9 replies to this topic

[mikev]

I am interested in building a sof yak, but can't quite decide which one.. I have plenty of woodworking experience, have build a few small boats and can follow directions.. So I figure I can do this. Also I do some paddling no in a plastic boat, not a advanced paddler by any means though.

Anyway I was very interested in the long shot for myself and the short shot for my wife until I read on the forum that the long shot is not good in the spead out waves of the ocean.  I do venture out on ocasion. Is there a better option with more volume up front?  I do like speed also. At times the yak will be an exercise vessel, not just a vehicle. I'm an X bicycle racer and sometimes I just have to crank it up.   I know its all about finding the right comprimise, but are any of the Kudzu designs truely considered ocean kayaks?

[Kudzu]

......are any of the Kudzu designs truely considered ocean kayaks?

 

No.

Will they work in the Ocean? Probably.  

 

Here is the deal. I live and paddle inland. I have zero experience in the Ocean so I will not recommend any of boats for the ocean simply because I don't know enough to say how they will work. I am not gong to tell someone it's OK when I don't know.

 

As for the Long Shot, that is my go to boat and I love it. My concern with it is it's fine entry. There is so little volume I am afraid if you come down the face of a big wave it will bury deep in the next one instead of trying to lift upward and stay on the wave. If your are not going to be out in big waves then that's not going to be an issue?

 

I have had it out in rough conditions here. Close spaced 2 foot waves and it's not a problem but we are not surfing big waves so there isn't much to worry about.

[mikev]

thanks for the quick reply,  I do understand your thoughts regarding the fine entry. Also why without actual testing in certain situations it would be difficult to recommend.  I do visit the coast often, sometimes coastal bays, occasionally the ocean, but the vast majority of my yaking is done on inland water.  The Long shot might just fill the needs of my second yak and after that a true ocean yak could follow.

  Am I correct in aiming towards the short shot for my wife due to her smaller size, rather than the Long Shot? Shes 5'6" and 125lbs.

[Kudzu]

At 125 lbs she isn't going to sink either boat very deep. I would strongly suspect you will need to add a skeg to her boat to keep it tracking straight.  Otherwise in a chop the stern is going to lift enough to loose it's rudder effect and the boat is probably going to want to veer off and be hard to keep straight.

 

It's pretty simple to add one. I don't have photos handy but I added one to a boat that had to much rocker for my taste. I made it about 12" long and drilled 3 holes in it. Drove stainless screws into the keel. I made it long so it would be on short side. Less leverage and less chance of damaging the keel stringer when it got bagged around. I started a little tall and trimmed it a couple of times till I got it like I wanted. 

 

 I am about to reskin this boat and will be able to see exactly what has happened but there is not outward side of it causing any problems to the frame. I will probably add something to FAQ on how to build one soon.

 

SHAD is probably a better choice for a light paddler because of it is more V shape in its hull. But it is also a slower boat and if she is a strong paddler she might like that. It's lower volume might fit her better but again, she might not like a small boat. It's not like a true Greenland boat and you have to wiggle in it. But the deck is lower.

 

But, I wouldn't be afraid of a adding a skeg to Short Shot either as long as you know it will take some fine tuning to get it right.  attach it temporarily, paddle it around and see how it does. Do this till you get it like she wants.

 

PS Just reread that you were not experienced paddlers. I can come up with a skeg pattern to start with that should get you close to what she needs. Then if needed you can fine tune it latter on.

[woodman]

Could the polyester be epoxied around a skeg box?

[Hirilonde]

Could the polyester be epoxied around a skeg box?

 

I would think the best way would be to bed the skeg base to the cloth with a polyester adhesive sealant like Sikaflex or similar.  I would do it after painting the skin and skeg separately.  Not that you couldn't paint another coat after.   This would seal the skeg to the cloth and help a little with adhesion.  This would be like the old process of adding mounting blocks to the canvas decks used in the 50s and earlier, but with modern materials.  Epoxy is brittle, I would think it would crack when something moved.  Sikaflex is flexible like the name implies.  

[Kudzu]

I have played around with an idea for a retractable skeg. Even have a design and prototype built. But installing one just complicates a simple boat so I dropped the idea. 

 

The only time a skeg is needed is a case of a small person not submerging the boat enough. A simple fixed skeg solves the issue.

[mikev]

first, thank you all for the advice..

yeh, I knew she was not going to get the same sinkage as I would, but did not want to go too short because I wanted to get her into a boat that has low resistance.  So the skeg sounds like a good Idea, unless I convince her to carry all the supplies... NOT..

The fact that she would have to wiggle into the SHAD automatically put that out of the running.  Plus she is not a real strong paddler, although she does ok with her 70lb plastic yaught. she does even better getting it on the car,, she has me do it..

As for the shape of the skeg, I have an idea what I would do, but I would much rather get an experienced opinion for the starting point.

[DURRETTD]

Jeff mentioned that he was concerned that a fine bow would bury when running down the face of a wave. Yep! A fine bow will bury if you run straight down the face., And because the water in the trough of a wave is moving away from the direction the wave is moving, while the top of the wave is moving in the direction of wave movement, the stern can tip forward over your head. You end up upside down - vigorously! One solution is to paddle a stubby boat. A better solution is to paddle a sleek boat, but run down the wave face at an angle.

 

I've had my SOF out in Choctawhatchee Bay (Northwest, FL) in some pretty enthusiastic winds. No problems. If the conditions are too rough for my SOF, they're too rough for any of my polyethylene boats, including a stubby sit-on-top.

 

If the first boats you build aren't perfect for you or your wife, you can build two more and still spend less than for one commercial boat.

[Kudzu]

 

The fact that she would have to wiggle into the SHAD automatically put that out of the running.  Plus she is not a real strong paddler, although she does ok with her 70lb plastic yaught. she does even better getting it on the car,, she has me do it..

 

No, no.  You don't  have to wiggle into Shad. A true Greenland boat you would. But I can straddle this one, park myself and then pull in my legs while sitting, barely but I can. It smaller than most production boats but not that small.