You are getting to be a canoe building machine ... that is all awesome.
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Happy World Ocean Day!🌊🦞🐬🪸
Alan's Bloodvein II Canoe Strip Build
- Thread starter Gamma1214
- Start date
Well done! I'm impressed with the production rate too. Your builds are fun, @Gamma1214
Nothing like a deadline to get a job done.
Jim
Jim
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I took it to WPASCR this weekend and it saw a fair amount of paddling. I believe that 3 or 4 members here paddled it so I'll allow them to give feedback as they wish but there was one (the first one to take it out) who I don't believe is on here. He said that he was curious because he'd never seen a hull that shape (as Alan has said, the shape above waterline is deceiving).
When he returned to shore, I asked what he thought and he liked it alot. Very stable, responded well to inputs but it seemed to be begging for more weight.
I explained that it was designed as a wilderness tripper and he agreed that it would be outstanding with about 60-80 lbs of gear.
I didn't paddle it there (a small lake) as I wanted to test it out on moving water so I took a slight detour on my way home and stopped by the launch when I crossed the Conemaugh River. The current was moving pretty well due to the storms that had passed through the night before, so I filled a dry bag with water (probably 25-30 lbs), threw that against the bow float tank, launched and headed upstream.
I'll agree that it seemed very stable with just enough playfulness to make it a fun paddle. It moved against and across the current with ease and was pretty quick on the flats. The current was a bit strong for paddling upstream against the first rapid (easy C1) and the beavertail that I was swinging was a bit too much blade for the water depth anyway.
I was able to stand to "scout the rapid" and didn't feel that I was in much danger of going overboard.
I also stopped by my parents to check on them, update them on the weekend events and borrow their scale. Theirs confirms the weight (said 40 lbs) so my decision this Fall might be difficult. I love the color scheme and the comfort of paddling the Raven but I might really beat myself up on a longer portage if I'm carrying it and knowing that I have an equally capable boat hanging in the carport and it's 12 pounds lighter than the one on my shoulders.
Great design job @Alan Gage and thanks for the plans.
When he returned to shore, I asked what he thought and he liked it alot. Very stable, responded well to inputs but it seemed to be begging for more weight.
I explained that it was designed as a wilderness tripper and he agreed that it would be outstanding with about 60-80 lbs of gear.
I didn't paddle it there (a small lake) as I wanted to test it out on moving water so I took a slight detour on my way home and stopped by the launch when I crossed the Conemaugh River. The current was moving pretty well due to the storms that had passed through the night before, so I filled a dry bag with water (probably 25-30 lbs), threw that against the bow float tank, launched and headed upstream.
I'll agree that it seemed very stable with just enough playfulness to make it a fun paddle. It moved against and across the current with ease and was pretty quick on the flats. The current was a bit strong for paddling upstream against the first rapid (easy C1) and the beavertail that I was swinging was a bit too much blade for the water depth anyway.
I was able to stand to "scout the rapid" and didn't feel that I was in much danger of going overboard.
I also stopped by my parents to check on them, update them on the weekend events and borrow their scale. Theirs confirms the weight (said 40 lbs) so my decision this Fall might be difficult. I love the color scheme and the comfort of paddling the Raven but I might really beat myself up on a longer portage if I'm carrying it and knowing that I have an equally capable boat hanging in the carport and it's 12 pounds lighter than the one on my shoulders.
Great design job @Alan Gage and thanks for the plans.
Looks good, Steve. Glad you met all your deadlines to get to WPASCR. I guess I never noticed and maybe you've addressed this somewhere in the thread, but why no rear thwart? The seat provides enough lateral strength for the stern half?
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I think so. By attaching the seat (whether bolted or epoxied) to the hull, I think I can have better access, lose an ounce or two and still maintain structural integrity.
So far, I've dropped the rear thwart on every build. The one that made me the most nervous was the Raven and even it seems rock solid.
At WPASCR, I noticed that Savage River had done that on some of their hulls and asked them about it. They dropped it for the same reasons so maybe I'm not (completely) nuts.
I also noticed that almost everybody leaves gunwale screws exposed all over the hull. It doesn't look nearly as bad as I'd thought it would so maybe I don't need to bury them in epoxy. We'll see on the next build.
So far, I've dropped the rear thwart on every build. The one that made me the most nervous was the Raven and even it seems rock solid.
At WPASCR, I noticed that Savage River had done that on some of their hulls and asked them about it. They dropped it for the same reasons so maybe I'm not (completely) nuts.
I also noticed that almost everybody leaves gunwale screws exposed all over the hull. It doesn't look nearly as bad as I'd thought it would so maybe I don't need to bury them in epoxy. We'll see on the next build.
I had my new Savage River Illusion made without a rear thwart for the same reasons: saves some weight and not necessary for rigidity on such a short (13'-6") hull. The seat is screwed to a wood cleat below the sheer line. The cleat is both epoxied to hull and screwed into wood blocks that are embedded on top of two of the foam ribs underneath the Kevlar interior.
I should add that I asked the designer of the Savage River Illusion and June Bug, @Marc Ornstein, about the necessity of a rear thwart and he agreed with our reasoning.
Here he is in the Pine Barrens last month with his left hand on his Illusion with my Illusion to his right.
On the extreme left is Molly's (Marc's wife) Savage River June Bug with a rear thwart, and on the other side of Marc's Illusion is Looie's new Savage River June Bug (in Textreme) also with a rear thwart. I believe Marc's/Molly's carbon fiber June Bug is being swapped out by Savage River for the red Textreme June Bug without a rear thwart that @Tryin' photographed in the WPASCR thread.
Here he is in the Pine Barrens last month with his left hand on his Illusion with my Illusion to his right.
On the extreme left is Molly's (Marc's wife) Savage River June Bug with a rear thwart, and on the other side of Marc's Illusion is Looie's new Savage River June Bug (in Textreme) also with a rear thwart. I believe Marc's/Molly's carbon fiber June Bug is being swapped out by Savage River for the red Textreme June Bug without a rear thwart that @Tryin' photographed in the WPASCR thread.
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