JEM Watercraft

Thanks TRR. That was what i wanted to know. In the pirogue I have now, the tackle bag sits in front of my knees and when I paddle it gets soaked.

Goats, let's go back a minute here. Let's review some thoughts you put out here.

Your friend is "scared" of tippy boats. That isn't an engineering problem; it's an emotional problem.

You were in the water a lot as a youngster, and learned to not fear it.

I'd suggest that you have your friend work on that fear more than the boat. ANY boat will tip over. Nearly any (paddle) boat can be paddled safely by a knowledgeable paddler. I'd guess there is more fertile ground in the fear territory than there is in the boat territory. Until he gets control of that emotional fear, no boat will suffice.

But, I'm second guessing from afar.

Jack,

You have a good point there. Once he gets wet he is ok. His problem is that when a boat tips, he tenses up and usually causes the boat to tip. I guess the kind of boat I am trying to describe is one that will feel solid until it hits the balance point where it will flip. If he doesn't feel like he will tip he won't. If the boat tips pretty good he freezes instead of re-centering. It will take him time to get used to that but I hope a stable boat will help.

Goats wrote:Now that's funny! My wife can't swim and doesn't even trust a pfd. I on the other hand was in the water so much when I was young that I could have passed for a fish. I am trying to decide if I want to build the laker first or the Pirogue TV. The one thing I don't like about a canoe is that a double paddle gets too much water in the boat. If some of you that have built the laker could tell me if the cockpit is small enough to keep out alot of the paddle water I would appreciate it.

According to the grand pupa of geeezerdom, the freedom prototype gets paddled with a single blade. Jump in and correct me if I'm wrong Chuck.

Lee

I have used both , single and double paddle , personally for me ..... single paddle , I just like them and am use to them. If paddling with others and they are using a double then I use one.

With the double blade , if the stroke is keep down and not raised way high there will be less drip , some drip rings on the paddle might help and they do make a double paddle that does not drip , it has a different blade design.

Chuck.

Do what they do in Hawaii. Put a outrigger on one or both sides.

Coogs

Since it's confidence, just take him somewhere like a pool or slow shallow spot with the INTENT to flip the boat. Spend a half hour or so flipping the boat and getting back in. Make it a contest to see who can flip it the fastest. Graduate to who can lean the most without flipping it.

It's mostly a matter of getting comfortable with where the "point of no return" is. It's also a muscle memory thing much like playing a musical instrument. If you spend an afternoon on these exercises, his body will learn where that point is and begin to adjust rather than overcorrecting.

I've taught LOTS of kids to canoe and my first class is always "Flip the canoe until you're too tired to flip it anymore". First they learn that flipping isn't the end of the world. Once they are comfortable flipping, they're free to enjoy the ride. Never had one drop out that way.

Jbo

I'm not fond of that tippy feeling and that's another good reason to build your own, put your mates seat low, but don't permanently fix it in.

I hung mine from the gunwhales and raised it as I felt more confident (and worked out where scary was), I reckon in the first few hours I raised the seat a good 4 inches from where it started.

It still freaks me when I see where you geezers balance your seats but I've got a total of 20 or 30 hours of paddling (and more than half of that was 15 years ago) which is a few less than most of ya.

So start low and work up...

G'day Goats,

Both Robin and I find the laker to be very stable but all of our factory boats are considerably narrower and less stable than it.

Drips from the paddle can be a problem in any kayak. I thank a lot has to do with stroke cadance and the angle at which the paddle is held during the stroke. I usually wind up with about 2 cups of water in the cockpit after a couple of hours paddling but this is easily taken care of with a sponge.

Well I just started on a laker (free version). Still have to build the t-v.
After I get it built he will have three different boats to choose from. If he doesn't like those he can find his own. Any ideas on when more download plans will be available?