Seriously, does anyone know why SR thwarts have a slight upward bow? I believe that virtually all other aluminum thwarts are straight as an arrow.
So is there a valid engineering reason for this?
Jim
vaugely curious
(I think I will let this thread stew for a while and then call Red Rock Outfitters for the real skinny)
Well, usually a load imposed on a thwart
will come from above, and arching the thwart a bit would make it stronger for loads from above.
It could also help keep a Cookes or other canoe cover supported so water drains better… At least I think it could.
Peeked my curiousity
Since I now own a SR Q-17 with aluminum thwarts. I wonder if it has something to do with their “floating ribs” system for giving the boat the support that it needs?
Jeff
So packs can fit better under the
thwarts, though I think its splitting hairs.
Structural, no…thwarts pull in gunwales.
I am not an engineer however.
My husband is a structural engineer and I asked him the same of our Wilderness 18. He could explain it better but he is not here.
Actually, thwarts usually are set so
that they have little or no spreading or narrowing effect on the hull.