My Pirogue

[beekeeper]

No they are not the same as tumble homes, the tumble holmes go on top of that.
3 panel boat (perow) bottom and two sides
4 panel boat (lake) two sides and v bottom two piece bottom
five panel( Freedom) Flat panel for the bottom 2 angle pieces two sides
The panel count does not include decks or tumbleholms
3 panel hull will run the shallowist,hum is that a word,
4 panel better tracking and speed ,the fastest going down river
5 panel less initial stability but predictable secondary stability better in side waves
fastest going against a current
That is with the same length and width dimensions and same rocker
Ron
Just my 2 cents.
The 3 panel will be the slowest because it breaks the water less.

The more I read this thread the more thoughts and questions I have. I see the truth in all of the above statements. Part of understanding them is to know why each is true. If I know why then I might be able to build the boat best suited for me ("location sensitive").
We have to be careful with the apple vs orange thing. If a 5 panel boat is built to float as high as a 3 panel boat will it still be faster or have more secondary stability? Do the more than 3 panel boats have more secondary stability because of the panels or because the sit lower in the water and benefit from the same forces that a keel imparts to a boat. Their narrower waterline profile probably is why they are faster, plus parting the water better as in case of a V bottom boat. Finding the trade offs is the fun part. This boat paddles easier and tracks better than my other boats. The trade off was less stability, takes a couple more paddle strokes to turn around, and is longer to load and haul.
I wish there was a simple formula to tell me which features I changed made the differences and how much each contributed.

beekeeper

 

[tx river rat]

Beekeeper you are doing it backwards, first you need to decide what length,width you want the boat and what it will be used for. Second this will be decided bye you use ,what kind of hull
3 panel will float the shallowest, the 4 panel next,the five panel the deepest.
Ron

 

[oldsparkey]

Going by that old saying..... No one boat will do everything..... Which appears to be true.

If you want to go fast then build a very skinny one with a round bottom and a long water line. If you want to haul a ton of stuff then make a canoe. Want shallow water paddling and spinning around on itself , build a pirogue.

Myself , I like the idea of all three , combined but with the emphasis on taking all my gear and being a pleasure ( fun) to paddle.
I have a favorite but that is my favorite and might not be yours so like everything in this world it boils down to personal choice. All I can say is it is a pleasure to paddle , we do not get in a hurry ( we smell the roses while going down river ) and enjoy the sights. It's like any personal choice , it is what I like and no one else as far as I am concerned it is my choice for a multi use boat. No one else's.

The pirogue is my shallow water and swamp boat the Bayou Skiff is the one for just having some fun in it with a ton of stability ..... The other is the river running boat and camping gear hauler even if the other two can do the same thing.

Boats are like potato chips , one will never do it or you can't stop with just one ........

Best of luck on your quest , others have tried and more will , someday, someone might find the answer.

Chuck.

 

[beekeeper]