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Curlew Launch in Missouri


Will Koenig

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I built a Curlew to go with my Stonefly canoe.  Launched it on a beautiful 70 degree day.  I've only ever paddled wide, super stable plastic kayaks, so it took me some time to get used to the lower stability.  After half an hour of paddling, I was comfortable but still with plenty of room for improvement.  I think I'll be very happy with it.

 

Jeff mentioned in one of his videos that he recommends going with the laminated coaming instead of the plywood.  If I do another one, I'll laminate for sure.  Once in use, the plywood wasn't as rigid as it seemed like it would be during assembly.

 

Finished weight is right at 30 pounds.  

 

10oz polyester from George Dyson

Western red cedar stringers

Baltic birch plywood frames and coaming

Artificial sinew bindings (waxed polyester)

Rustoleum enamel paint on the fabric

Helmsman's spar urethane on the wood

 

 

 

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Will:

Very nice! Along with the photos that Jeff requested, please provide a performance review. As far as stability, make sure you are sitting as near the floor as practical. I use a Therm-a-rest Trail Seat, which is quite thin, on the floor boards of my Ravenswood. Some velcro on the bottom keeps things in place. To reduce the flexibility of the plywood coaming on my boat,  I epoxied in a brace on each side between the coaming and the sheer stringer (see pics below). For more pictures of that kind of brace, see yostwerks.org (a very interesting and useful website). 

Fair winds, Andy

 

ravens brace 1.jpg

ravens brace 2.jpg

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I like the idea with the brace.  I'll do that.

 

I'm 100% confident that I'll be rock solid with a little bit of practice.   I just sat on a Thermarest closed cell foam pad folded in half, so I wasn't more than an inch off the bottom.  I felt a little wobbly sitting up straight, but it was stable enough that I never felt in danger of capsizing.  I could comfortably (albeit carefully) lean it over until the gunwale dipped in the water.  I probably could have leaned it over farther, but I was by myself and didn't want to risk dumping over in the middle of the lake. 

 

I don't have any basis for comparison on the performance.  I'm a woodworker that built a kayak, not a kayaker.  I'll try to get some input from someone that knows something about kayaks and report back.  It definitely felt smoother, faster, and more nimble than I remember with the cheap plastic boats.

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Will:

In regard to  "lean it over until the gunwale dipped in the water." Get on Youtube and search "sculling brace." You'll find a number of helpful videos. You'll need a sprayskirt if you want to do more of that sort of thing. If you're looking for a winter project, I'd also recommend making yourself a Greenland style paddle. I prefer them for bracing and for paddling in general. 

 

As far as performance, Jeff categorizes the Curlew and the Ravenswood as "fast cruisers." I think that is a good description. When paddling with club groups, my Ravenswood is among the fastest and can keep up with longer boats. I've done some 5K and 10K races and the only boats that blow by me are specialty racing kayaks (about 19 feet long and 19 inches beam) and outrigger canoes. On his website, Jeff provides some good thoughts on design considerations and boat speed.

Fair winds, Andy

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  • 2 weeks later...

Will,

Congratulations you made a beautiful kayak.  I agree that a laminated coaming is better.  If I do another, I will make it laminated.

I also like the look from the Rustoleum enamel paint.

  In regard to performance, I had an interesting experience with my 15' curlew on the St. Joe River in South Bend Indiana on 

9/26/21.  I did not make it the day before to the St. Joe River Races.  That was just as well as I would have come in around 20 minutes behind the last finishers. There were several racing kayaks on the 7.2 mile course.  The course record is 63 minutes 

(6.8mph) and this year the winner finished in 66 minutes.  Serious racers

  The next day with a bit of wind,, but good conditions,951174088_IMG_015723896(2).jpg.61cabaa236db690c9194482cb1e3a21e.jpg I did the course in 1 hr and 41 minutes (4.2 mph).  It is 1/2 downstream and 1/2 upstream and I don't know how this would translate to down and back on a lake and Jeff's expected speed for curlew cruising speed.  I used a thin trail seat, low c of g, and felt stable through most of the course.  Wakes from fishing boats sometimes felt threatening as I did not take them head on.  

Safe Paddling, Rex

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Rex:

Your curlew looks nice and it sounds like you move along quickly. You write that you have a low COG with a thin trail seat, but in the photo you look quite high in the boat. Are your floorboards on the underside of the frames per Jeff's usual design practice? How thick are the floorboards? Is there anything between the boards and the trail seat? For contrast, the attached photo shows me in my Ravenswood. There appears to be less of me above the boat. I believe the dimensions of the two boats are similar. I'm about 5'-11" tall.

Fair winds, Andy

 

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That looks like a nice Greenland paddle.  I’ve never seen them for sale, so I’m guessing you made it. Nice
The floor boards are probably 3/8” and mounted under the frame.  The trail seat is less than 1/2 inch high once I sit on it. This was my first time to use it, I got it along with a used canoe that I bought. It is nice in that it has a folding back support.  
I sometimes have back trouble and it worked well. 
I’m also about 5’11”, with 30” inseam, kind of long torso maybe that’s the difference. 
I tried using a real nice gray foam seat made by Joe Greenly at Redfish Kayaks. It was too high and caused noticeable instability in the curlew. I don’t know about others, but aging is not improving my balance. 
Safe Paddling, Rex

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