JEM Watercraft

Well its time for the pucker pic I forgot to post



Always hate cutting the hatches

and two big holes in my boat


rigged the tie downs and she was ready for a little trip.
Ron

I have enough miles on the NW to know I want to finish this boat out right.
Glued my stems on today


I do mine a little different than most folks do , I finish out the bow and stern justlike I am not going to apply stems then come back instal my stems and put cloth over them. that way the boat is still sealed even if I wear through a stem.
Patched a few scratches from not letting the epoxy age before using it.
.


Ron

got the stems covered in glass and the first two coats of epoxy and graphite put on






one more coat and then a final sanding to the rest of the hull and start work on finishing it while the bottom coat gets hard.
Ron

two coats of varnish on ,one more sanding and then another coat , should be able to call it good then ,she is starting to shine
Ron

I am doing this a little different than most boat reviews. I decided I was going to put some miles on the North Wind and paddle in as many different environments as possible before I wrote this up,so here we go.
This boat is 17 ft 2 inches long bye 28 ½ wide finished weight was 54 lbs ,not a little boat by any stretch of the imagination



When I built the deck I set it up for a 58 qt cooler ad the capability to carry 8 rods all that worked out well
And the places for the rod holders are also used when I just pull up and want to bank fish or troll.



She has been slimed


Been paddled tandem



Loaded heavy



Stability is awesome ,my seat is 11 1;2 inches high and I never feel tippy.
Paddling speed is awesome ,if your paddling beside most yaks you have to back off a lot because just paddling at a normal cadence you will walk off and leave them.
Comfort and weight carry capabilities are great ,as you add weight she just doesn’t notice it at all and the 7 ft cockpit is easy in and out, two 5 ft enclosed decks carry a lot of gear. A note here she does like to be loaded tail heavy.
This last weekend we paddled 14 miles loaded 7 up and 7 downriver,shallows ,deep holes , going through blow downs with a lot of current .she just handles it all in stride , the hull is slick enough to paddle upriver better than any boat I own.
I have to rate this boat head and shoulders above any boat I have ever paddled . I guess that says it all.
Ron

Good report Ron. With my limited experience in this craft I have to agree with everything you have said. I think one of the things that really impresses me is its versatility. It can handle so many roles without compromise.
Eight rods though You certainly like to cover any contingency. I normally target what I am after and take the bare minimum. With reluctance I take a spare rod for Justin. Actually I find that when I have too much gear I spend more time sorting it out than I do enjoying myself.

Roger

Roger
I dont normally carry 8 but I do have the capability
We pretty well have our camping set up down pat ,it usually takes me and Darrells about 10 minutes to set up camp..
Ron

Coming back up the "Falls" is very difficult, but I paddled the Northwind farther at low water with a heavier load than I have ever paddled another boat.
She likes to go straight and will carry anything I want to take (and looks good doing it), what more could I want in a boat.

tx river rat wrote:I am doing this a little different than most boat reviews. I decided I was going to put some miles on the North Wind and paddle in as many different environments as possible before I wrote this up,so here we go.
This boat is 17 ft 2 inches long bye 28 ½ wide finished weight was 54 lbs ,not a little boat by any stretch of the imagination



When I built the deck I set it up for a 58 qt cooler ad the capability to carry 8 rods all that worked out well
And the places for the rod holders are also used when I just pull up and want to bank fish or troll.



She has been slimed


Been paddled tandem



Loaded heavy



Stability is awesome ,my seat is 11 1;2 inches high and I never feel tippy.
Paddling speed is awesome ,if your paddling beside most yaks you have to back off a lot because just paddling at a normal cadence you will walk off and leave them.
Comfort and weight carry capabilities are great ,as you add weight she just doesn’t notice it at all and the 7 ft cockpit is easy in and out, two 5 ft enclosed decks carry a lot of gear. A note here she does like to be loaded tail heavy.
This last weekend we paddled 14 miles loaded 7 up and 7 downriver,shallows ,deep holes , going through blow downs with a lot of current .she just handles it all in stride , the hull is slick enough to paddle upriver better than any boat I own.
I have to rate this boat head and shoulders above any boat I have ever paddled . I guess that says it all.
Ron

The boat looks really good Ron.I'm new to this so I hope you don't mind me having a look at your work. It could help me with my build and could always use some ideas.Nice looking fish.

Toolman
] If I can be of any help just holler.
Ron