yet. I might use one of those cheap wire cutters with a bolt cutter in them. I think that will end up looking nicer. I would probably then clean up the tip a bit with my Dremel. I am thinking that using a cutoff wheel is going to leave cut marks on the nut. I could also cut it flush with a hacksaw.
I guess the lazys will win out and if it is easier unscrew the screw, and then nip it with the pliers, or if it is easier running a hacksaw on it’s side.
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The whole boat folds up into this little package of wood, aluminum, nuts and bolts. It isn’t folding too tight because I can’t be bothered with the details in the directions. Flat Head Screws, not pan head screws. Oh well, I got some now, so lets see what it looks like with the correct hardware.
Isn’t it cute? It’s like looking down into a crib at a newborn. It isn’t all that much bigger then one. Well, not that one that was born a while ago in China.
It looks like an alligator ready to eat my empty Mt. Dew bottle. Ok, so it is late and I am tired. 
The folded frame doesn’t sit that tall for the 12 foot long version of the boat. If I make the stringers longer, the short braces and whatnot will have more of a gap between them in the middle. I would like to make the boat an inch or two wider, but I think I would need to re-figure more then just adding an inch to the length of all the short wooden braces. I think I would need to make the holes in the aluminum farther apart if I want it to fold up tight, and that would make the boat taller, which I don’t want. Hrmm, I will have to think about this one.
Tada, the assembled boat frame. Now I get to take it all apart, round the corners that need to be rounded, bevel the edges that need to be beveled, counter sink the holes that need to be countersunk, cut in all my nuts, sand, and urethane the frame. Fhew, that sounds like work to me! Oh wait, then I have to put it all back together! This will be a good project for during the week. I can do a section at a time.
Design Flaw. A 12 foot PakYak won’t fit all six foot four inches of me. This photo has my back touching the rear thwart and my feet touching to front one. I won’t have to worry about putting the spray skirt on while I am in this boat. I am going to have to sit down next to the boat, and see how much longer I NEED to make the next one in order for me to fit into it. I am going to finish this one up as I have the extra wood already, a lot of the aluminum for a new frame. I am thinking that Katie is too tall to fit into this one as well, so I just as well sell it to recoup some of the money I spent on the boat. So, if anybody wants a 12 foot finished PakYak Folding Kayak. I will have one for sale. If you speak up now, you can even pick the color skin you want. Make me an offer… Or I am willing to trade it for an Industrial, heavy material sewing machine that I need to sew up the skin.
Here is a side view of the boat. The pieces that are going down the center, and then down to the ground get a little hook on the end,and they lock the whole front and back together. I haven’t made the little hooks or the slots that they fit in yet, so they hang loose like you see for now.
I don’t think it is ready to go in yet. I just thought I would let the boat see what is has in store for it. Maybe if I start at an early age, I can scare it into not leaking on me.
I laid out all the pieces on the ground so I knew where the longer and short stringers went together. I was really confused for a moment, because I was short a stringer, and then I remembered, I had broken one. So I cut a new stringer to size.
I tried assembling all the little wooden braces to the aluminum braces first. I don’t think this was as easy as bolting all the little aluminum braces to the flat plates, and then bolting them to the angle stock braces. I also think it was easier to bolt the whole thing together folded up like I did for the first half then unfolded like this. I kept fighting the sides that formed the gunwales. They just wanted to bind up on me.
Here I have the 2 completed halves on my my Do It Yourself folding Kayak. This second half went together much faster, even though I fought with with assembly more. The first time I wasn’t really sure if it was all going to fit. The second half, I knew it was all going to fit, I just needed to keep taking off pieces and shaving them with the block plane so they fit.
It is pretty amazing that the frame on the left folds up into what you see on the right isn’t it? Once I get the right hardware installed, the frame will fold up tighter. I bought more nuts and bolts tonight, the right kind, lets just hope they are the right size. I think the ones I got will all be too long, but I can fix that with my Dremel and a cutoff wheel. I couldn’t find 5/8ths long flat head screws. So I got 3/4 inch.
