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Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
By:Jeff B
Date: 7/27/2012, 8:03 am
In Response To: Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design (Normand Fortier)

: That is really interesting. I get the impression that the new
: position of the gunwales at same level as the top of the frame,
: makes a big difference esthetically, too.

: I will try to fit some foam into my present kayak to restrict its
: inside dimension like a Sea Rider or Sea Ranger and see how it
: feels.

: Normand

On the first build of that kayak I made a bad choice of aluminum alloy for the frames, and could not bend them to a tight enough radius to have flat decks. So I ended up with decks raised above the gunwales. I think this can be done in an aesthetically pleasing manner, although I prefer flat decks, but the way it worked out on my kayak was just plain ugly.

I should add that I was comparing 12" height at the front of the coaming to 10" height. That's because I can't tolerate anything less than 10". But lower, especially on kayaks as narrow as a Sea Rider or Ranger, will look much better. And intermediate/advanced paddlers prefer lower coamings for rolling. Someone else can comment on that much better than me. My point is, you should go with as low a coaming and foredeck as you think you can live with. If you really need 12" of knee height, you're better off going with a design with more beam as it will look much nicer, such as a Sea Tour or Sea Tour EXP. But you can build any of these designs with any height foredeck you want.

Jeff

Messages In This Thread

Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Normand Fortier -- 7/20/2012, 4:58 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Eric Mattison -- 7/20/2012, 7:35 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Normand Fortier -- 7/20/2012, 7:59 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Bill Hamm -- 7/22/2012, 12:57 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
John Abercrombie -- 7/20/2012, 9:21 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Normand Fortier -- 7/20/2012, 9:57 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Jeff Buyer -- 7/21/2012, 4:26 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Bill Hamm -- 7/22/2012, 1:07 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Normand Fortier -- 7/22/2012, 1:23 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Normand Fortier -- 7/22/2012, 1:27 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Bill Hamm -- 7/23/2012, 1:12 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Jeff Buyer -- 7/22/2012, 2:27 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Normand Fortier -- 7/22/2012, 3:01 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Jeff Buyer -- 7/22/2012, 3:21 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Bill Hamm -- 7/23/2012, 1:16 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Bill Hamm -- 7/23/2012, 1:15 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Jeff Buyer -- 7/26/2012, 7:07 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Normand Fortier -- 7/26/2012, 10:36 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Jeff B -- 7/27/2012, 8:03 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Jeff Buyer -- 7/27/2012, 11:03 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Marc Upchurch -- 7/21/2012, 8:25 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
John Abercrombie -- 7/21/2012, 1:02 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Marc Upchurch -- 7/21/2012, 1:34 pm
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Bob Johns -- 7/21/2012, 1:09 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Kirk Fredericks -- 7/21/2012, 9:36 am
Re: Seeking: Advice on choosing a kayak design
Bill Hamm -- 7/22/2012, 1:38 am
Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
Robert N Pruden -- 7/24/2012, 10:09 am
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
Normand Fortier -- 7/24/2012, 2:10 pm
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
wysedav -- 9/11/2012, 11:45 am
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
Normand Fortier -- 9/13/2012, 8:15 pm
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
wysedav -- 9/14/2012, 12:23 am
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
John Abercrombie -- 7/24/2012, 4:20 pm
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
John Abercrombie -- 7/24/2012, 4:40 pm
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
Robert N Pruden -- 7/24/2012, 4:45 pm
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
Kirk Briggs -- 9/17/2012, 7:38 pm
Re: Look at Nick's S&G Night Heron design...
Bohdan Szymanik -- 9/21/2012, 3:39 am