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Abyssdncr

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Everything posted by Abyssdncr

  1. 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.
  2. Sounds like a solid plan, maybe I'll start on some oars and see what comes of them. That would give me something to do while epoxy dries...
  3. Second verse, same as the first... Options floating about in my head are: 1.) Plywood concoction described above 2.) The wife paddled around with me in the canoe the other night and kinda liked the sitting face to face. (She gets a captive audience, I get to paddle - it's win / win) So, a rowboat is in the running now. I got my copy of More Fuselage Frame Boats last week and the Fly Fisher is tempting, but big enough that I really don't know where I'd store that one. But I haven't seen a completed one yet, so it's even more tempting just for that reason, and it's short enough to get out of the shop. 3.) I have a set of Gentry's Wee Lassie plans that are gathering dust. One canoe is great, 2 must be better...? Plus, I've been wanting to do something with inwales & outwales because it looks cool. 4.) Back to row boats, I really like Gentry's redux of Phil Bolger's Amesbury Mippet Skiff in SOF style, and my copy of Small Boats showed up Wednesday. Be a bunch of work interpreting the very tiny design drawings and converting to lofts I can work with from the bottom up, but it sure is cute. Storage issue again... 5.) Vardo, Short Shot, and Stonefly all seem interesting...just because? Long boats cause me a problem in my work space though, & I'm not sure the basement windows are quite big enough to let one escape the basement like that. 6.) Just finishing the d@mned CLC Wood Duck Double. Thoughts? Something else sound interesting? I'm either going to start having to sell some creations or start giving them away soon though - my corners for shoving stuff in are quickly losing vacancy...
  4. I'll definitely keep that in mind. We've been doing a lot of longer trips lately, and after two hours, my butt is dying... I swear, Tuesday morning I was still numb from the 18 mile trip from Saturday morning. Granted that boat has the worst seat out of the whole fleet, but after 5 hours and only one break, I doubt much would just by swapping boats... That said, I've been pining a bit over Old Town's Next canoe, so I'm looking forward to putting some miles on this little ship. With some 12 oz fabric on this, I'm a bit less worried about bumping into rocks or rubbing a bit of sand in the river. And you're right - this should be a right handy little vessel for chasing the local fish populations! I've already been contemplating anchor options. The thwart is just the right size for the cheapie automotive plastic cup holders, but even the floorboards do a fine job keeping a can of beer right side up. It's sitting right at 29 lbs, so it's sure to be a favorite any time a walk or portage is involved.
  5. Barcalounger reinstalled - and it's in solid too! Made a pedestal out of plywood and scrap stringer stock that clamps to the floorboards. I can loosen the clamps to adjust the seat position fore or aft to tweak trim to suit. If the functional test goes well, I'll get it all oiled up. Also thinking of taking out the middle of the ply and adding a basket weave seat sling of 1" khaki nylon webbing. That ought to still look decent if/when the lazy boy isn't installed.
  6. I think the most accurate statement would be that I'm still experimenting. Shy of the two holes mounting the back band, I haven't done anything permanent yet. As Robert mentioned, my original experiment with a more elevated seating position wasn't what I'd call confidence inspiring, but that may just be the "fat guy in a little boat" principle at play... I was scribbling on scratch paper this morning and have a new plan for getting the barcalounger back in the boat where the hinge doesn't chew up the floorboards, but if not the S2S backrest looks pretty decent too. However, that first paddle did get me wondering if your intention was for the seat to be less of a "seat" and more of a butt rest whilst the paddler kneels on the floor...?
  7. I robbed that backrest from my CLC kit last night, and then my back-ordered Surf to Summit tall backrest showed up today, which is great, because that little thing is about useless. Funny thing - the S2S band is on clearance at West Marine for $16.55 & still they shipped me two of them. I'll pick up some extra webbing and bungee cord and situate a better back band situation shortly. I really liked the strap on canoe seat, but the hinges started rubbing the floorboards raw. Despite the obvious comfort, I had to pull it out of the boat.
  8. A bit windy, but we launched anyways. Pay no attention to the pasty pale legs...
  9. Thanks for the kind words, gents. I was shooting for classy & elegant as I think the darling wife is laying claim to this one (which was what I was hoping for all along). If the KS winds will subside - I'll have official launch photos by sundown.
  10. Welcome! There are lots of good resources here as well as sage advice - don't be a stranger!
  11. About ready to put this one in the win column - trim paint on with a seat pad and back band.
  12. Gorgeous, brother! I doubt I have the skills or patience to pull one of those off, but you can dang sure bet if I did I'd be showing it to everyone I could find!
  13. I could help with a bit of development. Wallops is all done now and the build bench is free again.
  14. Search this forum for "castaway" and you can find others' build photos. I see what you are talking about, but see no problem with this as the real strength of the structure comes from the gunwales and stringers tying in at the tip. When I did my tadpole with the interlocking end frame and bow, I squared it up on the bench and glued it prior to assembling on the keel stringer. That said, I see no reason why you couldn't notch the bow an extra 3" for the keel stringer to tie in if you prefer it like that.
  15. Couldn't resist getting it wet this evening... So screw the trim paint for now. Love it! Great for lazy lake paddles, very maneuverable, but still easy to keep on a line. The water couldn't care less that the stringers are a little bowed in. I tried putting some 3.5" foam blocks on top of the seat to try what the plans seat location might be like. I made it about 10' before pulling them back out. Padded seat on the floorboards feels just great though. The wife came out to check it out after the little ones were in bed - it gets a lot more interesting to keep upright with 330 lbs onboard! Good times though - Jeff, you got the rowboat plans ready yet?
  16. 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.
  17. Tadpole works great for my 5'4" 93 lb teenager.
  18. Wallops is the same length as FreeB, so I'm going to start with that seat location as a starting point.
  19. I figured as much, Jeff, but I guess this is how learning by experience and the school of hard knocks works. I figured the shape would create some extra drag, but also figured that the vessel speed would be so slow that it shouldn't actually experience the flow separation associated with turbulence. I probably should have ironed the shipping creases and wrinkles out prior to skinning, because the canvas pliers worked wonderfully in getting the skin drum tight.
  20. Base coat of Rustoleum almond down. 3 coats seems sufficient. Will try to get the trim paint on tomorrow. I heard the voice of, "Better safe than sorry..." last night when one of the thwarts popped free flipping it around on the bench. TBIII gave way...and they are lashed now.
  21. I used spar varnish on the last one for the kiddos. Got that translucent look we were going for and it filed up the 6 oz economy fabric wonderfully. 4 coats on the bottom, 3 on the top - not a single leak one.
  22. Tips sewn and skin ironed. Really snugged the stringers in tight! Finally ready for paint!
  23. Sewn and stapled... Trimmed & ready for some whip stitches: Trial fit of the rub rails:
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