Re: [Paddlewise] Baidarka

>Does anyone out there have any experience paddling or building a skin
>baidarka.  I am going to Wooden Boat School this summer and building one
>of Bruce Lemon's baidarkas.  Just wondering what I am getting myself
>into.


I built a Baidarka in 1997 in Corey Freedman's shop (Anacortes, Washington
State).  It's fast, maneuverable, durable, and light at only 33 lbs.  The
best thing about building a skin frame Baidarka is that it is so easy to
make a boat that is individualized for you.  You decide on the length,
width, rocker, hull shape and depth.  Before I built mine I paddle about
eight different Baidarkas that Corey had.  Each one was very different.  One
was 19 feet long, very narrow, very light,  with a round hull shape.  It was
the fastest kayak I've ever paddled.  It was interesting to see how each
boat was so different even though each one was a Baidarka design.

There are a few guys doing Baidarka workshops using station forms.  I would
not recommend using this method.  All you are doing is making an exact copy
of someone else's boat.  This takes a lot away from the experience and you
may not end up with a boat that fits your needs.

I wanted a low volume kayak for day trips and I wanted a maneuverable boat
to use for the tidal rapids course that I teach in Deception Pass.  I made
my boat 16.5 feet long, 20.75 inches wide with 4 inches of rocker.  It
turned out perfect for my needs.  It's easy to roll (I can do hand rolls
with it).

It is very well behaved in light to moderate winds. I've been out in 25 knot
winds with some gusts up around 40 knots and did fine.  One of the nicest
things about this boat is how it is balanced perfectly for our typical 8 to
15 knot breezes.  With the Baidarka design you can vary the waterline length
over a range of about 12 inches just by leaning forward or backwards a few
inches.   Lean forward just a few inches and the bow waterline moves forward
about 6 inches as the bow lowers from the weight shift.  The first time I
paddled my Baidarka I was paddling up wind at different angles in a 10 knot
breeze checking to see if there was any weathercocking.  I was very pleased
to discover that there was no weathercocking at all.  Then I noticed if I
leaned forward a little (paddling up wind at an angle to the wind) the boat
would slowly turn directly into the wind (weathercock).  Then if I leaned
back a little I could easily turn from up wind with no weathercocking to
fight against. The Aleutians, through many generations and thousands of
years of kayak building have evolved a brilliant design.

Do you know about the Skin Boat Gathering on April 24 and 25 at Bowman Bay,
Washington State? If not I can send you some information. Where is the
Wooden Boat Shop you are planning on attending?

Rex




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