...for really low volume boats. The Arctic Hawk is the lowest volume kit I'm aware of and it's still a pretty large boat. If you want really low volume, you'll have to build from plans for boats like the Sea Spirit.
Another option is to go to www.freeship.org and download the Freeship software and the design file for the Igdlorsuit kayak that Bryan Hansel created. That's the boat that inpired the Anas Acuta and it's pretty low volume. Freeship will generate the panels for plans, then you can have plans made at a print shop. You could also contact Michael at Newfound Woodworks about making the panels for you. I spoke to him a couple of years ago and he indicated that he could create panels from standard CAD file formats.
yr right I’m guessing the Merganser 17 or 18 is lower volume than the Arctic Hawk. It’s easy to get misled looking at the volume above the sheer and think that relates to hull/displacement.
Contact Eric Schade When I was about to buy my Merganser 16 kit, he offered to alter the design/pieces proportionately for a very low fee. He said he also was willing to make nonproportionate changes, with the additional fee based on his hourly rate for design work.
It would be worth an e-mail to him to find out more about this option. Other designers and kit makers may do the same.
I don’t have any current information. When I paddled Eric’s Bluefin prototype I liked everything about it with the exception of the weathercocking I experienced. Eric suggested a skeg and also talked about placing the cockpit closer to the stern to resolve this issue.
That is some of what Bill Whitcomb and Brooks Martyn have done to solve the weathercocking problem in the CLC Northbay desing. In addition they significantly cut down on the freeboard…and now have really nice low volume sng ‘cheater boats’…incredible for rolling. Am sure most of you know all of this already.
I am actually planning to touch base with Eric to ask about the low volume Bluefin as I want to build a boat to use for day paddles and to pursue rolling skills. May look into it when I complete my SOF. I also have plans for the Ammassilik which is most likely my next project once the temp. allows for use of epoxy.
partial plywood kit $425 is kind of pricey for a pile of cut plywood but if you’ve already got some glass/epoxy or want to get some from RAKA you can come up with a bare hull with bulkheads/hatches for around $650 with the same building directions as a full kit. The Merganser 17W and 18 are good big boats. The Merganswer/Shearwater17 is a slippery hull but may seem too tippy for the average 6’,200lb beginning paddler.
The Arctic Hawk is a long boat, so it probably has more volume overall than the Merganser or the Shearwater 17. There are 14'-16' boats with less volume, but they're 14'-16' boats.
I forgot about one kit that's interesting, the S&G Night Heron from Newfound Woodworks. The fordeck is way too high IMO, but the hull is a nice design. Making a custom foredeck shouldn't be too difficult:
1- You could lower the center deck panels and trim the side deck panels to fit.
2- You could replace the center panel with a single flat panel then trim the side panels to fit.
3- You could order just the hull panels, then build your own S&G or strip deck.
Shearwater Bluefin update… I corresponded with Eric Schade today. Eric told me that the current Bluefin design has been revised with improved tracking. He also said that the Greenland style Bluefin has a super low deck aft, a Greenland style cockpit, and a pretty low foredeck as well.
We may now have the first Greenland style sng designed by a top sng designer and available in kit form!
wow - thanks! I’m constantly reminded why this is such a great site.
Thanks everyone for the input. Thanks watersprite for the photos; I’m still considering that model and yours is a beauty, nice job. Thanks to others re: plan options.
Now for a follow up question: is there anyone out there who specializes in cutting the strips from plans?
Might be I vaguely remember seeing an ad from Midwest, or some company with a similar name. My impression was that they can supply strips and strongbacks. Check the ads in back of Sea Kayaker Magazine, Wavelength, Canoe & Kayak, etc. and give them a call.
strips??? if you are talking about s&g the panels are cut to a specific shape. So you either buy the kit or plans, you can’t buy generic strips of ply and make a s&g kayak.
I bought the kit in fall of 2003 Finished it spring of 2004. I am happy with it for what it is, but it turns out I am not real wild about the hard chined 4-panel hull, which is what almost all S&G kayaks have. I don’t like the way waves slap against it, even though that hasn’t caused any problems. It might be a matter of my having come from a soft-chined hull in my first sea kayak. I have since bought a medium-chined kayak and like that best of all.
The Merganser kit came with everything needed (except tools), and the boat is fast for its length, carves well, and looks nice despite my newbie builder ineptitude. I chose to use commercial footpegs and rails, plus a commercial backband instead of the included wood subkits. Also, the placement of the thigh brace “ears” was way too forward for me, but I am short. If you build, take that into consideration before you install the piece of wood with the ears on it. I wish I had cut the ears off, because I ended up adding some other thigh braces and now the standard ones look weird as well as being dead weight.
I doubt I’ll build another wood boat again, though. They are high-maintenance (varnish is soft), and there are some great commercial kayaks available. Plus, I’d rather paddle than work with glass and epoxy. Which brings up another point: the woodworking is fairly minimal. It’s the epoxy and glass work that will test you. OTOH, if you like wood’s appearance, you’ll be happy to find how many other people rush over and admire the boat! I also like the boat’s stiff feel (I’m used to plastic).
kits/plans if you want pre-cut panels check out Shearwater-boats.com otherwise it’s plans or full kits. You won’t find someone other than the designer/manufacturer of a kit selling cut panels.
The CLC Chesapeake and Cape Charles are the only designs that have what you might call a strip side panel where the bottom panels pretty much define the whole hull and the side panels can be almost any shape.
A.Hawk/MerganserShearwater17 If you go to this page and look at the lower left photo Laura (6’2",190lb a big girl) is paddling what appears to be a level A.Hawk with about 3" of freeboard.
If you look at the photos of the Merganser/Shearwater17 which what appears to be another big person you’ll see the freeboard at the cockpit is less covering a shorter distance along the sheer.
The Mergansers hull in the water isn’t that big even though there’s a peaked deck with good footroom.
I think this is where the flat decks on a four panel hull can give the illusion of being low volume but really aren’t,the Ch17LT being a good example