Tech Talk

Working out the Kinks

The designers and engineers at FeatherCraft obviously had their thinking caps on when it comes to the Wisper XPS.  It is a major improvement on the original Wisper model with re-designed and increased structural integrity, new and improved material for the hull and deck, a forward hatch and the addition of a rudder.  The frame goes together quickly and intuitively.  The forward and rear sections slide into the skin and a clever set of expansion bars tightens the skin with plenty of room for adjustment.

There are always glitches in every system.  Some are the result of design, others the result of conditions.  In my case, pounding through the breaking waves on the beach put some heavy stress on the frame.  As a result, the expansion bars were slightly bent and I was unable to disassemble the kayak.  I tried several suggestions from online forums but nothing seemed to work and three of the five bars were immovable.  I emailed Feathercraft the details of my problem and the team in Vancouver was quick to respond.  The good news was that my problem was taking the boat apart, meaning I could make the trip and deal with breaking it down at the end.

Along the way I learned a couple of lessons.  A visit to my friend Bao's rubber farm near Kapoe required us to load the kayaks into his pickup truck.  I had a brain fart and forgot to re-install the rear backbone and when we arrived at the farm I discovered that the keel bar had slipped out of position.  It went back into position easily and stayed there for the remainder of the journey, but that  education would prove valuable at the conclusion of the trip for taking it apart.

A second event occurred that also helped.  The pounding the boat took in "The Great Crash of 2010" put an incredible load on the frame.  The next day I discovered that the pressure released one of the chine bars.  That left two expansion bars that were seized.

At the end of the trip, I put the boat between two chairs, removed the backbone and put some downward pressure on the frame.  As at Bao's, the keel and chine bars slipped out of the mating socket and I was able to take the boat apart.  To iron out the final kinks and free the seized bars I took over of a machine shop in the town of Pak Bara.  With the help of an oxy/acetylene torch, drill press, wood blocks and some liberal pounding, the bars became free and I was able to have the entire frame in all of its component pieces.

But that exercise was all academic as the Feathercraft Support Crew sent a complete set of expansion bars which were waiting for me when I returned to Koh Phayam.

Ian Taylor with the forward section of the Wisper XPS