3 or 4 Ribs

[beekeeper]

I asked this befor, but it was in another thread and was probably over looked in all the chatter.
Uncle John's plans for a pirogue list the option useing 3 ribs or a wider model with 4 ribs. Has anybody paddled both of these? I would like to know the practical differences, if any.

beekeeper

 

[lil'moe]

I have both of the UJ's- both are 15'8" long. There may be a slight difference in the stability, but the added 3" beam doesn't seem to affect paddling. My wife uses the 3 rib, but I usually end up with more stuff, so I get the 4 rib version.
Ron

 

[beekeeper]

lil'moe
Thank you for the reply. Which one would you choose to build again?

beekeeper

 

[oldsparkey]

Fortunately lil'moe has both for a comparison.

I haven't made a 4th rib one all of mine are the three rib ones. I have paddled with guys who have added the extra rib and there boats offer more stability in the water. They wold stand up to fly fish and there is no way I am going to try that in my 3 rib ones. From my observations it appears the 4th rib widens the center of the boat out more then the 3 rib which offers more room and that would offer more stability.

"O" one of the guys is about 6-4 and on the hefty side and he would stand in his without any problem.

As far as paddling the boats they seamed to be equal in the speed and ease of paddling as we paddled along.

Chuck.

 

[lil'moe]

Bee,
If I were to build another UJ, I'd do the four rib. Its a little more stable as far as side-to-side, and not any harder to paddle. Like I said, I usually end up with the extra "stuff" and it does have a bit more room. I belive there was 3" differenc in the bottom width. Euther one is a great little boat, mainly for smooth water. We do local reservoirs, farm ponds and small coves in the big lake.