As mentioned in another post in the "General" section, I've been rather busy this second half of the year with various family activities (I wont even talk about the skirt and pompom thing :shock: ) generally referred to as "life." As a result, my build project has dropped in priority and has been collecting dust. Thing is, it's damn near done. The exterior is done. Inside, I need to finish up my fill coats of epoxy. Then add my decks. Then paint and varnish; finishing touches. So, seeing this nearly complete boat taking up space in my garage for the past few months has really been bothering me.
So this morning, I said "to hell with it" and threw it on top of the car and drove to the little launch in my neighborhood. Ahhhh, how good it felt to dip my toes in the water
The boat was a little more tippy than what I'm used to (in my 17' aluminum Grumman battleship), but I got accustomed to it pretty quickly. I was amazed at how quick it was. I started out with my bent shaft canoe paddle. Great glide. Seemed to track well, considering it's a flat bottom with no keel. I brought along my kayak paddle, so after a few minutes I put up the canoe paddle and put together the double blade. Once again, I was amazed at how responsive and agile the boat seemed. Much more than my giant aluminum canoe and still more than my shorter sit-on-top kayak. It was really a pleasure paddling this boat down the bayou. The water was up from all the rain we've had this month, and it was pushing through pretty quick. A couple of eddys caught me off guard but not so bad that a single stroke corrected my line. Overall, it was a joy to paddle.
At 14.5' in length, I don't see this as my camping boat (of course, I'm sure it'll do in a pinch :wink: ). I'm a big guy, and I don't see carrying a heck of a lot of gear in this boat. For fishing, this boat will be ideal.
Unfortunately, no pictures.
I think this little test drive accomplished what I was hoping for... some incentive to chisel out time to finish the boat.
So this morning, I said "to hell with it" and threw it on top of the car and drove to the little launch in my neighborhood. Ahhhh, how good it felt to dip my toes in the water
The boat was a little more tippy than what I'm used to (in my 17' aluminum Grumman battleship), but I got accustomed to it pretty quickly. I was amazed at how quick it was. I started out with my bent shaft canoe paddle. Great glide. Seemed to track well, considering it's a flat bottom with no keel. I brought along my kayak paddle, so after a few minutes I put up the canoe paddle and put together the double blade. Once again, I was amazed at how responsive and agile the boat seemed. Much more than my giant aluminum canoe and still more than my shorter sit-on-top kayak. It was really a pleasure paddling this boat down the bayou. The water was up from all the rain we've had this month, and it was pushing through pretty quick. A couple of eddys caught me off guard but not so bad that a single stroke corrected my line. Overall, it was a joy to paddle.At 14.5' in length, I don't see this as my camping boat (of course, I'm sure it'll do in a pinch :wink: ). I'm a big guy, and I don't see carrying a heck of a lot of gear in this boat. For fishing, this boat will be ideal.
Unfortunately, no pictures.
I think this little test drive accomplished what I was hoping for... some incentive to chisel out time to finish the boat.