The aluminium frame of the kayak is made of several parts. From right to left: ribs, straight bars, tips, wedges for the tub, a little connector for the wedges (not on the picture), round elements for attachment of the spray skirt (not on the picture) and the steel spanner cable (not on the picture).
– Ribs are bundled with elastic cord, the one you use at the deck of the kayak, this also counts for the straight tub wedges.
– The ends of the straight bars (bound together in four bundles with elastic cords) are covered with water bottles cut in half. Because of the many clips, one of the bundles uses a wider bottle.
– Back and front edges (tips) are carried within the 100 meters bag (home made), left and right from the fabric.
Spanner: no good with gear
I leave the steel spanner cable at home, because it blocks free entrance to the compartments, making it hard to pack and unpack the boat.
Shorter bars
The shrinkage of the outher fabric in higher temperatures can make it very difficult to build up the kayak. To solve the problem I removed 3 centimeters at 4 of the straight bars. The left over rings become extention rings for when it gets colder.
Collapsable rib
I have removed two punch – pins of one of the ribs, so that the aluminium part above can be removed, and placed back again. This enables to place the backpack (the 70 liter Orlieb bag) at one piece at the backside of the kayak. I would not do this with more than one rib, as it might harm the sturdiness of the aluminium frame.
