JEM Watercraft

Matt,
well you were all correct...once you've built one yak, another is sure to follow. This time I'm going to the other end of the spectrum. Instead of a big tandem fishing sot, I'm interested in a smaller version of the Wadefish. It won't be doing any long distance paddling. It's basically to quickly launch off the beach into surf, get fishing right away, and get back in thru the surf.

I'm shooting for 12'. The cockpit could shrink to 4'. The area aft of the cockpit could shrink to 4' 6". The front deck could shrink a bit as needed. The 26" max beam is fine. I'll probably put in an aft flush hatch like on my tandem instead of a tank-well.

What would it take to modify the Wadefish drawings to accomodate this? I can use the Wadefish instructions just as they are.

12' x 26" isn't going to support much weight. Is this for a small person?

I'm only 5'5"/145lbs. and travel light when fishing. If you feel more comfortable with it having a 28" max beam, that's fine. Also, if you think it's a mistake to bring the cockpit down to 4', it could go a little longer and more could be taken from the aft/fore areas. I'd go for making the aft shorter first.

We'll have to discuss offline the specifics and when. My backlog is embarrassingly long right now.

I guess that's both good and bad news! My email address is scottrunnr@yahoo.com.

Off the top of your head, do you think this would take much effort on your part? If all I changed were the length of the cockpit and the length of the aft section, could I get by on my own based on the Wadefish plans? Or is that just plain crazy?

For a SOT, I wouldn't try scaling. It can certainly be done but lots of opportunity for error.

Amount of work for me depends if you need complete plans vs. precut kit, if you need new assembly instruction vs using existing, etc.

Things we can discuss offline.

All I need are the plans. I can work off of the existing Wadefish instructions just like I did when I built my tandem. I'm sure the latest instructions have lots of great new advice!

We can discuss further any time you're ready.

Matt, I hate to be a pain in the butt.....any idea when you might be able to work on this project? Just weighing my options.

we can discuss offline.