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Flat bottomed Alden Ocean Shell as decked canoe?

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I saved a couple "ocean" rowing shells from a date with the dumpster. They need a bit of glass work, and the drop in rowing rigs and oars will be a signifigant investment, so I'm wondering how they would do as decked canoes. I'm having some technical difficulties getting pictures posted, so here are a couple examples from the web. djotnfv4opz61.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2d8887229556d893f0fa80353a29bad20c2a530f.jpg 61.jpg
 
That hull looks very shallow - about 6" or so. I don't see you being to get your feet under that deck - looks like a trap waiting to happen if you tried it.

However, with the location of the rowing station, I don't think that you would be that far forward. Think of it more as a sit-in version of a sit-on-top, with a foot-brace right about where the deck begins.

It's also a very flat hull bottom - I suspect that it might handle more like a paddleboard than a canoe. Frankly, I would just try it out in sheltered water. If some of the glass has a crack or something, just slap a piece of gorilla tape over it for the day - no need for permanent repairs. Plan on getting wet.
 
I measure about 9" deep at including the side decks. The hull has more volume forward. It has a distinct cods head, macrel tail design. Quick measurement looks like my feet will still be in the open cockpit even if the seat is 12-18" forward of "center"
 
Ahh... So maybe not as sensitive to wavelets as I feared. I was looking at the asymmetry, and It's a more extreme version of what I put into my canvas solo. I'd be interested in hearing about how it handles, especially can it take being canted over on one of the bilges? I'm not sure if you're a sitter or kneeler. I don't see a way to lock in if you prefer to kneel, maybe sit with a foot brace would be better.
 
Barkeater, wow, upside down it looks a lot more canoe-ish than I had expected. Please post a topside photo.

While I think those Alden shells could be converted into some kind of more “traditional” paddle craft, I’m not sure how suitable they would be as a decked canoe, at least in my uses. Not a lot of space or weight capacity (210lb) for gear storage, and with a 24” waterline I wouldn’t want the seat raised very high.

But, having saved a couple from dumpster-dom (good on ya!) some kind of rebuild/rehab sounds like an enjoyable experimemt. At 3K with the rowing seat, which I expect runs nearly $1000, there is still a couple grand in interesting hull there; partial decks, bulkheads, access port.

The least expensive and easiest conversion might be to something like a fast SOT, with a low minicel seat, foot brace and back band. Not sure about the flat bottom in that guise; could be a SOT that excels in the shallows.

Deck or cover the cockpit on one and use it as the ama on crossbars (akas?) as an outrigger-style canoe?

Or, again using two those hulls, add a couple connecting crossbars and a sail and converted into tandem cockpit catamaran. With some cogitation on easily connected crossbars and mast/sail either rig would still be car toppable. Maybe some mesh between the crossbars for a gear platform.

Whatever you do with them once converted to something else they will be mystery boats, and those are always fun to have out and about around WTF curious fellow paddlers.

The mind boggles; looking forward to seeing what you do with them.
 
40 lbs feels really light for a 16 foot hull. The fact that they are 30 - 40 years old is kind of a trip also. I havent spent much time working with a double paddle, but depending on how it handles being overloaded a bit, it might be a nice portagible kayak or skinny pack boat.
 
Very tippy, given you won't have the counterbalance -- as tightrope walkers do -- of the long oars. Tiny freeboard will swamp in waves and provide no volume for gear. Probably a bear to turn, especially since there's no freeboard to heel on.

But if all you want to do is sit on bottom and sit & switch paddle straight ahead on waveless water, why not?! It would be good day paddle exercise.
 
As a "fast SOT" it might have potential in an ultramarathon like the MR340. Or call it a "comfort surfski", the specs aren't that different from something like an Epic V5. With sealed ends and an auto bailer the low freeboard would be less of a concern.
 
One problem I see with sitting in the bottom is that the side decks don't have the strength to support my weight when getting in and out. Of the 2 hulls one has "crushing damage" on the side decks already so that that one would probably be the candidate for adding structure to. It also was built with out bulkheads, which would a lot of structure to the hull.
 
One problem I see with sitting in the bottom is that the side decks don't have the strength to support my weight when getting in and out.

Two of our decked canoes converted from tandem kayaks, the Phoenix Vagabond and Hyperform Optima, are lightly built glass & nylon hulls. The tandem seats/drops provided much of the rigidity to the sides and with those Marquis de Sade seats removed the sheerline was far too flexible.

I added a thwart, actually the usual wide utility/sail thwart, epoxied and glassed across the cockpit coming, up front. The still sorta floppy Optima needed an additional slender thwart behind the seat to provide adequate rigidity.

Something like that, or a one piece kayak-ish seat pan and drops, might provide sufficient strength across the sheerline. A thwart or two are easy enough to DIY and glass/epoxy in place.
 
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