Design ideas, questions, thoughts?

[paddlin4reds]

Mornin' Mate;
Nah, I don't stand either. But with the Grand Kids it looks like it would be a real stable fishin' boat a day on the river. "Tell our Mum, I said Ga Day'. You take care too, and spit out that cig" :lol:

 

[hairymick]

Cross open choppy water in the wind, solo, pull up on a sandbar, dig for clams and have a cold.....(you pick that one). When you've filled a bucket or two with clams, you run outta beer, or the sun starts gettin low, you shove off the sandbar, cross the open choppy water, now with a breeze freshing up, and head for the hill.

Cargo is 1-2 people, extra paddles, pfd's, an anchor, medium cooler, and maybe a trolling motor and car battery. Some how, this all adds up to enough weight to sink the Queen Anne's Revenge, no matter how many of the beers you drink. The wind is the greatest enemy, more than the waves or the shallows. The wind saps you. 15-20 mph on a typical summer afternoon, and on the trip home when you're already tard(er, I mean tired).

Wind means low sides, unless you sail or pole. Sailing and poling dictate more width and or higher sides than a "normal" canoe, if such a critter exists. But like Old Sparkey said....

Here ya go. I think you might need one of these.

G'day bro.

My grandkids love this one too. so do my three kids for that matter.

reg the cigs - D'oh!

 

[JEM]

the mention of constant wind has me thinking yuou need something with at least a partial deck to shed the wind. Also let's you keep the bow and stern lower too for less wind signature.

Imagine this one with a more open cockpit and sized to your needs.

But if an open deck is desired, then the Iroquois would be a pleasant choice.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Like you, Matt, when I heard wind, I kept thinking "decked canoe" with large cockpit. Also an angled strip at the sheer line helps let the wind slip right on by.

 

[mommicked]

Nice boat Hairymick!

In humble ingnorance, what is the technical difference between a decked canoe and a kayak? I think slim/narrow, low sides, closed cockpit=kayak. I think open, higher sides, usually tumblehome, wider=canoe. Any pics of a decked canoe? How open can a sit in(not a sit on) kayak be? How wide can a kayak be?

What is the boat in your pic, JEM? Does the bottom of the Iroquois have a flat place wide enough for a 5 gallon bucket to sit flat? It reminds me of my first canoe, and that one may always be my favorite. Also, which of your square sterns has the widest transom?

Pay me no mind. Just the ramblings of a boat lunytic who loves his madness!

 

[Kayak Jack]

Momicked,

You will likely receive different answers here - because it isn't a science. A main difference is how low or how high you sit, and the kind of paddle used.

In kayaks, you sit on the floor or very, very close to it. In a canoe you sit at lease an inch higher than that.

In canoes you paddle with a single blade paddle, in kayaks a double blader.

Canoes are more open, kayaks are more decked.

All that being said, there are boats out there that will violate one or more of those criteria, and be called by one name or the other.

Our ancient forebears used these boats for specialized purposes, and tended to hew closely to design criteria for function. Today, we play it loosely because we are not depending on these craft for life and limb, food and survival. We can afford to diddle around capriciously - so we do.

 

[hairymick]

Thanks Mo'

That boat is a 16 foot swampgirl with 2 inches taken off the top panel.
She looks a little low on freeboard with two in her but I haven't taken any water over the side or bow yet.

From reading your posts, it seems you may be paddling in similar conditions to me and have very similar needs. A lowered swampgirl fits my needs for this very well.

She is my Mud & Blood boat that I use to chase serious estuary fish like barramundi and I also crab from her. She is immensly stable with an acceptable turn of speed and minimal wind signature.

Matts Piccy is of a prototype that has been built by Chuck. I think it is called a "Freedom" (I like that) I believe that with a much more open cockpit it would be even better for my purposes as mentioned above than my beloved swampgirl.

 

[JEM]

canoes, kayak, open, closed....

doesn't matter what they are supposed to be. Make them to what you WANT them to be!

I don't have any "true" square sterns posted online. They are double enders with a transom above the waterline. I do have one that is not online called the "Stalker". I'll try and get you an image.