Ok; 6 years ago I opted for the S&G Pygmy Artic Tern.
Knew absolutely zip about how these boats handled in currents and quartering winds and confused water.
Good news is: I’ve lost a ton of weight ;O)
Bad news is: The already high riding Tern now bobs like a cork and the hard chine makes eddying a balancing act supreme.
Clearly what is needed is a soft chine boat that rides lower in the water.
Wood build is cheaper but I’m unsure what designs offer less freeboard and a more rounded deck style.
Figured I’d ask.
Repair wise I love the wood over kevlar or CF …it’s more in the design.
Call Pygmy and CLC .They surely
have models you will like.
Float lower?
I don’t see why a multi-chine hull would float lower than a hard-chine design. It would seem to be a matter of buoyancy and load rather than shape.
I really like the looks of CLCs Arctic Hawk kit (I have a WS glass Arctic Hawk). It is a hard=chine design, however.
If it’s not uncooth…
…I’ll offer a shameless plug. I worked with Eskimo Tom http://www.finewoodwatercraft.com/ to come up with a plan for my S&G canoe. I couldn’t be happier. He designs kayaks as well. The nice thing about working with Tom is that when he’s designing the boat, he really goes out of his way to collaborate with the builder and figure out what their needs are.
We traded 1/2 dozen emails and phone calls to nail down exactly what I was looking for. Capacity, type of paddling I would be doing, size (and weight) of boat I was looking for, skill level, etc. Then he came up with a few proposed boats. He really will take just about all variables into consideration. His plans are really reasonably priced too, I think I paid $50 a couple of years ago. He won’t charge you until you come to an agreement on the design, so it can’t hurt to shoot him an email.
If you’ve built a S&G before you know what’s involved. It also sounds like you know what you’re looking for and what you want to avoid, which is always helpful.
I learned the hard way. I built a second canoe using the HULLS software to create my own design and I’m not nearly as happy with it. If I build another boat, I’ll go consult with Tom again.
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– Last Updated: Sep-23-10 12:07 PM EST –
Sounds like you need a lower volume boat which would ride lower in the water.
Hard vs soft chine is independent of the volume.
Sorry can't help on specific designs.
what do you weigh now?
– Last Updated: Sep-23-10 1:19 PM EST –
The AT is a good design, there are other good lower volume s&g designs. Pygmy is coming out with some lower volume eight panel hulls. One Ocean Kayaks Cirrus is different than the AT. Are you looking for a less maneuverable kayak? CLCs Shearwater 17 or Eric Schades Shearwater Merganser 17 is a good strong tracking kayak with very distinct lean to turn handling. Imagine your tern with less volume, sitting deeper in the water, faster and more of a tendency to stick to an arc in a turn than be able to slide a bit as the AT is capable.
Otherwise there's d dozen plastic boats that will fit your paddling preferences for less than the total materials cost of a kit construction.