not really sure if a rudder is needed
for sailing.
I used to own ruddered kayaks and sails.
I thought I would have to give up sailing with a skegged kayak. Not so!
Now I sail my skegged kayaks way better then I ever did a ruddered one. And NO paddle required for steering. A bit of skeg and the occasional lean of the hull to turn. Ah, and I sail faster then most ruddered sea kayaks…
For pix and details www.flickr.com/gnarlydog
Frank, the sailing with a kayak
is much simpler then most kayakers envision.
Here in Australia we use sails for long distance/expeditions. A very simple set up on deck with a bit of breeze will see you eating up miles.
for DIY sail rig: http://www.qldseakayak.canoe.org.au/site/canoeing/qldseakayak/downloads/SEA%20KAYAK%20SAIL.pdf
One Ocean Kayaks
I think you can’t go wrong with a One Ocean Kayaks Cirrus. From what I’ve read, it’s very fast, has great secondary stability, has strong tracking, and turns easily enough with the right technique/edge. I built a OOK Expedition (which is an awesome boat) and was extremely pleased with the quality and accuracy of the plans. I would expect the same for their S&G kits. My next boat will probably be a Redfish King, but after that, I might build a Cirrus from a kit.
I don’t know if you remember, but we took a class together at the ECCKF last year. I was in my kayak, the only wooden one there, and capsized while trying to find the limits of its secondary stability. Luckily, I avoided further embarrassment by rolling back up.
Have fun building,
Pedro Almeida
Hey Frank,
you got worse with the bull sharks and the gators!. these are just fish! :_)
If I was going to make a decision today it would be between the Cirrus and the Tern, I have paddled Ricks Tern and have never even seen a Cirrus other than in pictures but I am leaning towards it. shipping would be the same as the dimensional weight would take precedence. With the Cirrus, all wet and dry materials would have to be purchased separately so I would either have to find a source down there for epoxy, cabosil, fiberglass tape and cloth, etc, or ship from here. The Tern kit would be all inclusive. (as would be the CLC boats)
Paul
Cirrus
I have heard from friends that have met Vaclav that he is excrutiatingly detail oriented and this reassures me somewhat as I have some pretty good confidence that the kit would be as close to perfect as possible.
I have e-mailed friends and family about finding epoxy and glass in Sao Paulo and to see if there is a bit of a building community down there that can guide me in the direction to purchase the supplies.
Or I might just chuck the whole idea and go back to a large Yost touring boat.
Paul
Have you…
ever gone to the Kayak Forum? It’s a great source of information for anything having to do with kayak building. Also, unlike this forum, the posts/responses on the Kayak Forum are pretty respectful and friendly 99% of the time. Check it out:
http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Building/index.cgi
Here too…
We also have a lot of kayak builders who frequent WestCoastPaddler:
http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/community/viewforum.php?f=7
Dan
http://www.westcoastpaddler.com
Hey Dan!
Sorry, I forgot to mention your site. How is your daughter’s kayak coming along? Did she start the deck yet? You must be thrilled that your daughter is following in your kayaking footsteps. My son (6 y/o) usually resists any efforts to get him on the water. Yesterday, however, he said he wanted to paddle from Miami to Key West. So now I might have a future Castaway on my hands.
http://www.castawaysagainstcancer.com/Main.html
Pedro Almeida
loved his epoxy tests
His website expresses a generosity of spirit, a little bit before he started his website I was doing some backyard testing with 4mm okoume panels and various cloths. The thing that his tests show is that if you want a wood boat to have a cosmetically long life under varnish then it takes adequate fill coats on top of the glass cloth or water will start interacting with cut glass threads where varnish is sitting over a well sanded area.
Point Bennett
One of the best looking S&G boats I have seen and the design is free… you just have to build it. There are even 3 sizes to choose from.
http://www.rollordrown.com/kayak/index.html
and another one from way back
Chris Cunninghams design featured in '94 Sea kayaker magazine.
http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/kayak/index.html
Hey Pedro!
– Last Updated: Oct-23-08 1:19 PM EST –
My daughter is getting back into the build now (she’s been doing lots of paddling over the summer). Today, she’ll be starting glassing the inside of the hull.
I just recently finished applying the LPU topcoat to the Enterprise – just have to wet sand and buff now:
http://www.westcoastpaddler.com/community/viewtopic.php?p=36615#36615
Building boats is so much fun…
Dan
http://www.westcoastpaddler.com
pros and cons
– Last Updated: Oct-24-08 8:51 AM EST –
Arctic Tern is 12 inches tall at the coaming
Cirrus is 12.5
Kit is available complete from Pygmy, epoxy, wire, etc etc, and you can include the hatch and rigging kit.
Kit from One Ocean is panels and wood only
kit from Pygmy you need to drill the holes to align the panels
kit for Cyrrus (One Ocean) has the holes pre drilled.
Pygmy uses a scarf and butt method to glue panels together while Ocean Kayaks use a finger joint arrangement which is quite strong and pretty foolproof.
both would cost around 200 bucks to get to Brazil.
Limited reviews on the One Ocean Cirrus. Many many reviews on the Arctic Tern.
Cirrus claime / appears to be faster / more efficient than other stitch and glues.
aaarrrggghhh.
the Volks still looks like a very viable alternative too. it woudl certainly be cheaper all told since you are mostly just coating the wood with epoxy and it woudl be less of a crisis if it got damaged.
Paul
thanks Greyak!
– Last Updated: Oct-24-08 6:38 PM EST –
where ya been?
got any good links on expedition food? :)
Paul
Arctic Tern
seems to have the most features I am looking for at a good price. I am bumping this thread just in the hope that someone else comes up with another suggestion or two that i can research.
Paul
One more fact…
The Tern17 has a little larger cockpit opening than your 14 and needs a different skirt.
CLC vs AT
Having paddled both (friend owns a CLC I have the AT17)I’d have chosen the CLC if only for the footroom.
Pygmys boats (and I’m sure a qualified builder could correct this with no problem)angle sharply to the sides. The CLCs deck is much more straight across allowing (for me anyway) far greater footroom.
I also learned (the hard way) how quickly the pounds can add on if you go too heavy with the epoxy (I added copper sacrificial strips on the keels fore and aft and paid for it with an additonal 4 pounds)
Add that to the extra glass inside the boat and the 39 pounds ballooned to 47
what about foot room Greyhawk?
Been hearing some comments about limited foot room due to the design of the deck? I have a 10.5 to 11 shoe size and this will definitely be a factor for comfort considering what I am planning.
Paul
More than the AT14.
I have 10 to 10.5 shoe size, I think… I haven’t worn real shoes in a long time. Wear 10-11 Crocs…