So how do you go from seat of your pants, by some tools and materiality and
hope for the best to a planed project which others can repeat and get the exact
same result?
I have designed all sorts of widgets and gadgets for the automotive aftermarket. Usual you have a document, statement of work or a napkin sketch of what the part needs to be based on all sorts of information. You know that item "needed" fits in a space that exists and the part has so much space, so much in out, and it has to perform some task. Believe it or not that makes design quite easy.
My Kayak interest started after several shows and lifting several 50 lbs boats and then looking at some slightly lighter stitch and glue plywood ones 35 to 38 lbs. Then my Dad decided to go with two PU Polyurethane Molded commercial kayaks tipping the barroom scale at 45 lbs each. Portaging them up to the lake was an adventure in it self. Our Fold Boat started to look good to me and it was like 70 lbs.
With all the draw backs associated with the wait and the price of the stitch and glue kits around $900, fold-able from $1500 to $3000 and the commercial products up to $5000. It became my objective to create a solution which would give me the lightest craft possible, along the way create a process which combines the old Eskimo concepts and methods of constructing a boat all the while bring the latest and greatest technology and materials of today onto the playing field.
I have designed all sorts of widgets and gadgets for the automotive aftermarket. Usual you have a document, statement of work or a napkin sketch of what the part needs to be based on all sorts of information. You know that item "needed" fits in a space that exists and the part has so much space, so much in out, and it has to perform some task. Believe it or not that makes design quite easy.
My Kayak interest started after several shows and lifting several 50 lbs boats and then looking at some slightly lighter stitch and glue plywood ones 35 to 38 lbs. Then my Dad decided to go with two PU Polyurethane Molded commercial kayaks tipping the barroom scale at 45 lbs each. Portaging them up to the lake was an adventure in it self. Our Fold Boat started to look good to me and it was like 70 lbs.
With all the draw backs associated with the wait and the price of the stitch and glue kits around $900, fold-able from $1500 to $3000 and the commercial products up to $5000. It became my objective to create a solution which would give me the lightest craft possible, along the way create a process which combines the old Eskimo concepts and methods of constructing a boat all the while bring the latest and greatest technology and materials of today onto the playing field.
