esquif blast outfitting

[henryflipinger]

hi all, i have just purchased a new unoutiftted Blast with plastic gunnels.

i plan to buy a beluga appaloosa saddle and also replace the gunnels with Ash.

in the past i have just ripped off old gunnels and drilled new holes in the old boat . is this the standard? should i even try to hit the old holes? I will also put wood deck plates on the boat.

i have questions about the dimensions of the gunnels and should the deck plates be flush or is it ok to have the slightly above the gunnels. does anyone know the standard size width x thickness? i was also thinking about having a slit in the bow and stern plates at the very front to allow water to escape when dumping.

i was also thinking about notching slits on the inside gunnels in the cockpit to allowing all the water to come out when dumping.

lastly i am curious about the fit of the bulkhead and would like to be attached to the boat for a change, so i could attempt to learn how to roll.
my old boat had a foam bulkhead " homemade" with no footpegs that never was right but good enough, so this is going to be huge step up.

i was thinking of just taping knee pads in the boat with no saddle just to get a feel for the width of my stance. besides the huge saddle should i put some other foam on the sides of the cockpit as well as the bottom. i will put ankle blocks and should see a lot of performance from the foot pegs.

all right thanks for reading and thanks in advance for the feedback. HF

[henryflipinger]

oh yeah what is the difference between gunnel guard? and linseed oil?


what is the best thing to treat all the wood on the boat?

[bushpaddler]

Hi Henry,

I would definitely recommend sidewall-fittings. First step would be attaching 2cm thickness, ~ 20cm high with sharpened edges to fit to the contour of the boat nicely. After that additional 2cm from gunnel to bottom. If this foam fits properly to you gunnels (without any bigger gap or differences in height), slits in the gunnels will not be necessary as the water will flow directly from the foam surface over the inner gunnel.
The boat will paddle much better when full and dump a lot easier with the foam side fittings.

Unfortunately I cannot give you gunnel dimensions at the moment as my new boat will arrive in February and the “old” one is already sold.

For my gunnels I usually use Hard Wax Oil, I hope it’s named that way over there.

Florian

[henryflipinger]

a little confused , do i apply two layers to the side.

[bushpaddler]

Yes, one that covers only the widest part of the hull and levels the surface a bit. Then another one from top to bottom. If still confused then I'll try to make a quick drawing....

Flo

[henryflipinger]

10-4 thanks, i think i got it. a whole sheet that covers from front to back and from bottom of the gunnel to where the side of the bulk head or stop at the second chine? and then second one that covers the same area or from the 1st chine back up to the gunnel. a pic or drawing is always great

[bushpaddler]

I attached a sketch, red is the boat, blue the 2 layers of foam. Hope this helps...

[henryflipinger]

that is pretty cool thanks, that will look good in the boat and more comfortable.

[henryflipinger]

what do you use to treat new Ash gunnels?

[Todhunter]

what do you use to treat new Ash gunnels?

I apply Watco Teak oil. For new gunwales, I go 3-4 coats, and I re-apply every other trip, or every trip if there is damage to the gunwale.