On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 10:09 PM, Doug Lloyd <douglloyd_at_shaw.ca> wrote: > > I know they are tough, tougher than a 50 pound Brit boat is some respects, > but perhaps not as tough as my Nordy, witness it taking out a logging truck > shop's garage door, being blown off my van onto the pavement, belly-first; > direct cartwheels over boulders in the surf, etc. Okay, so an SOF might be > lighter. > Craig replied: >All I'm saying is that for about $300 and a week's worth of work in the shop you can have a kayak that will do a lot of what you like to do. If you break it you spend another week in the shop and $300 to make a new one using 14-oz ballistic nylon instead of that wimpy 12-ounce stuff. You can experiment with designs using plastic-wrap and speed up the design/test processes, too. Don't like where the chines are? Change 'em, re-wrap the boat in plastic-wrap and see if they work better that way. Meanwhile, in between paddling your SOF, you could always work on a stripper. But if you let the gals paddle an F-1 you'll probably have to make them boats of their own first< Got it Craig. And the 14-oz sounds promising; now you are talking my language. Does it come it 24-oz? Seriously? Doing this in a bombproof glass Coaster would probably been more > fun than in a Nordy with a thick, directional keel strip, but an SOF > version > of a maneuverable craft, I don't know. I hate dipping into a deep chasm all > completely rigid and then pulling out completely limp before finishing the > run. I've never seen a limp, abused SOF, but I doubt it would float well. > Craig replied: >I dunno about bombproof... my first Coaster cost me $1k and another $500 for Sterling to fix a bunch of major holes. One of them was seven inches long. And that didn't include any gel-coat as I purposely wanted it to look as beat up as possible to deter any thieves who might recognize the boat. This makes me pretty sure that fiberglass boats aren't bombproof. They might be easier to fix but, as you should know, every fix adds weight.< Oh, my Nordy was tough - even before reinforcing. Matt, Sterling, and others can say what they want to about brittle, Brit boats, but some of those concave/convex sections of the VCP Nordkapp were brilliant and almost indestructible. I just had to reinforce some of the stress riser areas feathering into these sections. As for keeping your Coaster thief-repellant ugly, brilliant! Too bad it wasn't fire proof. > > Not understanding my predilections? Craig, if you could only travel down > the > corridors of my memory... > > Actually I think I do understand your feelings. I have enjoyed reading about your exploits and would love to read more of them. I just want to get you out there this season so I don't have to wait longer for more of the stories. :) Craig said: >I don't want to sound like I'm proselytizing for SOF kayaks here. I'm suggesting it for purely pragmatic reasons: quick to build, inexpensive, responsive to edges and paddle strokes (but not as fast edge-to-edge as your Nordy was), and light in weight. Didn't you buy a S&G kayak last year? Where did that go?< As per Kirk's post, I realize the strength inherency with SOF construction and the other attributes you advocate for. I can't imagine not building an SOF once I sort out some shop time priority or build a workshop in my now decommissioned septic-field backyard. Alderson's S&G I bought was being used by Yvonne before she got sick; I'd given up on it a bit, though with the skeg and centre lee-board I'll be setting it up as my sailing kayak; probably add a rudder too. And for rough water, I didn't like the V hull, chine sides - not the same as the shallow arched Nordkapp I'm used to, which is a bit more tender but more predictable to me (in side seas). Nor did I find weather helm mitigation that much better than with my Nordkapp (rudder up), and that after everything everyone promised with a hard chine kayak. Yes, I know how to paddle. No, I can't discount Matt's assertions that his hull design strategy allows a greater freedom from devices (other than the sliding seat). I also did not like the way the painted, fiberglass over plywood hull abraded. It chips out, leaving exposed fibers. I much prefer a gelcoated hull surface, not to thin, not too thick. All in good time Craig, all in good time (though time does seem in short supply some days). Doug *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Feb 25 2010 - 22:05:39 PST
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