feedback - I’m luvin’ it!
Thanks again for all the great advice folks. If I ever get the privelege of paddling with some of you, beers are on me afterwards!
Some thoughts -
The Primary reason for moving the b-heads is to decrease the floodable volume of the cockpit. However, increasing the storage space does have its appeal. Also, the footpump is something I feel pretty strongly about adding, as a plumb bow boat is just about impossible to perform the solo dump&pump ala sea-kayaker mag. There just isn’t a good way to lift the bow with one hand.
Installing the pump on a pedastal doesn’t really appeal to me, as the space in front would be essentially wasted, and the cockpit volume would still be ridiculously huge. We’re talking over a foot of space between my feet and the front b-head as it currently is positioned.
I read greyaks thread about filling up the cockpit space with foam, but the potential for mold&mildew concerns me, as I am not the most consciencious regarding rinsing and drying the boat prior to storage.
thanks again for the quality feedback and well thought out advice. much appreciated.
I don’t see how
the shape of the bow really has anything to do with lifting the bow to drain the cockpit while in the water. What am I missing here? If alone the boat is inverted and you are pushing up on basically the same shape on any kayak. Makes no difference for T type rescues either (but aft bukhead may warrant the full seesaw type dump when that’s an option).
On my foam set up, mildew is a possibility. Nothing is glued in though - and all can be pulled out easily to rinse and dry. So far I just leave it all in.
Saltwater seems to kill mildew so it would be knocked off most everytime I paddle. I also freshwater wash the kayak every time (might not if I was on GLakes like you - but salt here is intense). I have to keep the boat inside so it needs to be fairly clean. Being in AC also keeps mold at bay. It still bears watching though. Who know how it will hold up long term. I really hate that mildew smell! For now, the foam set up is great.
Saw a neat bow lift
from David Lewis. He set his paddle blade down flat on the water and put a hand on top of it. This made for increased surface area and made his lifting the front of the boat that much easier.
Maybe this will help you.
No mildew here, either…
…but I paddle salt water almost exclusively. I also make it a point to put a drain channel along the keel line of any foam bulkhead pads.
Ditto the keel drain channel NM
Bow flip
The shape of the bow has a lot to do with how easy it is to do a SOLO dump and pump.
For example, my vizcaya (and most other sea kayaks) has a pointy bow which fits nicely in my medium sized hands, allowing me to do a one armed lift and twist, thus empyting most of the water out of the cockpit. Great for dump and pump, but sucks when surfing and you pitchpole!
plumb bows otoh are just about impossible for anyone short of Shaq to get their hands around.
One handed flip?
You flip one handed? Just torque it around? Must have strong wrists.
For push/drain up I see no difference. If using both hands to twist the boat over the more plumb bow gives you more leverage.
Double ditto.
If you’re not concerned about storage area, then by far the simplest solution is to cut as much foam as you need to make a nice comfortable footrest and to fit around your pump. I’ve also had no trouble with mold/mildew. I run a rope through the center of the foam pieces so they can be pulled out easily, and leave a drainage channel at the bottom.
Sanjay
I’d be interested to hear what
Phil says about structural integrity. Matt Broze told me the boats might have better integrity without bulkheads, because they can flex better when under extreme stress, e.g. going endo in the surf. Of course I’m careful not to crank down on my bulkheadless boat when car-topping.
Sanjay
one handed flip
not hard to do with a pointy bow. My wrists are a bit stronger than “average” but definitely not in the he-man category.
I use a variation of the “bow lift fancy flip” where I put my paddlefloat on one blade, the other blade goes on my shoulder and I pull down on the paddle shaft while violently scisor kicking and lifting the bow out of the water with the other hand.
Easy with a pointy bow, impossible (thus far) with a plumbbow. Which is why I need to reduce floodable cockpit volume, and install the pump!!!
YEP!!!
I’m booking airfare this morning!
Gotta work the weekend but I think I have Tuesday free. would love to get out!
steve