WS Tsunami Bulkhead

I have a WS Tsunami 140 and would like to add an additional bulkhead between the day hatch and the existing rear bulkhead. Does anyone have a template I can beg, borrow, or steal?



Thanks for your time.

Tom

yep
I’ll get you one. email me



steve

No, but I have been thinking very
seriously about buying the 145 version of this boat. Are you happy with your boat?

Tsunami 140
We have two “rudderless” Tsunamis and are happy so far. However, both my wife and I are the ultimate beginners but we’re having a lot of fun learning on the local lakes. The boats are pretty adjustable and both of us can get a pretty reasonable fit. Size wise, I think I’d prefer a narrower beam but I don’t feel overly loose in the boat. Not quite like a marble in a bath tub. Time and experience will tell.



We’ve had the boats out in 25 mph winds, picking up some water over the bow and getting bounced around a little but the cross wind tracking was actually pretty good. Direct windward and leeward were no problems.



Flat water maneuverability is OK and it’s fun to edge it over and experiment.



Quality appears fine but I probably wouldn’t know a major defect if it bit me.



Bottom line: my wife is happy and already planning a spring trip.

Ruddered Tsunami 140
My wife and I each have a Tsunami 140 with rudders. They have great primary stability, and I’ve had no trouble taking them on ocean trips. I typically cruise between 4 - 4.5 mph, and I’ve had no trouble in 4-foot swells.



With the high primary stability, I don’t think I’ll be able to learn to roll in this, but then again, I’m probably less likely to capsize.



Flatpick can correct me if I’m wrong here, but I think that the primary purpose of the 145 is to acommodate the large paddler. I’ve heard people say that they were swimming in the 145. It’s not just longer.

yeppers
the 145 is a BIGGER boat.



if you can learn to roll you can roll a Tsunami. They are not hard to roll. I take them into extreme coastal conditions (surf and rock gardens) often.



steve

I have a 145
I originally ordered a 140, but trying to get in and out of the 140 on display on the dealers floor seemed a little tight so I opted for the 145 with the slightly wider cockpit. Now that I have used the boat (mostly on the Hudson, and some lakes), I would have been fine with the 140. I got one with the rudder but don’t think it was really needed. It seems to slow the boat down. It does make life easier getting back to the dock at the boat launch. Now if only I could figure out an easy way to get the spray skirt on and off!

huh?
It seems to slow the boat down.



yep- even in the neutral position a rudder can have 10% drag effect. if the net result is an easier to manage hull then the speed/glide loss is worth it. think rudder for going straight when the wind is abeam.



It does make life easier getting back to the dock at the boat launch.



and how does this work? does simple boat control thru paddle stokes work, as well?





Now if only I could figure out an easy way to get the spray skirt on and off!



which one do you have? start in the back, use your elbows to hold her down and reach forward.



steve

I have the WS spray skirt.
If I try to hold down the back with my elbows, I’d never reach the front of the cockpit. After the last time I used the boat I left skirt on when I stored it hoping it might stretch a bit. As for the boat launch I use the 79th St Boat Basin on the Hudson in NYC. The Kayak dock has a narrow entrance and is sometimes crowded with boaters dingys.

the larger paddler would be me.
Do not know about an additional bulkhead for your day hatch, but you might try this. I used it on the rear hatch for my T-140 and it did the trick. (I am assuming that you are not after another watertight bulkhead for compartmentalization – just that yo are tired of having the stuff in the day hatch get mixed up with the other stuff.) I got a day hatch collar ring and then took an old, thick, nylon stuff sack and sewed it around the collar. Now I stuff the bag in the day hatch hole and fill it with whatever items I want. These items remain separate from the other stuff in my rear storage area. It works really well and did not cost but a few dollars. I guess the difficult part is finding a hatch ring that will fit.

Can’t learn IN a Tsunami
>if you can learn to roll you can roll a Tsunami.



I probably wasn’t clear. I currently don’t know how to roll. From everything I’ve heard, it’s difficult to learn how to roll, but once you’ve learned it, it’s not that difficult. My point is that if I’m going to learn to roll, it would be exceptionally difficult learning in the Tsunami. Not impossible, but I’d prefer learning in a boat without so much primary stability upside down.

FWIW
the Tsunami is NOT a hard boat to roll. there are alot of other boats out there (even some ‘Brit’ style) that are WAY harder to roll.



I just did a demo of rolls in a Tsunami and it was not much more challenging then in my Tempest.



steve

Wear it high
Sorry I didn’t notice this tangent of the thread earlier.



I was having some problems getting the skirt on myself until I watched my wife having the same problems in her Tsunami. The problem that she was having was that the skirt was cinched around her waist fairly low. Then the back of the skirt had to go way up over the high Phase III seat and back down to the coaming. If she pulled the skirt higher on her torso, there was less distance to the back coaming, and the skirt tended not to pull off the back before getting the chance to secure it on the front.



Once the skirt was securely in place, she can pull it back down to where she likes it.