JEM Watercraft

It's almost a case of picking one of your designs, setting the outrigger to suit that but letting everyone know that it will fit one perfectly but has to have modified poles for anything else.

G’Day Matt,
As most boats are going to have different heights of freeboard and locations for mounting the beams, how about something adjustable that will suit all? If built out of timber, then it would be a just matter of suppling the curves required to laminate the beam for that particular craft. With aluminium though something needs to be adjustable, and can be fixed in place once the correct placements have been set-up. Was thinking that square or rectangular section would lend itself better to this, than round.
How about along these lines?



The wedges could be made from hardwood, ply laminates or perhaps nylon blocks. This could be set up for one or two outriggers and the centre pieces can be drilled or have eye-bolts to assist with lashing onto gunwales or thwarts.
With everything bolt-together it should be good for transporting.
Anyhow, just some ideas…….
Cheers,
Whirly

Matt,

I'd be looking for more of a traditional single outrigger vs a catamaran design with one on each side. Would I be able to use the same design and just use one?

Thanks again

Matthew

I like the Whirly solution to the beams which the wedge could be made of rubber and the brackets designed to allow some movement so that the mounting is "soft".

The great thing with straight beams is they can be stored and transported easily, this seems to manage this and give a generic float.

Almost like an oar set up but finding a way to lock the oar into a various fixed positions.

This is how I mounted my outriggers to my yak. It is possible to mount the T piece the other way to make the mounting adjustable in height on the outrigger end. The advantage of this is that it is possible to adjust the height of the outrigger for different conditions or onboard loads. Something along the lines of this design would make the use of a straight aluminium bar acceptable for most kayaks and canoes for either a single or twin beam rig.

Hey Guys

Just finished an outrigger of sorts for my trapper project
I'm calling it a stabaliser because it's not really an outrigger and not designed to be used while under way
The concept is to keep the craft streamlined till you get to your fishing spot then deploy the stabiliser
It was actually designed to allow crab pots to be lifted, but will also create a comfortable fishing platform

What I have done is build & modify a spare (emergancy when touring) paddle so it can be attached to the centre thwart, and mounted a float on the end of it
The whole thing is held in place with 2 bungy straps, is on board when travelling and can be deployed in seconds
An appendage on the paddle shaft hooks under the inwhale and the handle end is strapped to a block mounted on the thwart

One of the main considerations in the design is limit the float bouancy so that it will sink before doing damage to the canoe or paddle
For that reason the canoe should still be able to be capsized, although early testing has proven it to be very stable

It's a pretty wild idea and takes a bit of explaining, so I'm hoping some pics will do it



This is the paddle - 60" long 24" blade



This is the bit that hooks under the inwhale



The mount on the thwart



A bungy Strap holds it in position



The float slips on the end of the tappered blade and is held in place by a bungy cord



This is what you end up with





I can safely sit on the guwhale and lean out



With some extra weight in the front - even more stable



This is simulating those crab pots - 10kg at arms length and leaning out as far as I was game


Another design goal was to have the stability increase gradually so you still get the tippy feeling, and don't forget your in a canoe
This has been achived with the shape of the shape of the float having most of the bouyancy high and close to the paddle blade

It hasn't been tested in the real world so I hope it's not a WOFTAM
Will let you know in any case

Cheers

Rob

Innovative! What's that float made of? Looks almost like a chair cushion.

It,s glass over foam
Blocks of foam were glued together with a gap for the paddle blade
The blade was then pressed into a bed of Q-cells with a layer of glass on top
Then the top of the blade was coverd with glass, Q-cell and a foam fill in block
I shaped and tested the float before removing it from the paddle, and glassing it

Rob