Dear List, I asked Dave Kruger some "double" questions back-channel. He graciously wrote the following and it makes good sense to me to share the info on this list. Bill Leonhardt >From: "Dave Kruger" <kdruger_at_pacifier.com> >To: "Leonhardt, William J" <wjleonhardt_at_bnl.gov> >Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Paddling in doubles. >Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 13:38:18 -0700 >X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 >X-MailScanner: Found to be clean > >Bill, > >It is OK if you want to forward this to the list, edited as you see fit. >---------------------------------------------- >Bill Leonhardt asked me, back channel, to explain why we chose a Folbot >Double and a Pygmy Double when my SO and I decided to try paddling tandem. >He has my permission to forward this to the list if he so chooses. > >We acquired the Folbot in 1996, for use on an extended trip in the Queen >Charlottes, triggered because we did not want to yard two singles overhead on >the ferry up the Inside Passage, and then over to the Islands. The >overheight charges were enough incentive to invest in a double, and we >figured it would be good for other paddling trips to places where we would >have to fly to a distant launch point. Turns out we only did that once, but >the Folbot was a good boat for friends to use -- it is stable as hell, and >easy to fit. It gave us flexibility when others wanted to go kayak camping >with us, but we did not use it much ourselves. > >We first used the Folbot in earnest on a 15-day Charlottes trip in 1998 and >found many of the advantages Rafael has described were important to us. >Folbot's Greenland II makes for particularly easy loading and unloading, >because of its open cockpit construction. However, it is a short, very beamy >boat, and therefore slow. Plus, having no bulkheaded compartments made for >wet storage at times, and a reduced safety factor if we swamped. And, the >cheesy stock spraydeck makes launching and landing on surge beaches a PITA. >I built an improved spraydeck incorporating hardshell-style sprayskirts (see: >http://foldingkayaks.org/kayakmods.html#folbot_spraydeck) to help there. > >We learned to coordinate our paddle strokes because the seating positions are >close. (At first, that was a hassle; later, it was fun to do -- and we >became better paddlestrokers because we had to pay attention to our strokes.) > >In Fall 2000, I built a Pygmy Osprey Double (not the Triple; see below), with >bulkheaded compartments, but open between the front and rear cockpits. This >is a longer, narrower boat, with more efficient hull design. It lets us >paddle farther for the same effort. It is a little less stable than the >Folbot, but still has much greater initial stability than any single I have >paddled. Paddler separation is great enough that coordinated paddling is not >required (though we do it anyway). We chose it over their Triple because the >Triple puts both paddlers closer to the ends, reducing the bulkheaded storage >substantially, and making for a cramped cockpit for larger people in the >front. In addition, the Triple has even more open space to bail out, if >swamped. > >Many of these features are common to any double. We picked a wooden >kit-built boat because we could get a hardshell double at about 1/2 to 1/3 >the out-of-pocket cost of an equivalent-volume composite double, not adding >the "cost" of my time in constructing it. > >The Osprey Double is not a high-volume double, so on week-long ventures, we >have to deck-load, which is easy (and safe) to do between paddlers. Its >smaller volume is an advantage for day trips, the unloaded vessel being a >very fast boat. And, its efficiency makes it easier for one person to push >it home if the other is ill, which happened a couple times. Finally, the >construction method makes for a much lighter carry to and from the vehicle. > >I think, for the bucks spent, kit-built wood/fiberglass/epoxy composite boats >are a real value, if you enjoy the construction process. And, I suspect (but >have no data to support this) they are stronger than equivalent-weight >fiberglass/polyester composite boats. I know the Pygmy deck and hull are far >more rigid than those in my Eddyline composite singles. > >-- >Dave Kruger >Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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