JEM Watercraft

Hi Matt, hi guys.

I'm not much of a kayaking fan though I do admit Mick's fishing pictures raise a lot of envy in me. Lately however I've been admiring these skin-on-frame kayaks so I thought I'd try building one. I'm specifically thinking of building a Aleut that has a LOA 16'8" and a beam of 20-1/2". Not having any experience with a kayak, I hope it is not too inappropriate if I ask you guys for your thoughts on what to expect in building and using one.

check out Black Dog Kayaks. http://www.blackdogkayaks.com/

He's a regular on Chuck forum and good people. Post this in Chuck's forum and you'll get better info than I can offer. www.southernpaddler.com

It seems like a pretty straight-forward process.

G'day Louis,

Mate I know nothing about skin on frame kayaks but if you want a kayak for fishing, I think 20 or so inches is way too skinny.

Stability is a very big issue when kayaks start to get this narrow and they truly become a specialised art in paddling such a boat competently and safely.

I would very respectfully urge you to consider a hull type with a little more beam. at a minimum 22 inches (550mm) A good hull with a beam of 24 inches will still give you blistering pace and will be a heck of a lot more enjoyable to paddle than something so narrow that you WILL get wet the very first time you gent into it and many times there-after.

The link Matt posted is a good one and this feller is a very good bloke. If your heart is set on a skin on frame job, you would be hard pressed to find a better bloke to ask.

In the mean time, Have a very good look at Matt's range of Lakers. If you plan on fishing from a kayak, I would argue that these boats are probably the best sit in, fishing kayak design available at the moment. - even though they were not originally designed with this in mind.

I am confident in saying that there are more reported laker builds in this country at the moment than any other single kayak design.

Thanks guys. I still have the 2nd Muskoka to put together but am kind of taking a break from the goo so skin-on-frame sounded appealing. Unfortunately, or may fortunately, this weekend it was all rain here so my enthusiasm to build it was literally rained on.

I eventually found myself staring at the first Muskoka from our bedroom window and it then hit me that I should take her down from roof of the walk on the side of our house and try putting a sail on her.

New topic.