Kptallen Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Recently purchased a few books on small, homemade boats including More Fuselage Frame Boats. I have an old Hobie Oasis plastic pedal kayak. I loved it, but ABS plastic is all but impossible to repair. Have wished it was fiberglass, wood, or some composite. Finally saw some homemade versions and want to do this. I have a nerve problem with my arm that makes regular paddling a no go. Anyway, I want to make a dual seat, dual 'prop' craft...canoe or kayak like capable of camping from. The skinned, frame boats look like a great choice from both a weight and cost perspective. There are some pretty good plans out there for making the channel and locks to hold the Mirage drive in place, but, with no skinning experience at all, how would one skin such a craft? The holes would be midline on the bottom, just like a slot for a daggerboard. I assume it's possible, but I am reluctant to dive in and try it only to find out later there's no good way to make it watertight at the edge of the drive cutouts. Thanks in advance for any thoughts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwhip Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 The Oasis is a sit-on-top, so there isn't an issue with water coming up through the drive trunk. Since the drive is mounted low to the keel, you'd risk swamping an SOF boat with this setup. If you make the trunk higher, the drive fins won't lay against the hull like they're supposed to, and you'd have no knee room (in a kayak at least). BTW--the Hobie Oasis is made from polyethylene, which can be repaired with P-Tex candles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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