North Wind

[tx river rat]

Matt
Has anyone built the Northwind
Ron

[hairymick]

Go on Ron, Ya know ya wanna

[jem]

sold several plans but no pictures have been sent yet.

[tx river rat]

Ok
I am Thinking about it .
I need some more info between the sout and north wind
is eigther asymetrical
besides building what are the comparisions between them.
Ron

[jem]

Both slightly asymmetrical.

South Wind: Easier to build because of less panels.

North Wind: 7" shorter but will move as efficiently, if not more, because of more rounded hull shape. A little less initial stability.

[hairymick]

Ron,

You know I am a "little" biased on this. I think in paddle-ability, both boats should be about as good es each other.

As Matt has said, Southwind is not as complex to build and I think it should have a smaller wind signature. What-ever, Southwind is a superb boat in every aspect. Nothwind would need to be something very special indeed to be even better. (and it could well be) I just don't know.

I believe this style of hybrid, semi open kayak or decked canoe are the way of the future. They combine the best of both worlds and as more paddlers discover their benefiets, we will be seeing more and more of them.

I keep coming back to the Northwind to drool over her lines and even though I have absolutely no need for such a boat (Southwind will do everything I need very well) I find my self someties thinking it would be lovely to have one of each - just to compare.

[tx river rat]

Mick
I do not need another boat The Tv and the Cuda do it all for my river running, but I look at the northwind and see many of the things Verlin Kruger put into his famous Sea wind and it makes me want to try it all the more.
Plus no one else has built one and my curiosity is killing me.
Ron

[Oldsparkey]

While on my last trip I was thinking of the North wind for a trip like I did. Then after looking I was thinking of the South wind.

I like the rounded hull more on the North Wind then the other one.
My concern is being able to put my dry bags (Backpacks) up under the decks so I would have more free room in the cockpit area , especially for my seat (The one for the pirogue I made ) and leg room.

Always thinking about doing it better when paddling down a river. Guess I should say , packing lighter and a lot better. The Sasquatch 14 x 30 worked really great for me but I am always looking forward. It is not like the sea kayak I have but to match it , it requires something like it and that is why I was thinking of the North wind.

Besides ..... I enjoy building boats and then having a reason to take them out on a camping trip. Now if I was just 29 again ..... NO PROBLEMS , Never will be there .....Dream on Chuck.

Several of the guys on the trip were thinking of doing what Tx river rat did with the one pirogue and the ice chest.

River trips always make folks think about there boats or the ones they want to have.

Chuck

[hairymick]

Ron,

Like you and Chuck, I don't need another boat.

Between them, Southwind, Sasquatch and Laker will do everything I need a paddlecraft for very well. the problem is that I just love building Matt's boats. I average around 3 builds per year at an average of around AU$500.00 each.

A lot of money some might think but I don't see it that way at all. If I wasn't building these boats, I would be doing something else in that time and probably be spending a LOT more money doing it, - and at the end of it all, have nothing to show for the money but memoroies.

This way, with each build, my skills improve a little, I learn something and I get to turn useless, flat sheets of ply into things of grace, style and symmetry and most importantly, function. There are two more boats on my "To Do" list at the moment,

a sneaky little Laker stye pack canoe and Matt's beautiful new Wabanaki (I love that boat) oh yeah, and my TV. The panels are cut and spliced for this one and I will get to it next year but the new Okwata takes priority over all just now. Like Southwind, Laker and Sasquatch, I think Okwata is yet another boat that will set Matt apart from and above all other current designers.

[tx river rat]

Mick
It sure would be nice if we lived close that way we could try each others boats sure would save a lot of trouble.
And this Northwind thing is mostly your fault My second choice in my navy is the T-V
and your comparison with the Southwind tweaked my interest even more. Bloody Aussies
Sparky
I like to cover long distances ,I just enjoy paddling and seeing whats around the next bend,
The way everyone talks this boat should do that, plus the long cockpit would let me turn my big cooler longways behind me. I would put sealed hatches front and back to store my gear.
I wonder if you could fab a light tent that would just hook in the lip around the cockpit hummmmm.
Ron