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9.(Please click any thumb nail image to view full size)
Next up we have the first assembly, basically you open the two bottom halves of the boat to reveal the port & starboard sides folded into the bottom of the boat. By grasping the gunwales you can start to open the boat. Now make sure you have the magic opening stick handy at this point, because you WILL need it. If you hold the boat at its mid point & use the opening stick just in front of the center seat mounts to wedge the boat open, it makes putting the seats in easier. The stick has 2 positions, the first notch lets you have a breather & assess the situation, then one final push is required to get to the end position (5). This point is shown in the photo below, with my nephew doing his best to get in the shot :)
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So at this point you have to fit the middle seat, remember to check the direction you fit the seats, it is important, there is a big notice on the underside telling you which way they should face, see picture 3 again ! Now back to fitting the seats, the best method to achieve this is to deploy the outer hangers, but leave the center one folded ! Slot the seat into the bracket on the side of the hull nearest you & line up the pin hole & fit the pin. It is simpler to place the seat into the bracket from above, rather than trying to slide it in from the rear, the reason being that the bracket has rivet heads in it & it won't slide past these. Once one side is in place, with the pin fitted, run round to the other side & force the hull side far enough apart to drop the other end of the seat into the bracket. The opening stick will pop out at this point, set it towards the bow for future use. Align & fit the locking pin. DO NOT lower the center hanger into place yet !
Repeat the above procedure for the rear seat, remembering NOT to lower the center hanger into place. Now use the opening stick again if required to assist with getting the bow seat into place. Due to the tapered seat edges, this seat can be slid into position, if you have opened the hull wide enough with the opening stick. The center hanger can be located in position for the front seat. See picture 6 & 8.
Now you have to fit the transom, just drop it in roughly where it is supposed to go, making sure that the rear outboard mount goes on the outside of the rear membrane. You may need to widen the hull slightly to get the transom to slip all the way down, so keep the magic opening stick handy ! Once the transom is roughly in position, locate the upper bolt hole & align it with the corresponding hole in the angle bracket attached to the transom. In the bow cap bag, you will find the bolts, washers, grommets & wing nuts required to lock the transom in place. Take one nut & place a washer on it, then slide through the UPPER mounting hole, place another washer on the other end & screw on a wing nut, DO NOT tighten the wing nut. Now locate the lower hole on the same side & take a bolt, add a washer & then a rubber grommet & pass through the hull & bracket, place another washer & wing nut on the other side, DO NOT tighten either of these yet ! Now repeat this procedure for the other side of the transom. See picture 7.
Now you can tighten the lower wing nuts first, followed by the upper wing nuts. Finally locate the center hanger for the middle & rear seats into place. Job done, you can fit the bow cap if you so wish, but it is not worth the effort IMO & the factory has not drilled the hull for you, so it's up to you !
To disassemble, do the whole thing in REVERSE order ! Remember to raise the center hangers for the middle & rear seats FIRST.
Picture 9 shows the hull sitting upside down the following morning, as I have left it to STRETCH for a few days (as advised by the UK supplier) this apparently makes it easier to open the boat in future :) The hull shape, as you can see is a medium 'V' entry, with a shallow 'V' center section to an almost flat section at the transom. The hinge cover tubes act as keels & give a degree of directional stability & the forward sections should act as spray deflectors. You can see the stress marks on the hull in various places, where some hard components rest when the boat is folded, or are in tension when the boat is open. This is normal & only visible on the green & aluminum coloured hulls, they are still there on the white hulls, but are invisible because they are the same colour as the rest of the hull !
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