Thoughts on the Freedom

tx river rat · Post by **tx river rat** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:53 pm

I finally got a break in the weather , all the rivers and stream close are flood stage so I went back to the lake. The wind was blowing about five miles an hour so behind the dam was pretty slick.
I love the flat bottom it is very stable getting in and out and also the big cockpit helps that.

My thoughts on this boat
she is as stable as my 32 inch wide Heritage gets up to cruise really easy
and moves pretty well
I took a gps with me and had it up to 4.5 miles an hour paddling hard.
3.5 to 3.75 was just cruising so you can cover some miles if you want to,
And that was with a cheap paddle 20.00 at academy also I haven't been yaking very long so I am sure a good paddler would do a lot better. Three miles an hour was just playing.
With my 215 lbs in her she still pulls very little water from what I could tel about three inches.

I paddled about five miles playing she just a pleasure to paddle after the plastic boats. I tried two different seats

They both worked well the plastic one was sure nice to lean back into and rest and it was about an inch taller.
I am going to break this here so doesn't get to long
Ron

tx river rat · Post by **tx river rat** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 11:37 pm

On the handling she turns easy just go a little wide on a stroke are two and tracks very well even in crosswind ( I was a little concerned she wouldn't with the flat bottom)

She has plenty storage and carrying capacity for what I want and draws a crowd when you unload her

I am well pleased with her and plan a lot of trips in the future.
Ron
A Happy Yaker

Raumati · Post by **Raumati** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:40 am

That was a good read , I like what you did with the cockpit.Are you planning on fishing out of it?

tx river rat · Post by **tx river rat** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:45 am

This boat will be mainly a triper I think

I am rigging her to fish and I will have an update on how I am rigging her in couple days
Only reason is a 16 ft boat is lot more trouble than a 12 fter as far as hauling. But she sure does paddle nice.
Ron

Post by **jem** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 10:08 am

Great report and great looking boat!

Where'd you get that plastic seat from? Is that just off of a chair or ...?

tx river rat · Post by **tx river rat** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 10:31 am

Mat
The seat is just a Walmart special less than 10.00 It also keeps your back away from point on deck.
Ron

I need to drill a hole in the bottom. There are also plastic padded covers for these seats
Ron

Post by **jem** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 10:44 am

The point on the back deck is something I want to address in a "next revision".

tx river rat · Post by **tx river rat** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:12 am

MAT
I been thinking about that to .
A flat area right behind the seat would be great for carrying stuff you have to put under bungee cords and a lot easier if you run under a strainer to lean back.
Just a thought.
Ron
On the cockpit Its about the same length as yours just a little wider but I can still lock my knees under the edges.

Post by **jem** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 11:40 am

Yep. The flat spot was tricky to draw in. You have to get the angles of the deck and flat spot just right otherwise it's a nightmare to try and get to fit without having the deck angle toward the cockpit. You want the deck and any flat spot to angle away from the cockpit.

But I got it worked out and hope to have rev 02 out soon. Am working on a way to modify any existing built models too, if the builder so chooses.

tx river rat · Post by **tx river rat** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 12:00 pm

Just so everyone will know the point is not a big problem with plastic seat non at all.
Ron