Shrinkage

When you think of the Inuit (Eskimos) up in the Arctic Circle building their kayaks, the mind has a tendency to wander over all the technological advances that make building a kayak here so much faster. But there are still limitations. Wood will only bend in certain ways, even with steam applied. I had 5 piece of oak leftover from the ribs that I was going to use to make the cockpit rim. I knew I would probably break the first one, but I thought I would be good after that. But no. The pile on the right is the broken remains of four of the five pieces. I couldn't make a full hoop no matter what combination of soaking, steaming and bending I tried. In the end the rim is made up of four separate pieces and cover with cloth to hide my shame.

Still, I got it all sewn in and in 45 degree weather I carried the kayak to the side of the house and soaked it under the water faucet. Sure there was no hose because it was still cold enough to snow yesterday, so I literally carried it back and forth under the faucet to get it all wet. A little application of the iron and now to wait for it to dry. The shrinkage should remove any wrinkles and hopefully the frame can stand the pressure. But as it sits moistly on the porch, this is how it looks.