The following is meant as information, or clarification, not as argument against anyone else's position. John wrote that my double-paddle canoes "are perfect for swamping." In case it was not obvious from the context, he meant that they were good for paddling in swamps. Whether one prefers a single or double bladed paddle is really just a matter of taste. John wrote that using the double is "disgusting". I don't find it so. This is not an argument, merely a statement that our tastes differ. De gustibus non disputandum est. I went through this line of reasoning several years ago. I want to wander in the bush, which here, in northeastern Ontario, means mostly smallish lakes and rivers and a lot of damned small creeks and ponds. I am lazy, slight of build, and aging (and a few years older than John). The boat will need to be carried, often, so it should be light, and it should be easier to carry than a kayak. In many of the places where I want to paddle, it's difficult to find a good place to get in and out, so I need an open boat, for access via the ends. As I stated above, I have nothing against a double-bladed paddle (even if I do sometimes like to "dance" with a single blade when I'm not going anywhere). With the double blade, I can sit near the bottom of the boat, so the beam can be a kayak's beam, rather than a canoe's. Less weight, less drag. And because the boat is narrower and so more curved, the construction can be lighter: even less weight. (Result: 15' LOA, 24" beam at sheer, 24 lb weight). Thus for much of my paddling, especially daytripping, a double-paddle solo canoe (dpc) is my first choice. As John indicated, you'll have a hard time buying something that fits the above bill reasonably well, so if you're serious, you'll need to build your own, or have one built. IMO, the "Wee Lassie" variants around are fat little tubs. ("De gustibus..." again, of course.) So I'll ramble on for a bit about what you want if you go this route. Everything will be qualitative, of course: my shoes probably won't fit you, so why should my boat? But I'm trying to point to what you need to think about. I don't like to tour in a jealous boat (pay attention to anything else and it gets upset), but jealousy depends on the strength of the relation. Richard likes to tour in a sprint kayak, but I can't handle one. (Maybe if I had the opportunity to try one for a while ...) Thus the boat needs enough stability for the user to be comfortable in it, under all appropriate conditions. The one I usually prefer is just a little bit less stable than my second choice, and in exposed places (e.g. Rhode Island Sound) I'm more comfortable in the second one. Thus: find a boat that you're comfortable in and get (design, build, commission) a dpc with the same stability. You don't need tumblehome, so have the sides flared. If you have the same initial stability (same metacentric height -- see John's book on canoe design) as your "reference" hull, then the flare will ensure you have at least as much "secondary" or "final" stability as the reference until the water starts to come over the gunwale. For ease of paddling, keep the sheerline low where your hands will be. But for seaworthiness, put lots of height into the ends, especially the bow. Footrests are a must. I glued in triangular blocks. If you want to cross bigger lakes, make a cover, too, but make it easy to take off when you want to get out of the boat. And I do enjoy a bit of speed now and then. My boats aren't up to John's standards, and won't come close to Richard's sprint kayak, but they will keep up easily with, or walk away from, most non-racing sea kayaks. And I even have a few true stories that can be made to sound very impressive. Hope this has been useful to someone, at least as food for thought. Bruce Winterbon bwinterb_at_intranet.ca http://intranet.ca:80/~bwinterb All states have laws to protect the rich from the poor. Few attempt the more difficult task of protecting the poor from the rich. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Jul 18 1998 - 17:01:42 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:29:58 PDT