Re: [Paddlewise] Feathercraft Khatsalano, S and Expedition K1

Sorry if this gets confusing, folks. Accidently sent this just to Ralph
last night, so it is out of order - but hopefully not out of line. ;-)

Vince Dalrymple wrote:
> 
> ralph diaz wrote:
> >
> > I would agree with Vince only in part.
> > _Both_ versions, the standard (in which you can elect to inflate or not
> > inflate the smallish built-in sponsons, is in itself a compromise boat
> > that was redesigned up from the non-sponsoned version because paddlers
> > seem to want something very skinny but couldn't handle it)
> 
> Not so much the stability, Ralph, as getting used to a v-bottom hard
> chine design.
> Ken Fink "tested" me in the original Khats (and expected a quick
> capsize, I think), and the trick was to not fight for a vertical rest
> position, but to just let the craft settle over on a chine 'til getting
> under way.
> 
> One of the few times I actually preferred having the sponsons on the
> current Khats inflated (in retrospect) was a swim support - spray skirt
> open, gallon jug of water in one hand, cup and lg. Gu bottle in the
> other, paddle somewhere, and my swimmer grabbing hold of the gunwale for
> some support during the quick breaks.  Ever feel like a bartender on a
> unicycle with your customers pulling on your coat tails for service??
> 
> Another was a solo paddle to go 3~4 days at a time unsupported around a
> fairly rugged but populated island.  Weighed down with extra water,
> heavy camp gear and clothes, etc., the water line was within an inch or
> two of the rear deck - and this was with the bow, stern, and sponsons as
> inflated as possible given that amount of cramming.
> 
> Other than those few times, the sponsons have stayed only about 1/4
> inflated - helps tension the skin to run about 1/2~1 kt. faster.  Any
> more inflated and they become a noticeable hindrance to rolling.
> 
> > and the Khats-S in which you must use the sponsons all the time (these are
> > medium sized), are meant to give a measure of training wheels to a
> > skinny boat.  One is just more training wheels than the other.
> 
> The price paid for those training wheels comes in the form of difficulty
> righting the boat if it should go over.  The same force that once kept
> you upright is now working against you to keep you inverted and the flat
> Greenland style deck will not help matters any.  I have yet to try
> rolling with a full camp load (sponsons fully inflated), but presume it
> might be easier than without such a load.  I did experiment with keel
> ballast, though.  Better kept in round hull, round deck boats.  With its
> flat deck and some air in the sponsons, the Khats becomes very difficult
> to initiate the roll (up to the 90 degree mark).  The only benefit
> (besides the obvious force against initial capsize) was easier roll
> finish.
> 
> > As for who has a right to be in a skinny boat, I don't see how anyone should be
> > denied going skinny or seemingly skinny.  A boat like the Khats-S
> > actually bridges a lot of worlds quite nicely.  It is not a barge or
> > bus.
> 
> There are enough Khats Ss circulating around that no one will be denied
> a "skinny boat" anytime soon, even if Doug stopped making them today.
> And what does the Khats S do better for the stability minded paddler
> that the K1 or an elongated K-Light couldn't do (besides cruising speed)
> and without giving them the performance that might get them into trouble
> WHEN they actually do capsize?
> 
> > As for the numbers of Khats Standard vs. Khat-S's for resale, the
> > numbers reflect to some degree the number of sales of one versus the
> > other.  But it is true that some paddlers who bought the Khats-S as an
> > excursion into the realm of skinny, found that it wasn't to their liking
> > nor did it make them better paddlers.
> 
> And big sponsons or heavy keel ballasts on flat decked boats with big
> sponsons are no magic bullet.  Skills are the answer - no magic here;
> just hard work and experience.
> 
> > Something akin to this happened in the late 1980s when many a paddler was conned   > into buying a Nordkapp as a boat to grow into and it did not turn out to be that   > easy.  The glut of used Nordkapps on the market was astounding but a blessing to
> > good paddlers who could get used ones for a song from sellers desperate
> > to get rid of them.  I know of one determined paddler here who went out
> > some 50 times with his Nordkapp until he finally felt one with it and
> > confident and comfortable.  In the Khats-S I have known people who
> > really wanted it no matter what and opted eventually to put in ballast
> > for the security it gave them.
> 
> > The trouble in the Khats is not so much the high rear deck but rather
> > the high seatback.  It is relatively easy to resolve this...cut down the
> > plastic board used for back support within the seatback cushion.
> 
> Mine has been ground down to just under the coaming for about a year
> now.  The coaming takes the brunt of the weight during layback rolling.
> The deck is too high to effectively layback onto without raising the
> butt out of the seat by several inches - doable but painful and too
> unstable to finish a hand roll.
> 
> > It is something I am recommending this fix in my next issue for those who want
> > to roll any of the Feathercrafts with a sweep, layback roll.
> 
> > If you are forwarding requests to Doug ask him for me and a lot of
> > others to make a longer version of the K-Light.  The world is waiting
> > for a 15 foot K-Light.  It would blow the socks over any other
> > conventional folding single.  Adding two feet would still give us a 40
> > pound nice single for the way most of us paddle, i.e. not like Doug
> > (...Lloyd not Simpson) or Vince, the hurricane chasers respectively (and
> > respected) of the West and East Coasts :-)
> >
> > Incidentally, at your weight and need for stability, you may want to opt
> > for the K-Light even at its present 13 foot length.  It is a speedy
> > enough boat, very agile and sporty feeling and accelerates well.
> > Sometimes smaller paddlers actually can do better in a smaller boat than
> > a longer boat.  At least give it a try.
> 
> Good point, Ralph.  Not having paddled the K-Light, I don't know its
> tracking capabilities and weathercocking liabilities.  If you do find a
> way to test the various F-crafts out, Wendy, try them with (& w/o)
> F-craft's removable skeg, making runs on most headings to and from the
> wind.
> 
> Something I forgot to address in the last e-mail to Wendy (and list) is
> the ease with which the K1 and esp. the K-Light set up due to their
> simplicity, especially when compared to the Khatsalano, a boat which
> wears me out just putting together (which explains it being on my car
> rather than in it).
> 
> All the best to all,
> 
> Vince
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