I am thinking about building a Pygmy Arctic Tern 14 kit. I really like the idea of a light, relatively short kayak especially as a second boat [I paddle a 17.5' Pursuit]. However, I'm not overly enthusiastic about the actual building process with its necessity for a dedicated work space and the use of messy epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth. I am open to the outright purchase of a production boat, something around 14 or 15 feet with a beam no greater than 23 inches. I once upon a time owned a Mariner Coaster which was one great little sea kayak despite an over-all length of only 13.5 feet but it seems that the Broze brothers have taken early retirement and, alas, the Coaster is no longer available. The Wilderness Systems Tsunami 14 [composite] looks interesting but seems a bit on the tubby side and is not exactly a lightweight though I have never paddled one or even seen it up close.I'd like to hear from anyone with thoughts about well-designed, shorter fiberglass sea kayaks. John *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I paddled one of the Pygmy 14-footers (don't remember which one) a few years back and it was very twitchy for a person of my height and weight (6'2" and 220lbs). It also would not turn for me in the conditions (white caps on the Columbia River) and I was reluctant to edge it (no drysuit). So I just paddled the damn thing backwards until I was where I wanted to be and got the hell out. If you just want a lighter easier-to-handle boat for paddling more-or-less in a straight line then I think that any of the stitch-and-glue plywood kayaks would be a good choice. You can build them outside on a porch if the weather is suitable for curing the resin. I built an entire interior of a 32-foot sailboat on the porch of my house during a winter in the 1970s and then installed it all into the hull once that arrived the following April. I festooned the porch with plastic but didn't bother to heat it. The plus was that I could watch my wife and (then) baby daughter through the front windows while they were warm and comfy. Or maybe that was a minus. We had a lively discussion of a sea-kayak "playboat" here a few months back. Depends on what you want in a shorter kayak. When there are models of white-water playboats that cheerfully support 250lb paddlers in a 7-foot overall length (albeit somewhat wider than 23-inches) there is no reason why a 12 to 14 foot sea kayak cannot be made that gives good performance for larger paddlers. The "rockhopper" is a sea-kakyak playboat that looks a lot like some of the "river runner" white-water kayaks of about a decade past. The rockhopper has an adjustable skeg for longer paddles but enough rocker to swivel about in rock gardens. I spoke to a paddler who actually tried one out but not, unfortunately, in the conditions for which it was designed. Too bad. But he said it was a great little boat. Hopefully someone will import it into the USA but the Pound Stirling is getting expensive and at BP599 it would be well over $1500 here, I suspect. I asked Necky and Seaward reps to come up with something at the September Kayak Seminar at Port Townsend, WA and received polite attention. At least they didn't laugh at me. The Necky people were the most reponsive which makes sense since the guys at Pt. Townsend also do w/w. Craig Jungers Royal City, WA On 12/3/06, Wntrwren_at_aol.com <Wntrwren_at_aol.com> wrote: > > I am thinking about building a Pygmy Arctic Tern 14 kit. I really like the > idea of a light, relatively short kayak especially as a second boat [I > paddle a > 17.5' Pursuit]. However, I'm not overly enthusiastic about the actual > building > process with its necessity for a dedicated work space and the use of messy > epoxy resin and fiberglass cloth. I am open to the outright purchase of a > production boat, something around 14 or 15 feet with a beam no greater > than 23 > inches. I once upon a time owned a Mariner Coaster which was one great > little sea > kayak despite an over-all length of only 13.5 feet but it seems that the > Broze > brothers have taken early retirement and, alas, the Coaster is no longer > available. The Wilderness Systems Tsunami 14 [composite] looks interesting > but > seems a bit on the tubby side and is not exactly a lightweight though I > have > never paddled one or even seen it up close.I'd like to hear from anyone > with > thoughts about well-designed, shorter fiberglass sea kayaks. > John *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> From: Wntrwren_at_aol.com<mailto:Wntrwren_at_aol.com> > I am thinking about building a Pygmy Arctic Tern 14 kit. I really like the > idea of a light, relatively short kayak especially as a second boat [I paddle a > 17.5' Pursuit]. John I have just finished my build of the AT 14 kit. I haven't really put it through it's paces yet but it is a really lively paddle! It is by no means a speedy boat but I can hold a course reasonably well and keeping up with other paddlers is no problem. It is also one of the lightest boats I have ever hefted. I would highly recommend this boat! The build is another matter altogether. It took me 5 months to put the kit together so it is a time commitment. I would get a copy of Ted Moores book, Kayaks you can build. It will let you know what to expect and also give you a lot of tips and shortcuts. If you want to talk turkey you can reach me back channel. Kevin ----- Original Message ----- *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
[Please remove all old content that is not pertinent to your reply including old headers and footers. It's list policy.... this post was modified to meet policy] > From: "Kevin Westfall" <kevyak_at_msn.com> > I have just finished my build of the AT 14 kit. I haven't really put it > through it's paces yet but it is a really lively paddle! > It took me 5 months to put the kit together so it is a time > commitment. I read Kevin's response to John's e-mail about the Pygmy Arctic Tern 14', and felt that I needed to add something. I built one of these boats myself, and found that it took me about 80 hours, total, to build - just as Pygmy claims. Because I had the available time, and cooperative weather, I was able to do the 80 hours to build the kayak in about 3 weeks, total. I think it is a bit misleading to say that it takes 5 months to build this boat - to be fair - I am certain that the 5 months that Kevin talks about, includes a number of short days, and extended lapses of time in between. As far as paddling the Arctic Tern 14' goes, I am used to a longer touring kayak myself (Pygmy Osprey HP). I bought and built the A.T. for my (ex) girlfriend. I weigh about 190 lbs, and feel that I am just a bit beyond the size of paddler that this boat was intended for. For her 5' 2" size, though, it was a PERFECT boat. It was a BIG step up, from her heavy old rotomolded Sea Lion. Don McCumber *************************************************************************** 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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