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Mess
Abouts & Cast Away You have asked for it and
it is finally here, a smaller, open cockpit,
recreational style boat. There are a lot of people
interested in a short boat to just "Mess
About" in. It has taken a lot of work but it
finally finished
Cast Away the fishing version of the Mess
About is available too. It has flat rear deck for rod
mounts and a well for the fisherman's milk crate
that are so popular.
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Curlew is
what I like to call a fast cruiser. However, top
speed was never a consideration in this design,
instead it was optimized for the 3 to 4.5 mph range.
The speed range most recreational paddlers paddle 95%
of the time. This way you get the most speed for your
effort.
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Ravenswood is another fast
cruising hull. It is based on the Curlew hull but has
a little better performance in the 3-4.5 mph range.
The resistance is a little lower than the Curlew,
making it a good choice for most paddlers. If you are
into fast paddling this is not the boat for you. At 5
mph the resistance starts to increase dramatically.
But this is into sprinting speeds for the average
recreational paddler.
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Vardo The design goals were for a boat a new
paddler would be comfortable in and not outgrow.
Large enough for weekend camping and a larger cockpit
with lots of knee room.
Vardo has meet those goals. It's performance
has been better than expected and I find it to be a
good all around boat. I often use mine when I am
going fishing on one of the creeks. I have not camped
from it but it has the space. I think a couple of
Beckson style hatches for access to the ends of the
boat and it would be a good touring boat.
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This boats can trace its lineage to Greenland
hunting boats. Of course it is long removed from
it's distant relative but it inspired this
design. I have long been a fan of traditional
Greenland boats with the long pointed bows. Many
people say the long bows were a waste but they
actually served a purpose where they were paddled. I
just think they look cool!
Available Early 2012
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Short Shot as the name implies is just a shorter
version of the Long Shot. It has a multi chined
(round) hull shape. By going with a rounder shape the
boat has less wetted surface area which lowers the
resistance. It should be quick boat and easy to
paddle.
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Long Shot has a multi chined (round) hull shape.
By going with a rounder shape the boat has less
wetted surface area which lowers the resistance. It
is noticeably faster and it has quickly become my go
to boat. The low seating position makes it more
stable the numbers imply. If you are a stronger
paddler this is a boat you want to consider!
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Firefly is what I like to call a "Modern
Baidarka". It is not true to the
'traditional' Baidarka design but is
very much inspired by them. Most single hole
Baidarkas were very small boats with low stability
and a small ocean cockpit. Not something most
paddlers today want. I have always loved the
Baidarkas but was always afraid I would never be
happy with one so I decide to design my own.
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Sling Shot is a performance boat with a single
hard chine instead of the multiple chines like
Firefly and Long Shot. In order to increase the
performance potential the hull is longer and has a
narrower water line. It also has a more pronounced V
shape. The trade off is it's lower stability.
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FreeB is a recreational kayak recreational kayak
avaiable in 12 and 14 foot lengths. It has a 36"
long coaming making it easier to get in and out of.
It is designed to be very stable and should be
comfortable for a first timer paddlers. I can imagine
this boat being used for fishing or photography from
in flat water. I would not recommend it for open
water.
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CANOE
DESIGNS
Full size plans are available for these designs.
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STONEFLY This is a boat I built for myself. I
wanted a canoe to fish from. I have fished from my
kayaks but a canoe makes a a better fishing platform
than a sit-in kayak for me. I did not intend to offer
plans for this but there was a lot of interest in
it.
StoneFly will track harder than most canoes. It is
not flat bottomed and it was designed for use on a
very large lake where I may paddle some distance. So
it's not going to spin around quickly. That is a
draw back on smaller creeks but I still use on them,
it just takes more effort to turn it around.
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BOATS WAITING TO BE
BUILT
These are untested designs that basically ready
to be built.
Contact me if your interested, plans are available
sometimes.
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THE DRAWING
BOARD
Designs we are looking at and working on. It may be
an idea or something I am working on for my
personal use.
These designs are not available at this
time.
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Sweet Briar is a pulling or row boat. As a kid and
a young man I got the chance to do a little bit of
rowing and really enjoyed it. Like most people I like a
boat that has a bit of speed to it. For a pulling boat
that means length and length leads to weight and
suddenly your faster boat is too heavy to handle.
Building a pulling boat Skin on Frame style will keep
the weight way down. |
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