FYI, there’s a time lapse of this entire bend in yesterday’s post.
I’ve changed my steam bending technique a bit in the last year. I still work a nice tight bend over my thumbs before putting the rib in the boat, but now instead of pushing down in the center of the rib to further tighten and even out the bends, (which translates into a more stable kayak) these days I’m grabbing the rib out by the bends and pushing downward and inward with my thumbs simultaneously on both sides.
It’s a subtle difference but I feel like it helps me get the same tight bends without pressing down so much in the center, which can give the ribs a little bit of a memory that slowly leads to keel-collapse over time.
I can’t definitively prove that this new method is better for preventing keel collapse, but I think it will be. Either way it’s really important to leave a slight arch in the rib otherwise the pressure of the skinning process alone will force a reverse curve into the ribs before you even get on the water!
Working with strong enough ribs in the first place is also important. When I first started building, my kayaks weighed around 27 pounds and now they are pushing closer to 31, with 2 1/2 of those pounds being stronger ribs! That extra rib strength is the difference between a kayak frame that will last 15 years vs 5!
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