Hairie"s South Wind Build.

Builder show and discuss their progress.
gken
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:21 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Gorham, Maine

Post by gken »

One other thing, I am jelous of green grass. I just got burried up to my waist in snow this last weekend. I wont see my grass for another 6 weeks. Then it will be another 6 weeks before I can touch it without sinking up to my waist in mud. Ah, how wonderful it is to live in Maine. Just thought I might vent a little. Thanks for listening. --Garrett
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hairymick
Design Reviewer
Posts: 1965
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:54 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Queensland, Australia
Contact:

Post by hairymick »

Heya Garret & Scott,

Thanks guys. :D

Garret, here is what I do for the transducer install. My sounder won't shoot through the ply properly so I sand a patch of ply, about the same size as my transducer allmost right out and then fill it with epoxy/woodflour
The rule is a 6 inch one to give an idea of scale. :D
Image

Then, I cut a piece of 3" poly-pipe, 2" long and fit it to the shape of the boat's bottom
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I stick it down and seal it with silicone :D (not done yet)

the transducer sits in the pipe like this.


Image

And is held in place with a cut piece of pool noodle.
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Yo make it work, I then pour about a cup of water into the pipe and the transducer shoots right through the hull beautifully. :D
Regards,
Mick

JEMWATERCRAFT Swampgirl; Wadefish;Touring Pirogue;South Wind; P5 ;
Laker X 2, Sasquatch 16.5 T-V 15 Okwata 15:
Cobia 15 (under construction)
gken
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:21 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Gorham, Maine

Post by gken »

The transducer wont shoot through the ply, but it has no problem with the epoxy with wood flour? I would think the epoxy would be more dense. Thanks for the pics Mick, they helped. --Garrett
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hairymick
Design Reviewer
Posts: 1965
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:54 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Queensland, Australia
Contact:

Post by hairymick »

Hi Garret, No problems mate. iIhink the issue with shooting through ply is the air that is in the wood. The sound doesn't travel as well through it as the solid epoxy.

With the epoxy plug there, the sounder will display arches and very fine bottom detail. Shooting through wood, the readings are ,at best, intermittant and pretty much, only show bottom - sometimes.
Regards,
Mick

JEMWATERCRAFT Swampgirl; Wadefish;Touring Pirogue;South Wind; P5 ;
Laker X 2, Sasquatch 16.5 T-V 15 Okwata 15:
Cobia 15 (under construction)
gken
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Feb 18, 2007 11:21 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Gorham, Maine

Post by gken »

Interesting, thanks for the info Mick. I would probably have been cursing about that forever. Another question if you dont mind, do you put the battery fore or aft? Im sure it doesnt matter with a canoe as much as a kayak, but it doesnt hurt to ask. Thanks again, --Garrett
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hairymick
Design Reviewer
Posts: 1965
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:54 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Queensland, Australia
Contact:

Post by hairymick »

G'day Garret, I am real pleased to be able to answer you questions mate. ask away and if I can answer, I will. :D

I just use a little 12V sealed motorcycle battery and poke it where-ever it will go. normally up the front The transducer is at the back of the cockpit. I put it back ther to avoid "noise" from the turbulance and air bubbles that happen up near the bow.

Hope that helps a bit mate.
Regards,
Mick

JEMWATERCRAFT Swampgirl; Wadefish;Touring Pirogue;South Wind; P5 ;
Laker X 2, Sasquatch 16.5 T-V 15 Okwata 15:
Cobia 15 (under construction)
hairymick
Design Reviewer
Posts: 1965
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:54 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Queensland, Australia
Contact:

Post by hairymick »

Hi guys, I took her for a walk today and I will give a better review a bit later tonight. :D Matt, this boat is a winner :D I had her out on my local lake in appalling wind conditions and let me say here and now, there is no boat that I have ever paddled in my life that I would have prefered to be in. :D. More details soon. :D
Image
Regards,
Mick

JEMWATERCRAFT Swampgirl; Wadefish;Touring Pirogue;South Wind; P5 ;
Laker X 2, Sasquatch 16.5 T-V 15 Okwata 15:
Cobia 15 (under construction)
hairymick
Design Reviewer
Posts: 1965
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:54 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Queensland, Australia
Contact:

Post by hairymick »

OK, here we go.

A mate and I put our boats in at Lenthall's dam at around 0600 this morning. Forcast was not good SE winds 20 to 33 knots with a gale warning in the afternoon. Winds were light 5 to 10 at this time and we set off. Lenthall's is not a big dam and consists of several arms branching out for several miles from the main body of water and we were confident we could find places out of the wind to fish.

My mate was paddling a very fast, low volume, 16 foot, sea kayak and we used it for performance comparisons.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/h ... mall-1.jpg



FIRST IMPRESSION.

As I got into the boat for the first time, the first thing to impress me was just how big it is. It is huge!! :shock:

A few gentle rocks, from side to side while at rest and she came back beautifully. Sitting low in the boat, 3" off the bottom, she feels very kayakish.

A couple of gentle strokes and she started to slip along very well, She is very light and quick to get up to a comfortable cruising speed and takes very little effort.

After a very short while, I put the kayak paddle (230cm) away. This is very easy in this boat. Just poke it up in the bow and it is gone :D

Tried the single blade. I have mentioned in other previous posts how I am developing a real passion for the single blade and was keen to try one on this boat. After all, it is a canoe. :D This boat is a delight to paddle with a single canoe blade. I continued to use the single blade for most of the day. :D

STABILITY.

With the seat 3 inches off the bottom and a total load on board including my self of about 300 pounds, this boat is as solid as a rock. There is no tippyness evident at all. Secondary stability is also very good. I could lean her well over and keep paddling right along with the single blade and could hold that angle for as long as I wanted. This boat is very suitable for a first time paddler to get into and feel immediately right at home. :D

MANOUVERABILITY

She is 17 feet, 9 inches long and behaves as such a big boat should. There is no such thing as a short, sharp turn with her without several back strokes on one side. Having said all that, she compares very well with a 16 foot sea kayak, If anything the South Wind is a little better :D

WIND SIGNATURE.

Slightly more that a sea kayak but much less than any canoe I have paddled. When hit in the side by gusts well in excess of 30 knots, she just scooted on sideways accross the water. (great fun) :D Coming back to the put in, involved punching into very strong head winds for about a mile or so.
The wind was gusting at over 30 knots and 'funnelling" down the lake significantly stronger than that. Using the kayak paddle, I was able to maintain course and a very acceptable speed in conditions that would have broken a canoe paddlers heart. :D

WEATHERCOCKING

With winds of over 15 knots, she would benefiet with the addition of a rudder. However, weathercocking is very manageable. Even paddling accross wind in 25 plus knots, I was able to maintain course with the single blade by just continueing to paddle normally on one side. No fancy J strokes or anything like that - just paddling along normally.

TRACKING,

One word, beautiful :D She tracks as straight as an arrow in all but extreme conditions. Far better than many kayaks I have paddled. In extreme conditions, she still tracks very well for a boat without a rudder. So much so that I am still undecided whether it is even worth going to the trouble of building a rudder.

SPEED.

This is a fast boat. She is deceptively fast. Because she is so big - and so efficient to paddle I found that I was travelling a lot faster than it felt like. I had no trouble keeping up with my mate's boat at a very good cruising pace and I was using a single blade!

GLIDE. Again one word - brilliant. :D She seems to glide along for ever.

FISHABILITY :D

She is very well suited to the types of inshore fishing that I do. This varies from trolling and casting hard body and soft plastic lures to live baiting. There is plenty of room both infront of, and behind the paddler for storeage of, and easy access to vital things like, tackle boxes, baitwell, rod holders/ sounder, beer cooler :D and pretty much, anything else I want to put there.

COMFORT (most important) :D

Set up with a sit backer seat and base similar to Chucks, the sore butt and back factor didn't come into play at all today. I was in the boat allmost continuously from about 0600 to 1500 and could have spent several more hours there easily.

IMPROVEMENTS.
I have been thinking on this all day and I can't think of a thing I would change. She is a little long for serious skinny water fishing and in this regard, 14' and 16' versions would be beautiful things. :D I will be talking to Matt in the very near future about a 14 foot version of this boat.

CONCLUSION.

This is the boat, I have been looking for all of my life. Up until now, I have believed that all kayaks and canoes were a compromise. Not any more.
This boat combines kayak like performance and speed with the comfort, room and load carrying capacity of a canoe. It is skinny water capable and sea worthy at the same time. She had a genuine workout in trying conditions today and came through with flying colours.

Those who have seen some of my posts will be aware that I own a shed full of various kayaks, canoes and other paddlecraft. I have aquired them over a number of years in my search for my ideal boat. Each of them are superb vessels in their own right, when used for their respective, designed purpose.
I am so impressed with this boat, that I will be selling allmost all of them because this one boat does everything that they do, only better.
I will be building a shorter version of this boat, specifically for very skinny water and I am certain that Robin, my wife will also want one, once she has paddled this one.

Matt, Congratulations mate, and thank you. While I love each of your boats that I have built, this one is something special.

My mate took her for a walk as well and I have invited Kris to post his thoughts here too.

Some piccies. :D

Skinny water
Image

Image

Image
Regards,
Mick

JEMWATERCRAFT Swampgirl; Wadefish;Touring Pirogue;South Wind; P5 ;
Laker X 2, Sasquatch 16.5 T-V 15 Okwata 15:
Cobia 15 (under construction)
hairymick
Design Reviewer
Posts: 1965
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:54 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Queensland, Australia
Contact:

Post by hairymick »

More piccies, :D

Kris putting her through her paces.

Getting in - easy :D

Image

Backing out :D

Image

Image

Image
Regards,
Mick

JEMWATERCRAFT Swampgirl; Wadefish;Touring Pirogue;South Wind; P5 ;
Laker X 2, Sasquatch 16.5 T-V 15 Okwata 15:
Cobia 15 (under construction)
hairymick
Design Reviewer
Posts: 1965
Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 8:54 am
Type of boat I like: <-- Please read instructions to the left and delete this text. Then, tell us what type boat you like! :-)
Location: Queensland, Australia
Contact:

Post by hairymick »

Image

Image

Image

I want one :D
Regards,
Mick

JEMWATERCRAFT Swampgirl; Wadefish;Touring Pirogue;South Wind; P5 ;
Laker X 2, Sasquatch 16.5 T-V 15 Okwata 15:
Cobia 15 (under construction)
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