- Older in Vanuatu - South Pacific 2007:
In California - Newer in Vanuatu - South Pacific 2007:
Jon and Nina
Aundrea (an innocent bystander) Writes:
Open the crates, pull out the pieces, set every thing up for assembly. Jon and Nina hadn't yet seen the handiwork, but were looking forward to the assembly process. The idea that Landis had come up with was to use some sort of construction foam and fiberglass with T nuts... this was done on the center portion of the kayak, and the front and rear portions could then be bolted up to the center piece. However, as the pieces were being put together, the t-nuts seemed to get looser - in fact some of them were so loose that it became difficult, if not impossible to line up the bolts. Jon was definitely NOT comfortable with the structural integrity of the work that had been done. His concern was that in rough seas, the T nuts could pull out, and the boat could end up being in more pieces than desired. He has had a boat come apart in rough seas before, in the middle of the night, an unpleasant and life threatening experience – one that he did not care to repeat!
After some consultation with all parties concerned, it was decided that some aluminum plates would be cut for reinforcement - sort of like giant washers. The core material would then be drilled through, and the three pieces bolted together. Of course modifications of this sort take quite a while, especially when one is doing the work in a location that is not one's home turf, so they are still in process as I write.
Two Days Later:
OK. The boats are together. Structurally strong. They leak. Jon and Nina are off to the airport with a stop in Santa Barbara to buy some silicone sealant. Meanwhile, fires rage around Jon's house in Montana.
As Nina says. The boats leak and the house may burn down. Let’s go adventuring.
Dated: 08/20/2007
