I love the comfort, fit and handling of my Sawyer Loon, but at 56 lbs it still has flexy cockpit coaming, which makes it difficult to pick up and set down by it’s coaming and it’s heavier than I’d like.
It’s more comfortable than my Sawyer Summersong, Wenonah Whisper, Blackhawk Zephyr, faster than all of them, maneuverable with a bit of a lean, straight tracking with sit & switch (without rudder), relaxing with the rudder down, ultra stable for me (5’6" & 155 lbs) and handles conditions very well.
A stiff 45 lb Sawyer Loon would be sweet indeed. It would probably replace 4 or 5 other boats in my fleet.
I have ideas to stiffen the Loon’s coaming to make it more functional, which will add a few lbs, but it should still weigh a few lbs less than a Sea Wind and I’ll still have a few thousand dollars less in the Loon than I’d have to pay for a used Sea Wind. I still won’t like the weight, but with stiffer coaming, it’d be easier to handle by the coaming when picking it up and setting it down.
Hey Scott at Superior Canoes, can you build a solid & stiff Sawyer Loon that would weigh in at 45 lbs or less?
Laminations
Why not laminate some 1/8" vinyl foam in just below the gunnels. A 3" wide strip laminated in with a couple of layers of glass would add a lot of strength and stiffness without adding much weight.
Adding a thwart seems to stiffen the
the coaming well. I pop riveted a couple aluminum right angle brackets to the top of the rear seat hanger brackets about 1.5" below the coaming and screwed a pine 1"x2" to the aluminum brackets to serve as a thwart.
Now the coaming doesn’t expand much at all when I pick the boat up by the coaming on just one side to move it around or move it in or out of the water. It feels much more solid. I may do the same thing on the front seat hanger brackets so I can have something to tie things on to.
Adding the thwart spread the coaming open about another 1/2" to keep the seat hanger brackets parallel from the bottom to the top and I’m hoping that doesn’t interfere with the spray skirt fit.
I also epoxied and riveted the 12" section of the coaming that had separated from the hull rim. That section of the coaming/hull overlap hadn’t been epoxied together when the boat was built and the original rivets had pulled through and the lip of the coaming was flexy.
Now, if only the boat was 10 lbs lighter.
45# Loon
I think Scott of Superior Canoes comes from the Verlen Kruger school of “heavier is more durable”. Verlen nor the current owner of Kruger Canoe use any modern lamination processes like bagging or infusion to get a better glass to resin ratio. Beyond a point resin only adds weight. Until Superior and Kruger change their lamination schedules their weights are going to be up there.
I guess you will just have to hit the gym!