Picked up Doug Alderson's S&G kayak today for $500.00. The Valley rear oval and front round hatches are in as new condition; the ocean cockpit is recessed its full perimeter - nothing like the vast majority of home-made or kit kayaks out there, looking almost like a high-end factory boat. The recessed fitting are bombproof with stainless steel pins. I'll be on the water tomorrow - been one year plus a day since my heart surgery; almost forgot what kayaking might be like, so looking forward to paddling again. Other than my Nordkapp, this is probably one of the few boats around here I'd consider well-built enough for me to take out, compared to most of the oil-canning crude out there. Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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 Doug Lloyd <douglloyd_at_shaw.ca> wrote: Picked up Doug Alderson's S&G kayak today for $500.00. The Valley rear oval and front round hatches are in as new condition; the ocean cockpit is recessed its full perimeter - nothing like the vast majority of home-made or kit kayaks out there, looking almost like a high-end factory boat. The recessed fitting are bombproof with stainless steel pins. I'll be on the water tomorrow - been one year plus a day since my heart surgery; almost forgot what kayaking might be like, so looking forward to paddling again. Other than my Nordkapp, this is probably one of the few boats around here I'd consider well-built enough for me to take out, compared to most of the oil-canning crude out there. Doug Lloyd *************************************************************************** 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'd also like to see some photos. And I'm very glad you're back on the water; I'm looking forward to more stories featuring Doug Lloydian exploits. Craig Jungers Slowly warming up in.... Moses Lake, WA On Feb 17, 2008 6:13 PM, Duane Strosaker <strosaker_at_yahoo.com> wrote: > 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 > > Doug Lloyd <douglloyd_at_shaw.ca> wrote: > Picked up Doug Alderson's S&G kayak today for $500.00. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
> 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 *************************************************************************** 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'd rather be in my, or in a, custom-concept Nordkapp for my Lloydian adventures. The one I had was reworked over the last 25 years, albeit heavier with every itineration, to the point I had it dialed in to extreme usage survivability. If I eventually mold a new one from a broad outline of the 1980 HS - that's pre Jubilee, pre H20, pre LV, I'd be creating an even lower volume version calling it the Lloyd Nordlow. As for current adventure, it is fundamentally axiomatic that time spent in the boat equals, more or less, skill with that boat. I think it was Morley who stated that a minimum of a year should be spent in a boat (assuming routine usage) to be completely familiar with that boat's potential and yours in it (not exact quote). I'll be taking it easy in the Forager for now. Hard to follow in the bootie steps of a couple of decades in a previous specific-rigged kayak, etc. I did phone my second job employer totay to advise them I wouldn't be showing up for moonlighting as much as before nor perhaps future weekends, as I'll be out kayaking more! For starters, a kayak store from Vancouver is coming over this weekend to Victoria with some demos boats out at a local tidal hot spot. I'll be trying out the Nordkapp LV, which is actually the demonstrator chase boat. LV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXilcmGCLxk&feature=related The purpose of the coming across-the-water demo is mainly to showcase the new Tiderace Xcite and Xplore, two of the new and up-and-coming hot kayaks on the market, ones actually a bit boxlike for me, more Romanyesq, but so much more well built and appointed than the NDK I imagine. http://www.tideraceseakayaks.com/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEe3WkjdQxY There's lots of good boats out there, most well made for the intended purposes and designed for the intended criteria the owners want. What I want is a little different than what gets offered for the most part. No affiliation to above. Doug Lloyd I'd also like to see some photos. And I'm very glad you're back on the water; I'm looking forward to more stories featuring Doug Lloydian exploits. Craig Jungers Slowly warming up in.... Moses Lake, WA *************************************************************************** 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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