Robin's P5

jheger · Post by **jheger** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:21 am

Great report and great looking boat. Does she track as good as the touring pirogue? What did the final weight come in at? Thanks

Kayak Jack · Post by **Kayak Jack** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:38 am

Nice job, Mick. Pretty boat and a pretty gal - great combination.

Oldsparkey · Post by **Oldsparkey** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 2:09 pm

Mick....

I can understand why Robin was apprehensive , worried and concerned about getting in the boat. Her husband made it for her and you never know what is going threw the mind of a spouse.

It appears that after paddling it you are going to have someone who will want more of these great boats so you better get busy and start making some more for her enjoyment. Especially since she has found out the wood ones are a lot better then the plastic ones.

I noticed she likes to fish and since you did not say anything about it .... My bet is that she fishes circles around you , something east to draw a conclusion to since you said she out paddles you.

OK... I am in enough deep water and I see the tide is coming in so I will behave myself. I like it when a married couple can enjoy the same things , it makes it a lot more fun. By the way... If Robin did not tell you .. Great job on her boat.

Chuck.

dangermouse01 · Post by **dangermouse01** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:25 pm

Oldsparkey wrote: It appears that after paddling it you are going to have someone who will want more of these great boats so you better get busy and start making some more for her enjoyment. Especially since she has found out the wood ones are a lot better then the plastic ones.

Better yet, turn Robin loose in your shop with some plans and let her build one (or a dozen). Then if she wants to paint the hull purple you wont feel so bad.

Mick;
Excellent. Love the darker color deck pieces against the light colored hull. Wonderful job!!!

DM

Kayak Jack · Post by **Kayak Jack** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:40 pm

dangermouse01 wrote:...Better yet, turn Robin loose in your shop with some plans and let her build one (or a dozen).

There's enough room in Yakus Gentrificationicus' hangar. She can build a boat and an airplane.

dawallace45 · Post by **dawallace45** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:48 pm

Mick

It looks great , how do you reckon it would go with a 34 lb thrust electric motor on it ?

David

hairymick · Post by **hairymick** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 8:31 pm

G'day guys, Thanks very much for all the kind words.

Dave,
I reckon a 28 pound thrust would be all that is needed. She takes practicly no effort to get upt to hull speed.

Matt as asked me to do a review and comparison between my Touring Pirogue and Robins P5.

They are both great boats but very different. About the only thing they have in common is the flat bottom.

Here are my first impressions. I only had the pleasure of paddling Robin’s P5 for about 10 minutes before she wanted her boat back.

P5 seems a bit more nimble and is slightly quicker to paddle than my tourer. P5 also has significantly less wind signature.
P5 has less volume and less carrying capacity but the tumblehome panel makes it much more paddle friendly, particularly when using a kayak paddle.
Stability on both boats is about equal with perhaps my tourer being a little better.

While it has plenty of volume for me (200 pounds) plus my gear, for day trips, I think it is much better suited to a smaller person, especially for extended camping trips.

Where the P5 really shines is in her weight. I built her, using the very best of my cheap 1/8” ply, light weight gunwhales/rubrails, and the best available resin. Total empty weight is 36 pounds or 16 and a bit, kilos. I think that is pretty good for a 14 foot canoe that is capable of carrying well over 300 pounds safely.

I built my Touring Pirogue using 4mm or 5/32” hardwood bracing ply and the same resin. Empty weight on her is in the vicinity of 46 to 50 pounds. Not much, but a very big difference as I found out yesterday when loading the boats after a full day paddling.

I think, for touring and camping etc, and paddling in chop, my Touring Pirogue is a superior boat, in that it has better load carrying capacity and more freeboard and is slightly more stable. For day trips and just messing around, P5 wins, hands down. It is well worth going to the extra trouble for the second side, (tumblehome) panel.

A little more rocker on the P5 might be a slight improvement but I am not sure.

Post by **jem** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:29 am

hairymick wrote:Total empty weight is 36 pounds or 16 and a bit, kilos. I think that is pretty good for a 14 foot canoe that is capable of carrying well over 300 pounds safely.

lol... Mick is trying to help me out here. In back channel conversations, I talked about releasing the P5 in a lower volume, 14' version.

Micks is 15', or at least that's the plans I sent him.

The P5 will be released soon in the 15' version Mick built with a shorter, lower volume version shortly there after.

Mick - Would you elaborate more on the stability of the P5 vs. Touring Pirogue? I expected the P5 to a bit more stable but itf you would talk to things like seat height, paddle position, etc.

hairymick · Post by **hairymick** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:46 pm

Sorry Matt,

I haven't run a tape over the assemblesd length of the boat yet. It just looks a little shorter than my tourer.

Thinking about the stabiity thing, P5 probably only felt a little tippier than the tourer because it was so nimble and responsive.

Seat height was 51/2 inches to the top of the seat cushion on the sit backer. Probably a bit high for many people. I think 3" would be better.

Mate, a 12 footer for the littleuns would be a beautiful thing indeed.

I posted this boat on AKFF and have been getting a lot of interest and questions - back channel about it.

I keep thinking about how quick this boat would be, with a bottom 20 inches wide and same side configuration.

Nah, - too many other boats I want to build yet.

Post by **jem** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 1:14 pm

you know what? I forgot the touring pirogue is asymmetrical. That might be why she seems to move along better for you.