I'm fitting the cockpit/seat of an Eddyline Sea Star to my SO. The boat (which is new) came with the seat mounted forward on the tangs which come down from the cockpit coaming. Forward enough that my SO can not slide into the cockpit easily, and finds herself crowded by the vertical distance between the seat (where her derriere is placed) and the underside of the cockpit (where the tops of her thighs contact the deck). I removed the seat and I was able to generate a little more vertical space by trimming off the rear edge of the seat. (It is a plastic, one-piece, very nicely anatomically-shaped unit. Very comfy, and gives *great* support under her thighs.) We experimented with shifting the seat position and found the best position for her comfort was to slide the entire seat BACK a full inch from the stock location. This is a big boat (almost 18 feet long and over 105 gallons in volume, I believe), so I think moving the seat back this much will be OK. I think we will be able to achieve good trim by packing it appropriately. What do others think? I have not reattached the seat yet, but am itching to get this thing back on the water. It is really a nice boat! Thanks for the help! -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
I recently replaced the original seat in a Falcon 16 with a new seat from Eddyline, and I was amazed at how critical seat placement was! even 1/2 inch seemed to have a significant effect on the handling of the boat. I placed it so the seat "hung" from the center of those combing "ears" and the boat wandered all over the place. I eventually ended up with the seat as far forward as I could manage with the hangers. cya Bob Denton Vice President Undersea Breathing Systems bob_at_dnax.com http://www.dnax.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Dave, Not a problem. I've paddled the Sea Star quite a bit and it is pretty insensitive to ballast shift, probably due to a fairly high prismatic coefficient plus good flair at both ends. These boats can haul a lot of gear without slowing down much. Roger Dave Kruger wrote: > I'm fitting the cockpit/seat of an Eddyline Sea Star to my SO. The boat > (which is new) came with the seat mounted forward on the tangs which > come down from the cockpit coaming. Forward enough that my SO can not > slide into the cockpit easily, and finds herself crowded by the vertical > distance between the seat (where her derriere is placed) and the > underside of the cockpit (where the tops of her thighs contact the > deck). > > I removed the seat and I was able to generate a little more vertical > space by trimming off the rear edge of the seat. (It is a plastic, > one-piece, very nicely anatomically-shaped unit. Very comfy, and gives > *great* support under her thighs.) > > We experimented with shifting the seat position and found the best > position for her comfort was to slide the entire seat BACK a full inch > from the stock location. This is a big boat (almost 18 feet long and > over 105 gallons in volume, I believe), so I think moving the seat back > this much will be OK. I think we will be able to achieve good trim by > packing it appropriately. > > What do others think? I have not reattached the seat yet, but am > itching to get this thing back on the water. It is really a nice boat! > > Thanks for the help! > > -- > Dave Kruger > Astoria, OR > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Roger wrote: Not a problem. I've paddled the Sea Star quite a bit and it is pretty insensitive to ballast shift, probably due to a fairly high prismatic coefficient plus good flair at both ends. These boats can haul a lot of gear without slowing down much. Insensitive to ballast shift maybe, until the wind comes up. I owned a Sea Star for about 3 years. When day tripping (no load in the boat) the Sea Star weather cocks even in light winds and can be unmanageable in high winds (25 to 50 knots) if not properly loaded. I paddled once with some friends in Skagit Bay when the wind was blowing 35 to 50 knots. The boat was loaded slightly stern heavy. I had only 8 lbs of gear in the boat and placed it in the stern hatch before we launched and there was nothing in the bow hatch. I was paddling into the wind when a strong gust turned me broadside. No matter what I tried I could not get turned back up-wind. Finally I paddled backwards for about 15 to 20 minutes and worked my way into the mouth of South Fork and got close enough to shore to get some protection from the wind and got turned around. After a lunch break I put the 8 lbs of gear in the bow hatch and we headed back out into the wind. Big difference! I could paddle broadside to the wind and then carve a turn up-wind at will. The Sea Star is one boat that needs a rudder (unfortunately) and it needs a load in it to handle well in windy conditions. My Sea Star did not have a rudder. Also you should know that Eddyline actually has 2 different (Sea Star) hull designs. The original was taken out of production for several years but I think they are making it again so maybe Dave has one of these. My Sea Star was the "new" design. I don't know what the difference is but I've heard from some that they preferred the old design. Steve Scherre may have some information on this. I think he has one of the originals. Rex *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Rex wrote: > I owned a Sea Star for about 3 years. When day tripping (no load in the boat) the > Sea Star weather cocks even in light winds and can be unmanageable in high winds > (25 to 50 knots) if not properly loaded. [snip] > The Sea Star is one boat that needs a rudder (unfortunately) and it needs a load > in it to handle well in windy conditions. My Sea Star did not have a rudder. > Also you should know that Eddyline actually has 2 different (Sea Star) hull > designs. The original was taken out of production for several years but I think > they are making it again so maybe Dave has one of these. My Sea Star was the > "new" design. I don't know what the difference is but I've heard from some that > they preferred the old design. Steve Scherrer may have some information on this. > I think he has one of the originals. Thanks for the response, Rex. Glad to have the benefit of your experience. Yes, this boat (when empty) is a handful in a wind! Ours has a rudder, though the rudder is the newer design, and may not have the blade area to make the yak handle properly in a big wind. We only had 12-15 knots the other day, and I had to struggle to get it headed back upwind. (Seat in the original, forward position.) Actually, I believe Eddyline is discontinuing *both* variations. We have the newer one, which is somehat taller at the forward part of the cockpit -- achieved by adding an inch or so of vertical distance to the *deck,* not the hull profile, I think. I spoke with Steve (from Alder Creek) about his a couple weeks ago -- he owns the older "classic" Sea Star, which he prefers. We will be paying attention to trim when we paddle this one -- the seat will be rearward an inch from the original position. Appreciate your quick response. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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