landing craft and adventuring boat
Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:10 pm
I've a design in mind I'd like some opinions on.
Basically it's a solo boat for traveling rivers full of sandbars and exploring up little side streams. I've used a canoe for this before, and a small kayak, but find their pointy bows and sterns a disadvantage.
The design I imagine is a hybrid canoe or pirogue and punt. It would be driven with a double paddle, like a kayak. I see it as an asymmetric flat bottomed hull about 30 inches of beam at the widest point, 24-inches at the stern and 18-inches at the bow. Overall length would approach 16-feet, or the most that could be squeezed out of a double length of standard plywood. It would have some flare and be narrower on the bottom, maybe 24-inches at the widest point, just wide enough for me to sit in comfortably. The bow and stern would be raked.
The reason for this hull shape is to make landing on sandbars easier, and to make it less likely to tip when hauling it over fallen logs blocking small streams. It's more sled like design would make it easier to haul up and down banks as well, compared to a pointy boat. When hauling my canoe or kayak over fallen logs, the pointy bow on the log and the pointy stern in the water, everything gets real exciting as the boats want to tip over. A craft with punt-like bow and stern should be much less tippy in such situations.
The asymmetric hull would allow more space in front of the paddeling position than behind. This is to make it easier to lay out fishing rods and tackle on the bottom of the boat while traveling.
I see it as also having widely spaced double skegs to help keep it tracking in a wind, without giving up the advantage of a square stern.
Well, that's a very rough sketch and explaination. Any comments?
Basically it's a solo boat for traveling rivers full of sandbars and exploring up little side streams. I've used a canoe for this before, and a small kayak, but find their pointy bows and sterns a disadvantage.
The design I imagine is a hybrid canoe or pirogue and punt. It would be driven with a double paddle, like a kayak. I see it as an asymmetric flat bottomed hull about 30 inches of beam at the widest point, 24-inches at the stern and 18-inches at the bow. Overall length would approach 16-feet, or the most that could be squeezed out of a double length of standard plywood. It would have some flare and be narrower on the bottom, maybe 24-inches at the widest point, just wide enough for me to sit in comfortably. The bow and stern would be raked.
The reason for this hull shape is to make landing on sandbars easier, and to make it less likely to tip when hauling it over fallen logs blocking small streams. It's more sled like design would make it easier to haul up and down banks as well, compared to a pointy boat. When hauling my canoe or kayak over fallen logs, the pointy bow on the log and the pointy stern in the water, everything gets real exciting as the boats want to tip over. A craft with punt-like bow and stern should be much less tippy in such situations.
The asymmetric hull would allow more space in front of the paddeling position than behind. This is to make it easier to lay out fishing rods and tackle on the bottom of the boat while traveling.
I see it as also having widely spaced double skegs to help keep it tracking in a wind, without giving up the advantage of a square stern.
Well, that's a very rough sketch and explaination. Any comments?