Easiest build

[oldsparkey]

Ho Hummmmmm. Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

I paddle my Sea Kayak , a 17 1/2 foot , really speedy one , using my body and arms........ Jezzeeeeeeee , I do the same with the shorter 16 and 15 1/2 foot Pirogues and even the 14 foot Canoes.

Heck it has worked for me over the last 60 ( or more ) years and that is all I care about. Gets me there and even back from where ever there is. Everyone has there own way or style of doing it , if it works for you , then you are one step ahead of anyone else.

As I like to say ... Not all of us drive the discontinued vehicles , some of us like better and more reliable things in life , like Jeeps. :lol: Which is my way of saying that different boats we make are just as different as the builders of the boats and the vehicles we drive and require different methods of locomotion.

 

[Bently]

Sparky, I didn't know you were a jeep guy? I have a 98 wrangler. Kayak hauler of choice. Woo Hoo!

 

[tx river rat]

Copied Chucks rack

Ron

 

[dawallace45]

Well I approach paddling from another perspective , I have a shoulder injury [ stuffed tendons in the left shoulder , right one is slightly better ] and I can barely lift a coffee cup to my mouth with the left hand with out pain , I've also damaged the tendons in both elbows and wrists and broken and torn the tendons in several fingers , I use a Greenland style paddle and yes I paddle with my back and pretty much my whole body , I keep the paddle low and the off side paddle will rarely lift higher than my shoulder , I only paddle slow but tend to cover a bit of distance , I don't pull the paddle through the stroke I push it through using my torso , I don't have actual foot braces but a forward frame section lines up well for my feet any way , I like to use a back band but don't find it rubs me at all because I tend to roll my torso so that it rolls from one side of the back band rather than twist against it , I like to be as low in the cockpit as possible for stability , I really don't have the best sense of balance to start with and tend to balance totally with my eyes , I need a horizon line to know which way is up , if i'm in total darkness I really cant stand up right , so obviously the narrow kayaks don't suit me at all , couple that with the fact you can't fit a 19" arse into a 18" cockpit , so the more fitted style kayaks Jack likes are out for me , I don't know how to roll , don't want to know , if I rolled my lunch and all my fishing gear would fall out

I tried a mates narrow sea kayak once , didn't like the fact it was only stable while it was moving didn't like the narrow cockpit , as I was getting in I got stuck and told the mate that I wasn't going to fit , his response was to push down on my shoulders with all his weight , I went in , at this stage I was thinking this wasn't a great idea , in our climate spray covers really suck , doesn't make much sense to me to be soaking wet with sweat from the sauna in the kayak when with out the cover your just slightly damp with spray , yep a cover may be fine for rolling but I don't roll , I figure the whole idea of the kayak is to keep me on the top side of the water , if I wanted to be wet I'd go swimming ,

On that particular outing I stopped just out from the shore in about two feet of water and the kayak promptly turned over , seemed I could hear my mate calling out for me to roll , not some thing I can do at any stage let alone when my shoulder is jammed against the sand , I was eventually able to push my self back up with my paddle but I almost drowned in the process , once I'd finished throwing up sea water I asked my mate why he hadn't come to help , he looked at me sheepishly and said " thought you'd be okay and didn't want to get my jeans wet " , when I got the kayak in a few feet more the mate grabbed the front and dragged it and my up on the sand , next problem was I couldn't get out , mate wasn't big enough to pull me out , it was extremely embarrassing as he had to go get help to get me out , and this was before I put on weight so you can keep your tight fitting kayaks , I want one I can fall out of

David

 

[oldsparkey]

Sparky, I didn't know you were a jeep guy? I have a 98 wrangler. Kayak hauler of choice. Woo Hoo!

Dang .... I thought everyone knew about the ... "Gold Goat" ..driven by the Old Goat.

 

[tx river rat]

Dave
I love the story ,.
Ron

 

[Bently]

This is my baby. Shes a little dirty in this pic. but she cleans up good. Kayaks and Jeeps go together like peas and carrots.

 

[hairymick]

I'm nearing completion of my uj pirogue. My first build. I want a kayak next. Something simple to start with. A step up from the pirogue if you will. I'm not picky about style but no SOT,s. What do ya think? How's the laker or freedom series boats as far as difficulty?

Geez I love this place. I had forgotten just how much fun it is to hijack a thread.

Bently mate, freedom or laker will suit your needs - no problem at all. so will just about ANY of Matts other designs.

At a guess, i would call the laker as the easiest to build with freedom running close second. Performanxce will be adequate for most peoples needs and surpass most store bought recreational kayaks - if not all of them.

The freedom 15 has been haunting me ever since she first hit Matts sight but he just keeps coming up with designs that i want to build more. Freedom 13 with its wider beam, should fit the bigger blokes well.

Jack, Ron and Chuck all make valid points from their own perspective and paddling locations but I think no one set of guidlines or ideas of what is best for one, is necessarily right for everyone else. Ron races, jack sea kayaks(mostly) and Chuck is a bit like me in that he will paddle a bath tub in a drain and be happy doing it, if nothing better is available. :mrgreen:

I paddle canoes, pirogues, touring kayaks, sea kayaks and decked canoes and love all of them. seat height abd paddling style is very much a matter of comfort and what works best for you. Mine is pretty laid back, a beer in a cooler between my legs, cigarette in me ugly gob, rod in rod holder in front and I just loaf along now in no particular hurry to get anywhere.

i am very capable of a sprint or even an extended burst of speed but see absolutely no point to it anymore. Geezer warp speed works just fine for me.

here is my laker, i call her Bass master

 

[Bently]

Mick ive only been on here a short while but I like your style. No B.S.! Thanks for getting back on topic. Dont think I dont appreciate the education above. You've really cleared things up for me. You answered my question to the letter. So the laker is easy to build, fits my fishing/exploring needs, and It looks sexy as hell. Whats funny is if you go back to the first page you'll see Ron suggested the same boat. It seems everyone had the same opinion just came at it from different angles. Like has been said so many times on here, any of Matts designs would work. For ease of building, load capacity, and handling the laker really seems to fit the bill. But who knows the night is young and im sure i'll change my mind a few more times before ordering.

 

[tx river rat]

Bently
Like Mick says,and I was trying to say what ever fits you is the boat you need and I hate to tell you this but there will be more .
Thats why I have built 10 so far , and another under construction. LOL it is an addiction.
I guess I am a weird nut about the yaks ,I have yaks for just a easy going afternoon paddle I have a yak for extended river trip another to fish from. and a couple to race.
couple for my grand kids.
Mick my racing is different than you think, I do it for fun and a big excuse to paddle different rivers, see different boats paddling styles, I do it for fun and at my own speed. Plus the shuttles are set up and the music and beer is free
Learning to paddle better just lets me do more with less effort,plus be ready to out run a storm are a river rise .
we all be geezers
Its all fun
Ron

 

[Kayak Jack]

You guys may have completely misunderstood the difference that I explained between snug, and tight. No kayaker has a cockpit like you are speaking of. When rolled on a side or upside down, you will readily fall out of a snug cockpit. When you want to raise up and get out, you are not impeded. There's about a 1/2" to 1" clearance at your hips; you slide in and out easily.

Ronnie, if you are bracing your feet, and have your knees tucked in, then you know what I am talking about there. I'm puzzled by why you would chafe your back on a backrest, though. I've never experienced that. Some backrests need to be fine tuned to the paddler, and to accommodate his individual style. Maybe, I lean a bit forward as I paddle? I'd have to watch a video of me paddling to see. I sometimes lean back, stretch (my mighty muscles), and relax. Other times, I lean forward into the stroke.

Chuck, I paddle by bending my arms if I'm going slow, and trying to sneak up on something - loons, beaver, gals on a beach. I can do it more quietly than the standard power stroke I described. But, it is tiring and induces cramps in my forearms to do it for more than a half hour or so.

Every paddler does have an individual style. The power stroke I described is what is trained in kayak clinics in many places; it serves to move a boat all day without cramps and minimizes fatigue. But, it sure isn't the only stroke available.

 

[tx river rat]

Now Jack we have all seen the pic of your snug seat and graceful getting out of your yak :lol: :lol: :lol:
Jack just lean back in your chair and twist like you were paddling ,then you will understand about the chaffing
you must be leaning foreward, I use a plastic seat in my yaks fishing and tripping yaks but they are leaned back so when I am paddling pretty hard I set up and dont touch the back,but if I want to relax I can lean back,there are several reasons for the no back seat ,one is the chaffing,and on a hundred degree day it will rub you raw ,the other is going under obstacles like logs where you have to lay back flat on the deck to go under them.
Now we are talking river paddling against sea kayaks .not a whole lot of simularites just as a racing boat seat back rest,how high it is is different in race boats.
Different boats for different folks and different strokes for different waters
Ron

 

[oldsparkey]

Jack, Ron and Chuck all make valid points from their own perspective and paddling locations but I think no one set of guidlines or ideas of what is best for one, is necessarily right for everyone else. Ron races, jack sea kayaks(mostly) and Chuck is a bit like me in that he will paddle a bath tub in a drain and be happy doing it, if nothing better is available. :mrgreen:

I am very capable of a sprint or even an extended burst of speed but see absolutely no point to it anymore. Geezer warp speed works just fine for me.

Good point Mick.......
Ron is a river paddler , mainly the Brazos ( A wide open river , think Texas range land with Buffalo grazing.) which offers some fast water and even a few rapids with rocks to dodge. Good area for a kayak paddle.

Jack likes the open water of the northern lakes or the clear streams of the far North with evergreens along the banks for his paddling and dodging boulders. Good area for a kayak paddle.

Myself , it is prehistoric swamps with all sorts of trees along the banks and in the water to slip under or around while missing the critters that live there.

Different types of water and different types of paddling. I prefer the geezer speed which is just a little bit faster then the water is flowing , if it is flowing at all. For this type of area it is a open boat you can sit up in move around in with a single paddle to keep it moving which is the lazy way to paddle. Not a good area for a kayak paddle.

Try using a kayak paddle in areas like these.

 

[hairymick]

Jack,

i don't think any of us have missed the point you were trying to make mate. We just adapt our boats and paddling styles to best fitoour respective needs.

I think I am blessed in that i seem to have opportunity to paddle pretty much all of the mentioned paddling environments here (or within 100 miles of here anyway)

From open ocean and large bays,

To quiet, sandy mangrove lined creeks,

to largeish, tidal, salt water rivers,

To freshwater mountain lakes

and rainforest lined rocky mountain creeks

to white water

and swamps

different locations, different paddling styles
and different boats.

again what works for one is not necessarily the best for all.

 

[Bently]

Beautiful pics. Mick. Your one lucky man to have such diversity in your paddling choices. Do you have a favorite? If so whatcha like?

 

[hairymick]

Thanks mate,

I like them all, pretty much equally. A lot depends on my mood of the time, the prevailing weather conditions etc and what I am looking for.

More and more, however, I am tending towards my open canoe and fresh water rivers and creeks. Mainly for comfort and convenience of loading with stuff that I can reach easily while still in her. Dehydration is a dangerous thing ya know!~

and the capability to take a friend should I feel so inclined.

 

[Bently]

Female company and beer to keep from getting thirsty. That's all ya need.

 

[catfish]

hey mick gotta agree with benty looks like you guys have a varity of waters to paddle from salt to fresh. mick the blue box is ths your cooler or dry box?