: A while back I built a modified version of the Sea Ranger. I called it
: Rocket88 after the first paddle. It felt like it would accelerate like a
: Rocket! Of course it has it's drawback. Like I can not put any kind of pad
: in for seat. Raising me up 1/2" and it's a struggle to stay upright.
: I found I don't like the low back, it hurts my back. And my bottom after a
: while too. Add to that it's low stability and I rarely paddle it. But my
: goal was a boat to learn to roll and it should be great for that.

: Even with all the drawbacks I kept finding my thoughts going back to it and
: wondering how to improve it, make it more stable and not kill the
: performance. I played around a good bit but never found anything I really
: liked.

: Eventually I started with a clean computer screen and typed in the name
: Toothpick, because it was going to be a small boat. But like me it
: expanded some as it got older. Last night I finally hit on a great
: combination. Assuming the software is not lying that is!

: The stability is greatly increased (Stability factor of 88 compared to 52 on
: the Rocket88) with only minimal increases in resistance. Not sure how that
: happened but it did. It has slight less resistance that Curlew, the 15
: footer I just finished and Curlew is proving to be a great cursing boat.
: Even though it is shorter I find I can easily keep up with most other
: boats on long paddles. I pay for it the rare time I sprint with someone
: though. Toothpick has nearly identical resistance numbers up 4.5 mph and
: it gets lower above that because of the extra two foot of length.

: I drew it with almost 3" of rocker to try to improve turning. I am
: willing to sacrifice some tracking. Most of my boats track well but don't
: turn as easy as I would like. If this all works out anywhere near as good
: as it looks on the screen, I may have my ideal boat ... for now anyway.

: Of course the only way to know it build it and I hope to do that soon!

It looks like the widest point is around the ten ft station. I am guessing that narrowing that to a get a very mild swede form would lower resistance and improve tracking. I am not certain and I would be willing to be wrong but that is my first impression.

Best,

Reg