Kirk said (snip): > I'm in Massachusetts. Water temp is up to 47 fahrenheit, 8 celsius. > I've been on the water for about 6 weeks. Some of the other surf ski > paddlers only skipped February. 2 weeks ago we spent a couple hours in > nauset inlet(cape cod) surfing the 3 foot waves where the outgoing inlet > current made nice steep waves (wave faces were above the top paddle > blade and head of my paddling companion). With the surf ski you are > more likely to dress for immersion since there's frequently water in the > cockpit area, the venturi bailers work great so the cockpit drains > quickly. > Okay, okay! I'm impressed. :-) But how do you stay on top of a surf ski? I can't imagine life without thigh braces. Or is it like riding a bike - just keep moving forward? These guys seem to be doing okay: http://www.surfskischool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=2 >> The new P&H boats look promising. The new Cetus even has a sandwich hatch >> on the foredeck like I designed into my Nordkapp. Hopefully a Cetus LV >> will >> come out one day. Check out the cool black Carbon/Kevlar P&H at the >> bottom. >> >> http://www.savannahcanoeandkayak.com/p&h%20sea%20kayaks.htm > > That is definitely a cool looking boat. The 22" beam sounds more like a > fishing platform (from my highly biased stupidly tippy perspective). > Although if I wanted a tripping boat that would definitely be on my > short list to demo. Surf ski paddlers are a narrow-minded lot, aren't they? :-) I suppose North American manufactures will continue to come out with more and more "Brit" style boats too, both play-sized and expedition-volumed. I see Nimbus has a new one coming out (Ice Kap) that I first saw on Sterling Donalson's site: http://sterlingskayak.com/Manufacturing.shtml >> As you can tell, I'm at a crossroads with sea kayaking right now, in >> terms of design, construction, and fitness paddling vs play vs tripping. >> Duane >> certainly comes up with his own homemade boats that I assume perform well >> (not sure if he kept the Elsmere that he modified with a longer skeg >> portion on the keel). I could build a very nice marine ply/glass boat >> faster than >> a strip, well budgeted, and maybe built it like the Betsy Bay boys do, >> with >> stronger epoxy fillets at the chines. I'd build mine with more glass >> layers though. > > Knowing of your woodworking skills (we'll ignore those finger incidents > ;-) > I'm very surprised you haven't built a plywood/glass boat. I would > think you could > crank one out quickly. Yeah...still affraid of chine damage and paddelability without the hull section profile I'm used to. Hey, I think digitus-longevitus should be aided now that I have oxygen flowing to the brain again and good hemodynamic perfusion, though I did opt for the pig valve to negate blood thinner use - given that I'll still be woodworking. :-) BTW, I did consider prepreg nomex for a possible self-built Nordkapp, but my kitchen oven won't fit the full length for curing. And, the other alternative, epoxy infusion, seems awefully daunting and a poor economy for a one-time build. Doug L *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
On Fri, 04 May 2007 23:41:05 -0700, "Doug Lloyd" <douglloyd_at_shaw.ca> said: > Kirk said (snip): > > I'm in Massachusetts. I've been on the water for about 6 weeks. > > Okay, okay! I'm impressed. :-) My point was it's not just a warm weather boat. "Impressing" you was a bonus ;-) > But how do you stay on top of a surf ski? I can't imagine life without > thigh braces. Or is it like riding a bike - just keep moving forward? It's more difficult - the transition is tough from a decked kayak - much easier from an open canoe. I balance by pushing down on the opposite butt cheek instead of pulling up with the onside knee. > http://www.surfskischool.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=2 http://www.surfski.info has some links to some good videos. > > That is definitely a cool looking boat. The 22" beam sounds more like a > > fishing platform (from my highly biased stupidly tippy perspective). > > Although if I wanted a tripping boat that would definitely be on my > > short list to demo. > > Surf ski paddlers are a narrow-minded lot, aren't they? :-) To push discussion being a highly biased is useful.. > I suppose North American manufactures will continue to come out with more > and more "Brit" style boats too, both play-sized and expedition-volumed. > I see Nimbus has a new one coming out (Ice Kap) that I first saw on > Sterling > Donalson's site: > > http://sterlingskayak.com/Manufacturing.shtml One of the people on the surf ski mailing list recently lamented that the North American market is 5 to 8 years behind the southern hemisphere in terms of what was available for performance boats - for both multisport racing and surf skis. There are rotomolded surf skis available in Australia and South Africa, none that I'm aware of in the northern hemisphere. Most of the rotomolded sit no tops in north america seem to be geared toward the fishing market. It would be nice to see an inexpensive quasi performance sit on top. > Yeah...still affraid of chine damage and paddelability without the hull > section profile I'm used to. Hey, I think digitus-longevitus should be > aided now that I have oxygen flowing to the brain again and good hemodynamic > perfusion, though I did opt for the pig valve to negate blood thinner use > - given that I'll still be woodworking. :-) Build yourself a hard chine boat and beat the crap out of it on one of your local walk out padde spots to see if you trust it. > BTW, I did consider prepreg nomex for a possible self-built Nordkapp, but > my kitchen oven won't fit the full length for curing. I've got a local kayak company with a prepreg nomex system. If you have a similar company in your area it might be possible to rent time using it, if they have some downtime. I'll be demoing one of their kayaks this afternoon - I hope the water's lumpy ;-) Kirk -- Kirk Olsen *************************************************************************** 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 would think it would only take a hint of oilcanning to turn a rotomolded surfski into a sea-going corkscrew. > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net > [mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net]On Behalf Of Kirk Olsen > Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2007 6:54 AM > To: Doug Lloyd; paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net > Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Happy feet/ spare paddle storage > > There are rotomolded surf skis available in Australia and South Africa, none that I'm aware of in the northern hemisphere. Most of the rotomolded sit no tops in north america seem to be geared toward the fishing market. It would be nice to see an inexpensive quasi performance sit on top. *************************************************************************** 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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