Fast Touring Kayak?

tough skins
I have demonstrated the toughness of the skin on my SOF my allowing people to whack it with a hammer. I’ve scraped it on gravel beds and hit submerged rebar and branches. Ne ver had a puncture. But I carry a small length of Eternabond tape for emergency patching. It’s a polymer sealant made for patching rubber roofs and RVs.



I’ve also heard stories and also seen videos of SOFs flying off the roofs of moving cars, bouncing down the highway and sustaining little or no damage. Try that with a composite or poly boat…

LPB
I agree with Carldelo, you may be a candidate fir an LPB, Brian’s Long Pointy Boat. But maybe you don’t want to drop 2grand on your first SOF. Got mine used for $900. Had to drive 450 miles and take a ferry across Lake Michigan to pick it up, but that was a fun trip and I had relatives in the area to visit.

Or build for $300

– Last Updated: Jan-12-15 9:05 AM EST –

At least, that's what cost me to build one with good quality skin and sealant and a cheap wood frame - most of the cost was for the skin and the 2-part urethane sealant.

That said, SOFs are never as fast as a similarly sized hard-shell could be, because of the sharp edges (and often, because of not so smooth skin jobs). The exception is the "baidarka" type design, which is fast due to its multi-chined vs. the typical single chine designs (which are simpler to build, and the easiest are with the "Yost" style frames). The good part is you can build whatever shape and size you want - doesn't have to be a traditionally shaped design.

That said, they are fun to make and paddle. And as mentioned, tough, if built right. I've taken mine on white water a few times, scraped submerged rocks - and barely a scratch. Outfitting to be comfortable could be a challenge as everything is custom and could be hard to dial-in the right fit.

double chined

– Last Updated: Jan-12-15 11:06 AM EST –

My 1931 West Greenland is double-chined. Being less than 21" wide helps too. And it has a subtle tracking skeg built into the keel.

answered them above
posted below where you asked them, above.

re hull strength
Harvey Golden, the legendary builder and preserver of traditional skin on frame kayaks and other boats, recently copied a Greenland one that had the bow and keels reinforced with sheet metal to protect from ice. He has a photo on his post on the QajaqUSA forums (another site with lots of skin on frame kayak information, on both boats and building them.)



http://www.qajaqusa.org/cgi-bin/GreenlandTechniqueForum_config.pl?page=3;md=read;id=624717

Thanks everyone
Thanks for all the information. I would love to be paddling a homemade SOF kayak with a homemade greenland paddle but my skills when it comes to making anything are limited to about zero. I actually have everything sitting in my spare room ready to make a greenland paddle, haha. I have yet to start it though…



Looks like I have some research ahead of me, good thing I have plenty of time since I have to save up. Considering having one made then possibly making one myself one day.