pls suggest the perfect one person small water craft for fishing built SOF way

[sdenault]

I've tried kayaks, punts, dingys in SOF, and a flatbottomed canoes in ply construction.

Have still not found the right design/shape and features to arrive at a great little fishing platform for small lakes and rivers.

The things that are most important to me (having tried a number of designs) are:


-stability in the water, without having to sit on the bottom, easier and more comfortable to fish siting upright

-must be easily paddled with canoe paddle or use oars

-light weight for multiple on and off the jeep numerous times in a day

-rugged skin, lots of rocky shores up in the Canadian shield lakes

-roomy enough for at least one person and all your fishing gear

-did I mention stability, thats important because I'd rather be concentrating on fishing than staying in the boat

-narrow enough to go up streams

Any and all suggestions, pictures and ideas welcomed, thank you for taking the time to respond

Steve

[Paul Pless]

Not specifically skin on frame, but here's a recent relevant discussion thread on fishing kayaks with lots of good ideas and links.

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthre...ing&highlight=

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Here's the idea - now go do it in S.O.F.



The swivel seat is probably overkill - he could just stand up.

[potomac]

Ha ha. Well this is a bit of a stretch, especially when you say "stay in the boat," but I am building just what you are looking for- at least in my mind. Dave Gentry had designed a sit on top kayak/ SUP in skin on frame. It comes n at 11' long and about 30'' wide. Dave also designed a dedicated SUP at 13'6'' and has given me the honor of building the prototype. The board should be ideal for flat water and with her length should track well with enough buoyancy for all your fishing gear. Go to youtube and search for SUP fishing and you'll see some remarkable videos. Here's a picture of the 11' board:

Mine should be good to go in a week. I would have liked to have it already done, but life got in the way a bit, and as it is the prototype, there's been some figuring on my part that won't be necessary for future builders because they'll have access to a complete build guide. Dave let me look at the building guide for the 11' board and it is remarkably complete. That with full size frame diagrams lead me to believe it's a one week build. I'll have a build thread up soon. -Aaron

[Daniel Noyes]

Coracle

[potomac]

Daniel- That's what you were referring to in flomo's thread. Can you upload bigger pictures? I guess, having said that, I should also suggest flomo's one-sheet design- though it's not yet complete and hasn't been tried or tested.

[David Geiss]

Take a look at Skip Snaith's Umiak?

[upchurchmr]

Sdenalut,

I have seen the inflatable "kick boats" locally. With a little more length (less than the rubber craft below) and a solid deck they would be very tough, not as heavy as the tupperware takeapart, and able to be stood on or mount a seat.

If you think SOF will be tough enough George Dyson sells many weights of cloth and aluminum tubing which should make a lighter boat.

So far you still have to design it your self.

[Bob Cleek]

Take a look at the Irish curraghs. There are many different types, ranging from surfboats to inland lake and river fishing boats. Here's one: http://tradboats.ie/project/scattery-island-curragh.php





There are many types in the "Traditional Boas of Ireland" book. (WB Store) They evolved from skin covering, to cloth, but the lines can easily be used to produce a SOF using modern skin materials.

[potomac]

And of course, there is Dave Gentry's Shenandoah Whitehall. Again, the simplified building method, the guide, and support probably equal a boat faster than any other.



http://gentrycustomboats.com/Whitehall%20page.html

[Outlaw]

build a umiak, great boats.

Outlaw

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

You are asking for a lot and there is no one boat that will do it all.
Modern skin boats can take a lot but they will never sustain the abuse a plywood hall can endure. If you are set on an SOF it's up to you to decide how careful you can be paddling the water you do.
If you want ease of paddling you need a long narrow waterline. If you want stability you need a lot of width and that will make the hull harder to drive thru' the water. The same goes for light weight. If you build shorter to keep weight down the boat will be slower, harder to paddle and inclined to yaw left and right as you paddle.
No matter how you slice it you will have to figure out what you will accept and live with whatever compromises are involved. For certain there is no perfect boat for your program.

[sdenault]

Hello

I've received many great ideas and suggestion, much appreciated.
Coming to the understanding as Chuck points out that there is likely no perfect boat at least as far as meeting all of my desired features.
So far I'm leaning towards a umiak for its 'workhorse' appeal and also Dave's Whitehall for something stability and movement in the water.

What if one made a wide beamed canoe SOF and then one or two small mid section outriggers, would that not make for a water craft that is stable, moves easily in the water and light weight? Think about two 4' outrigger mini pontoons or something like that? Would this not provide the stability for fishing?

[potomac]

I think you are making launching/ retrieving/ building/ rowing/ moving/ towing and general use remarkably more complex with that idea and would end up happier finding something more stable in the first place. However, the thing about Dave's designs and method is that you can build and try one for so little time and money that even if it doesn't completely fill your need. you've got a lovely rower without much loss.

[sdenault]

agreed and that is what I've been trying to do, is build that one that most suits my practical needs.

I started out building a 20' flatbottomed plywood canoe (too heavy and hard for one person to cartop). Then I discovered Daves's version of SOF, he guided me through a tandem kayak SOF that was modified to enlarge the cockpit area for fishing. T

After that I built a "Dug" from Hannu's Boatyard. I was intrigued by a long sleek boat out of one sheet of ply.

This spring I made a 9' cartop; use Daves plywood frame method and built it with only a bit of thought to shape. It turned out nice but still a bit small and not very graceful on the water, but fun and light.

I like to build the SOF way with ply frames as it is very forgiving and allows me to try many different shapes. As I build and then use these boats I'm getting closer to finding a shape/design that works well for my trapping, fishing and just exploring.

Connecting with a wide range of traditional and non traditional boat builders is great, I'm constantly learning about new (usually old type) boats. I really like the umiak as it appears to be the 'workhorse' of a bygone ear.

Using the SOF method I only need enough data to how to shape my frames, then its just a matter of keel and stringers.

thanks for all the ideas and suggestions, its great fun to explore so many possibilities.

Steve

[potomac]

sdenault- How about this- it is an idea I've been working on for awhile now. Take an existing design in glued lapstrake that suits your needs, use the mold outlines to describe the outside lines of your frames. Scribe a 2'' interior. If the lap's are already marked, use those to describe your fair chines for stringers. I've been wanting to do this for an Adirondack Guideboat as well as a few sailboats. A fellow posted full size CAD drawings of Guideboat frames on the forum. I'll see if I can find them. An easier way would be Michalak's LFH 17. I've seen one done this way and it came out beautiful. It might be ideal for your purposes.

[sdenault]

potomac
yes, using the mould outlines is all I'd need to duplicate the boat hull, then chines and stringers can be cut into the frames for a more secure fit, allowing for lashing or glue and tacking. The Adirondack guide boat is close to a small freight canoe in design and should provide stability and reasonable paddling, plus shallow water exploring. If you find that CAD draw pls send to steveca4@hotmail.com.
I'll also look Michalak's boat. thanks for the ideas

[potomac]

Steve- I sent the CAD outlines. I need to give John Michne the credit for them, he drew them on CAD and was generous enough to share. Keep me in the loop. I'd love to see how it turns out or even build one alongside you (in the virtual world ). Good luck- Aaron

[Kudzu]

You lost me at not sitting on the floor. But this was my answer to a fishing boat. Opening in back for the 'fishermans' milk crate. Flat deck with ply under for rod holders. Stable and reasonably easy to paddle. Will never win any races or course. I have been extremely well pleased with it.

http://www.kudzucraft.com/designs/messabout/

[Daniel Noyes]

Follow this link for more Coracle info.

http://www.search-results.com/fr?q=c...e%3Den_US&qt=0

[RodB]

http://www.wildernesssystems.com/pro...ide_135_angler

This will do all you ask... sorry it ain't wood... but this design offers stability, light weight, easy to paddle, great comfort with a well designed seat and back rest, etc, etc, etc... and very tough...

You may have to find one used... as these are discontinued...

or

Not discontinued models of the Tarpon come in several sizes...

http://www.wildernesssystems.com/pro..._recreational/


other choices...
http://www.ultimatekayakfishing.com/...ing-kayak.html

I guess you need to find a design you can build with all the features of these high tech Kayaks...



RodB

[rsblev]

Since Rod brought up the plastic boat thing, I'll just add...For what it's worth, I've got a couple plastic kayaks. Mine works great for fishing in protected waters. It's a Wilderness Systems Pamlico 100 sit inside type, and it's very stable. I just did a 5 mile paddle this morning, but left the fishing gear at home. I got it used on Craigslist for $300, and it does everything I have ever asked it to do.

I'm not saying don't build your own. I've got plans for a couple Kudzu SOF kayaks that I'm planning on building too.

[Daniel Noyes]

I'm fallin in love with these little coracles... all over again!

[Frank R]

I understand your question because I have been searching for the same thing for at least three years. I built a pram and bought an Old Town canoe. Neither satisfied my needs.

This hybrid kayak/canoe just came out a few months ago. I bought one and have been busy rigging it up and fishing from it for the past two months.

http://www.nucanoe.com/models/frontier/

It has been awesome for its intended purpose. It is wide enough to stand in easily. The seating position is high enough to be comfortable. The paddling is better than I expected for a wide boat; the high seating position helps with this.

The photo below shows the seat. I built a higher bench out of plywood and some solid risers. This increases the height by about two inches with the added bonus of gaining under-seat storage.



The nice thing about the boat width and swivel seat: I can swivel around and face the rear when necessary. I have had to do this when an anchor line got tangled. I also do it when starting and running the gas engine. If I am using an electric motor I steer with an extension handle while sitting side saddle. I will be adding foot-pedal steering soon to simplify all of this.

I took some advice from this forum and found an old Holsclaw trailer to haul the kayak. I like this because I can leave it fully rigged, except for the motor, and it will be ready to go fishing without me having to load it on the roof.

Wider kayaks with raised seats have been entering the market for the past couple of years to answer these needs. I think a SOF version of this kayak would a useful addition to Mr Gentry's fleet. I know the lighter weight and cheaper construction would be very welcome.

[sdenault]

yes, that certainly looks interesting and fits the bill almost perfectly.
Its always great to learn that others are looking for and wanting the same kind of thing you are; I thought I was the only one.
If I could get a few dimensions off one of the NuCanoes I'd be able to make a stem, a stern transom and a center frame first, then I think it would be a matter of playing with the center frame placement and a few stringers to get the overall shape and depth. The stability issue looks about perfect for the kind of fishing and exploring I do, mostly on my own.
Thanks for passing this along. It even looks like it would be a fairly quick SOF build to try one.
Steve

[sdenault]

I wonder if the indentations in the haul design give this craft more stability or why is the shaped like that/
Steve

[sdenault]

I think I will try making one of these Coracles as well, just to see if I end up spinning around or can actually move it along.
Would also be a great 'craft' project to get kids involved with, lots of bending of green willow and lashing to keep everyone busy, like a quilting bee. Then warp it in poly tarp used for commerical trailer tarps, stitch it to the gunwales, with a seat, viola. Thanks for the suggestion.
Steve

[Frank R]

I wonder if the indentations in the haul design give this craft more stability or why is the shaped like that/
Steve

I think they help the boat track better.

They also provide rigidity to all that surface area.