Tandem

[tx river rat]

How would the speed(efficiency) compare on a 20 ft boat with two good paddlers to a 15 ft boat with one good paddler ,same hull design and close to the same width?
On the paddlers ( the engine) would be the same guys.
Ron

 

[JEM]

20 footer would leave the 15 footer in its wake.

 

[oldsparkey]

Two paddlers will out due a single paddler any-day. It's like the Double mint Chewing gum ad , Double your pleasure double your fun , in this case double the paddling ability. Two paddles in the water sure beats one for getting down the river then with the 5 more feet in the boat... WOW ..

 

[tx river rat]

Darrel and I fish together a lot and do some rough miles and dragging our boats .
We fish from the bank most of the time and use the yaks to get there and back , this might have some possibility :wink: :wink: :wink:
Ron

 

[tx river rat]

GOING GOING GOING sold to the man in Texas
Ron

 

[oldsparkey]

Ron.......
Here is the 20 that Paddlin'Gator made..........

Joe's description of it.
I built this 20' stripper back in the early 1990s while the boat business was dead and I had a lot of free time, thanks to the brilliant idea our Congress had to impose a luxury tax on boats.

With normal load distribution the transom is not in the water so it paddles as easily as most 16' canoes. Because of the length, and its keel, it does like to track (a shoe keel would probably be a better choice). That normally is not a problem since I don't use it on trips in narrow or tight places. It handles sloppy open waters well and moves right along with the 4 HP Evinrude running at about half throttle. I have never measured or calculated load capacity, but would estimate it at around 1200-1400 pounds.

It is built of Juniper (Atlantic white cedar) with 6 oz. cloth. The glass is doubled in the bottom, inside and out. I did that because of its ability to run considerably faster when under power, hence the chance (likelihood) of unintentionally testing the bottom from time to time :wink:

Even though I have used it solo, like on our 2006 Everglades trip and an earlier Glades trip, is ideal for two or more people and gear. As Chuck said, it weighs about 100 pounds so can easily be launched or portaged by two people. Also, there is plenty of room for two people to fish and carry coolers and/or fish boxes.

Joe
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I have seen it used on several trips and it will take a ton of gear and still float nice and high. Plus with just Joe paddling it , it does scoot along really well.
A 20 would take both you guys and all of your equipment from what I have seen of Joe's. One trip he had his stuff and a lot of Mac's and mine just to partially fill the canoe up as you can see in the picture.

 

[Kayak Jack]

With a boat that long, the bow will be at your lunch break spot when the stern is still back at breakfast.

Two paddlers will make a boat scoot - assuming you're both paddling in about the same direction.

 

[Paddlin'Gator]

Jack, when there are two paddlers we use sound powered phones to coordinate :lol:

Ron, the beam to length ratio on my 20 foot stripper is only a little lower (0.166) than on a 16'5" Mad River Malecite (0.175). The max beam on the 20 footer is 40" and on the Mad River it is 34.5". Max beam on the Mad River is at the gunnel and on the stripper it is at about a 6" waterline, which would be pretty heavily loaded. So, at a more normal load the beam to length ratios at the LWL are very similar. As Chuck quoted, it paddles easily but likes to track. Either a shoe keel or no keel would be better. You can't see it in the pictures, but when properly trimmed and being paddled the submerged part of the hull is just like it was a normal double ended canoe (not dragging any transom).

Joe

 

[tx river rat]

Joe
I am probably going to bug you some one paddling this boat.
The one Matt is drawing is asymmetrical 30 beam with tumble Holmes ,a slight v with 2 1/2 in rock forward 1 1/2 in the rear.
Do you find paddling this rig solo a problem?
This boat will be used on rivers most of the time ,and in several different configurations , solo , me and and my lady so I am sure I will still be paddling solo and me at 200 and Darrel at 25o and our gear on camping fishing trips.
It will be set up with two short decks and the rest open with movable thwarts for different paddling configurations.
Any suggestions are bits of wisdom on paddling a boat this long . The closest to this length is a race boat I built that has a full 16 ft water line so it is equal to a 17 to 18 ft boat and I have no problems with it.
Ron

 

[tx river rat]

They call the divorce boats :lol:

I know what you are talking about.
You know me I do a lot of thinking outside the box on my boats. . Here is my take on this boat.
I have paddled a lot of canoes tandem before so this want be new to me,I dont know about Darrel.
Second Darrel and I have hunted fished and traveled together for the last couple years and never a cross word , the only problem we have is making a decision we both are pretty flexible and both put out more than our share.
I need a tandem just in case I want to take a good looking lady for a ride ,figure I am going to be the only one paddling anyway in that scenario.
Last but not least my Duck has a full 16 ft water line which makes it equal to a 17.1/2 or 18 ft boat with normal bow and stern I have no problem paddling it solo , I think I can handle this one solo also
The reason this tandem might just fit our bill. We like to cover some country on the Brazos and then normally camp and fish from there ,so getting there fast and easy will be a benefit. Second portaging a boat or lining one it will cut the time pulling a boat in half let one guy pull while the other walks on dry land and certain places like below the Falls this will really be a plus since Darrel and I both have knees that have been blown out.
We camp alike so we can trim our gear even more sharing stoves coolers grills etc.
And one of the main reasons ,we both like to chase big cats and gar
Transporting a record gator gar back to certified scales is a problem in a yak or a cat that weighs over 50 lbs with a 14 ft open cockpit that should be doable
So I am going to build this one 19 ft 10 inches long 30 inches wide movable thwarts, short decks . SS@G WRC 60 lbs target weight
YEAAAAAAAAAAAA I think she will work.
Ron
And as normal there will be a couple of twist that are different on this boat

 

[Paddlin'Gator]

Ron,

The only issue paddling this boat solo is its desire to go straight, and even then only if you're turning into a wind or a current. As you can see from the picture, mine is set up with a seat just forward of the transom because I knew I would be using it with a small outboard much of the time. It doesn't have much rocker aft, also because of running a motor on it. Of course that makes it harder to turn easily. If I had built it primarily for paddling I would have put more rocker in it and reduced the beam some, although it paddles pretty well. Even with the max beam at 40", with two men and normal camping gear for a week, the waterline beam is about 36" and waterline length is about 19'-6". In addition to being wider than yours will be, it is a good bit heavier. Yours ought to go like a scalded ape with two men paddling.

Joe

 

[Kayak Jack]

Ron, a concern may be the deeper draft in that rock strewn river. You may have to pick your time - like being downstream from an inadvertent dam release.

 

[tx river rat]

what deeper draft its wider and 5 ft longer :lol: :lol:
I can just sleep in it and not worry about the rises.
Ron