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Little People Kayak?


bwhip

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Jeff,

 

A year ago, there was a "which design for a small woman" post, and of all your kayaks, you recommended the Shad. I would have to buy a new garage to build something that long, but a 14' to 15' low volume kayak for smaller people--say a 5 foot nothing 100 pounder, would be perfect. Do you foresee designing something like this?

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The glide on the tadpole is amazing, speaking to its efficiency in the water. It's only 19" wide, so while a bit wobbly at first, once your lady figures it out - you'll be looking for something faster so you can keep up!

Only thing I'd do different if I could start over would be to modify the forward cockpit frame for a laminated beam.

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My current kayak is a Pygmy Pinguino 145, so I'm familiar with the issues of S&G boats. My wife had to talk me down from the ledge a couple of times when I was building it. The Osprey 13 is nice for smaller paddlers, but their new Selkie would be awesome. We're going up there for a test paddle in a few weeks. I'd much rather build something Selkie-like in a fuselage boat.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is a question, I had some time over the holiday and played around with a smaller Ravenswood. The first thing I questioned was deck height? Just because someone is light weight doesn't mean they are necessarily going to need lower volume but I suspect most would. Any small people/spouse with small partner help me out?

 

My thought was to lower the deck about 1".

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Here is a question, I had some time over the holiday and played around with a smaller Ravenswood. The first thing I questioned was deck height? Just because someone is light weight doesn't mean they are necessarily going to need lower volume but I suspect most would. Any small people/spouse with small partner help me out?

 

My thought was to lower the deck about 1".

I could help with a bit of development. Wallops is all done now and the build bench is free again.

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Jeff: 

 

Compare the photo below of my wife in my Ravenswood to the photo above in post 5 of this topic in her Osprey 13.  She did not feel uncomfortable in the Ravenswood.  (It is a remarkably stable comfortable ride).  The Osprey 13 coaming is much lower and works very well for her.  I don't know the Osprey specs, but it is probably on the Pygmy kayak website.

 

post-2274-0-85309400-1473195239_thumb.jpg

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While practicing self rescues, my wife noticed that the Ravenswood's width, combined with the high coaming, made it a lot harder to do the ladder crawl re-entry. I suppose I could remove the coaming and shorten it, but the effort/benefit ratio may be pretty high.

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I am going narrower, that is a given. That is the quickest way to get a lower displacement so the lightweights actually sink the boat enough to make it track.

 

Coaming height and interior volume is harder because different people like different things. Some women will sit flat legged in boat. I sit with my knees into the deck, locking me in.  Short legs will want lower deck, long legs, higher. Problem is finding a good compromise, but I am thinking the interior height needs to be dropped some, just how much? I don't know.

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My wife and I were out on the lawn, taking turns sitting in the Ravenswood. One big difference we noticed was that I brace with my knees on the underside of the deck, between the coaming and the sheer. She braces on the inside bottom edge of the coaming (looks painful to me). The cockpit opening is just too big for her. The deck height could come down a little, but not more than an inch.

 

Hope the feedback helps.

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Actually that is useful. Of course I wish I could line up a dozen small size people and get to to sit in a boat and try it out. But I had not thought about the coaming size but it makes sense a smaller person wouldn't need as large a coaming.  Of course that creates some new issues for me but.....

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But I had not thought about the coaming size but it makes sense a smaller person wouldn't need as large a coaming.

As another data point, I have a Perception Prodigy XS in my fleet for my little people to river run in. At 6'5", they're all little to me though... So, 3 in the house at the 5'2"-5'4" range, and they all find its coaming size to be just about ideal at 18" wide and 28" long. Just long enough that they can sit first and then pop their legs in, but not much bigger. Self rescues on the lake are a non-event. If there is one real criticism of the Tadpole, it's that you have to sit on the aft deck, try to stay balanced with the high cg, fit your legs in, and then drop your butt into the cockpit. Nobody even has to gumption to try a self rescue from the water with that situation. I know there is method to that madness in the sea kayaking world, but I simply use it as a book end for the opposite side of the spectrum.

My two cents would be something in the 13' range, about 23"-24" wide, with the coaming dimensions above, and around the 10.5-11" deck height. I'd always rather go play in built vs. bought, but the baby Prodigy XS really is a fantastic all around boat for the little folk and would be a great reference for this exercise.

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Abysscnr:

About "...sit on on the aft deck, try to stay balanced with the high cg, fit your legs in, and then then drop your butt into the cockpit." No wonder that your crew are loathe to try self rescue that way. The usual technique to avoid the high cg is to lay on your belly facing the stern, slide your legs into the cockpit, and then turn your body to face forward.

Fair winds, Andy

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Abysscnr:

About "...sit on on the aft deck, try to stay balanced with the high cg, fit your legs in, and then then drop your butt into the cockpit." No wonder that your crew are loathe to try self rescue that way. The usual technique to avoid the high cg is to lay on your belly facing the stern, slide your legs into the cockpit, and then turn your body to face forward.

Fair winds, Andy

Not to side track the discussion, but thanks for the tip, Andy - I'll have her try the next time. It is a mighty tight cockpit though! My described procedure above was just regarding getting in it to start with. I've since showed her how to use a paddle to brace the boat for entry, the anxiety has subsided, and my steadying hand is no longer required for launch. However, without a paddle float that wouldn't work in open water.

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