Re: [Paddlewise] Doug's New Ride

> Doug,
>
>  Is that the Forager design or something before it (I hope I don't have 
> designers mixed up)?
>
>  Regardless, I'd like to see some photos. I may have seen some black and 
> white photos of it in an issue of Sea Kayaker magazine.
>
>  Duane
>  Southern California
>  www.rollordrown.com
>

Yeah Duane, it's the Forager, featured in a number of books and articles by 
Doug Alderson. It was his first home made S&G I believe - and not from a kit 
or a commercial/avaliable plan. The Forager's sister differs slightly with a 
flater bottom amidship, no center dagger board, and a VCP rudder in place of 
a skeg for prolonged touring in rough water. His newer boat features Kajak 
hatches rather than the Valley ones of his earlier Forager. Here's a link to 
the new but similar Forager:

http://www.paddlefest.bc.ca/images/DougAlderson.jpg

I'll get some pics of the Forager I bought to you soon. If I pimp my ride, 
I'll send those pics too, eventually, though at this point I've thrown in a 
spare Cascade inflatable seat and backrest to get me going - as it came 
minus the glass seat, and that will be it for now. I just want to paddle 
again before I loose my soul to the banalaties of the corporate workworld 
and the retail madness of my moonlighting job. Hey, my 14 year old daughter 
tried out the Forager and it may become her boat one day, so who knows what 
it will look like (I'll keep the name on it out of a deep respect for Doug). 
Then again, I may keep the kayak for my long-trip expedition boat if I like 
it enough. Doug cut off some of the bow and stern waterline to make the 
kayak a bit more responsive to leaning. With its deep V keel, it tracks well 
enough but may be a bit more fun touring in the rock gardens over my 
Nordkapp, and with a Swede Form and deep hull, packing should be a snap - 
and no fiberglass smells.

Interestingly, Doug retained a chopped/lowered Kevlar Slipstream for his 
fast-yak, and a new-to-his-quiver, not-too-badly-made-for-once Romany for 
his coaching and fun needs - as well as a heck of a downwind surfer too, as 
with all the Romany owners enjoying that feature. One can only hang so many 
kayaks in their garage, all though I have seven kayaks at my house now.

BTW, Doug A. was apprenticing at a boat-building yard in his youth prior to 
a vocational shift to becoming a math teacher; his kayaks tend to be built 
well, designed/lofted/executed well, and feature numerous ingenuities. Many 
of the design ideas he adopted and improved after observing some of my own 
Nordkapp mods, as well as adding stiffening fir stringers shaped at the 
plywood joins. While I don't mean to be snobby, I highly doubt I'd ever 
take, let alone buy, any other home made kayak avaliable out there on the 
open coast or storm paddling. As an added bonus, all my Nordkapp skirts fit, 
though the boat came with two. I can see the odd spot that may have needed a 
bit more fairing before final paint, but then my standards are nothing short 
of perfection - or I can't sleep at night when I build something. I'd 
rectify some of the minor imperfections eventually, then epoxy or 
polyurathane spray the paint job (then go out and hammer the boat, of 
course!).

Doug was very happy to "keep it in the family" as he put it, selling the 
boat to me, given we paddled together for many years on the west coast when 
Doug had a hard time finding other good paddlers to team up with. We drifted 
apart over the years precisely because I drifted apart on long trips...being 
the type to enjoy my own company, any weather, which isn't too reasurring 
given good friends worrying about you all afternoon back at the beach. 
However, I did get to see Doug's kayak perform in conditions here and there 
that many on the list probably haven't been exposed to, so know it's a well 
appointed, seaworthy, capable craft. Not live or die stuff, but the kind of 
conditions real paddlers who slog on contend with on long trips - hours of 
fighting for momentum and control in confused seas, contrary wind and sea 
states - that sort of thing. Being a good paddler probably helped. :-) Doug 
lives and breaths kayaking, while I just try to live and breath when I get 
serious out there kayaking.

Speaking of which, actually, I had a nice sunny paddle on Sunday; nice 
because there was this weird yellow thing up in the sky I didn't recognise, 
and nice because there was some wind and I got to try out paddling a kayak 
with hard chines and a skeg. Guess I'll get to test how well these S&G hulls 
hold up to real abuse over time. The Forager has 6 ounce cloth in and out of 
the hull and atop the deck with wide overlaps. As strong or stroger than my 
100 pound Nordkapp. It does ride high without a load, but has good glide. 
With a flat deck arrangement, it certainly fits well, especially as Doug and 
I are the same height, so the bulkhead is perfectly placed. However, I am 
used to no excess bouyancy, even when empty in my Nprdkapp, so I'll have to 
see how well it handles unloaded in higher winds and the more melevolant 
conditions I seek out. In the meantime, I can catch up with my life, maybe 
finish some article writing, and eventually design and build my own killer 
day/weekend play boat. I know you would love me to build in ply, which I 
feel is tougher than cedar but shape limiting. I have some ideas for 
something in between. Man, do I need to retire and have more time to play 
with boats...a carbon-composite custom molded lowered Nordkapp, a W. 
Greenland SOF, a S&G low-volume day boat, and a killer-looks stripper. Don't 
know how you do it Duanne, with all your kayaks. Having a shop where you 
live must help. My shop is out in the counrtyside..

Thought I'd mention too that most of the kayaks I'd had on my short list, 
I've discarded. I see my friends go through boat after boat. Only a few keep 
coming back up as hopefulls: The Romany, The Chatham 16, and the Tempest 
165 - at least for guys my size not long distance touring. Cappelas come and 
go, Gulfstreams, Ledgends...and so it goes. Matt's boats don't suite my 
astethics, Nigel has another kayak coming out by yet a different 
manufacturer but who knows if it will have minor drawbacks. I wish someone 
like Seaward would build the Romany, and maybe some of the other VCP kayaks 
are worth more consideration. Maybe your boat-building build-by-purpose 
multiple boat selection has merit, though a new Nordkapp LV is the last boat 
on my short list now.

Anyway, tired after work here, so good night - forgive the poor edits.

Doug Lloyd
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