C-Forum

I've found an open boat which I like very much and am planning to buy it - Blue Hole Sequel. It handled very well but in big waves it was very wet. I've had 2 other open boats (Encore and H2Pro) which were the same way. I paddled thru big stuff and did fine but took on a lot of water and had a very difficult time getting into an eddy to dump. I can't get in a C1 because of arthritis so a C1 is not my solution.
At least 15 years ago I was paddling an Explorer which was my only boat and as a solution to the "wet" problem I duct taped a sheet of 4 mil clear plastic over the deck on the bow and it did the job of keeping out the water, but it looked like crap! My flotation at the time was some large blocks of orange styrofoam which also looked like crap but worked.
My question is: Is there any type of deck cover out there which could maybe cover the bow of the boat? My plastic kept out about 90% of the splash. I thought about getting some neoprene and elastic and making something. I remember about 20 years or more ago seeing a spray skirt for an open boat which covered the whole boat and had a tunnel in the center for the paddler. I don't want the whole boat covered - just the bow. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance.

how about this?

http://www.outdoorsolutions.ca/keepherdry.html

WW

...or http://www.northwater.com

Another option to keep your boat drier in big water is to install a surfdeck, basically a much longer plastic deck (I have seen 3ft + decks on Phantoms and Ocoees) and then to build a V-shaped dam out of minicell foam onto it to shed the water coming over it away from the cockpit area.
This seems to work quite well. The decks usually seem to be made out of a 1/8" sheet of ABS and are screwed directly to the gunnels.

martin

WW and Craig, thanks. I have bookmarked those sites for future reference.

Martin, Any ideas on where to get the abs sheets? I had thought about the V dam thing. The deck of my Sunfish sailboat has one made of plastic (or fiberglass) and serves the purpose of routing the water away from the cockpit. It's low profile and would not interfere with paddling. It could be glued and/or screwed to the abs deck sheet.

I've wondered why there isn't an open boat with enclosed bow and stern like sea kayaks. The cockpit could even have a rim for a spray skirt. And the bow and stern could be equiped with a hatch for dry storage. This would also eliminate the need for air bags. I realize this would make the boat heavier, but the Sequel is only 40 lbs (with no flotation and outfitting).

Look in your yellow pages under plastics. We have a place conveniently named "Commercial Plastics" that sells all sorts of materials. I recently bought a sheet of about 1/16" x 4' x 8' ABS for about $16. I personally think 1/8" think would be more than you need - I'd say try the 1/16" and double it if you find you need to.

Scott

Geezer too wrote:I've wondered why there isn't an open boat with enclosed bow and stern like sea kayaks. The cockpit could even have a rim for a spray skirt. And the bow and stern could be equiped with a hatch for dry storage. This would also eliminate the need for air bags. I realize this would make the boat heavier, but the Sequel is only 40 lbs (with no flotation and outfitting).

You're describing Verlen Kruger's Seawind. Paddled around North and South America (including Cape Horn) as well as up and down the Colorado River. It's a big sucker - 70 something pounds but just about bullet proof. There are some interesting details too. The molded seat can be flipped over to become a portage yoke. Two can be rigidly connected w/ aluminum tubing to make a catamaran for really big water runs.

http://www.krugercanoes.com/

Take a look.

WW

I too am sick of wallowing around in a bathtub full of water. I may end up getting an Ocoee, which seems downright sprightly when it's full- compared to an Ovation;-)

In the mean time, I'm trying something like this:

[img]http://www.bobfoote.com/images/techniqu ... urfing.jpg[/img]

and this:

http://www.rapidrunnerbilge.com/

My hope is that these modifications will be a reasonable substitute for skill!

SYOTR,
Kevin

FYI The 1/8" black ABS they sold me is the exact same material in the exact same thickness as the existing deck plates on my Phantom and Ovation. It's not all that heavy, but probably heavy enough to make it not worth putting a larger deck plate/spalsh rail on the stern- unless you run stuff backwards a lot.

Thanks everyone!

Kevin, that's a lot like what I had in mind. Have you tried it? If so, how well does it work? There are some plastic dealers in the local yellow pages so I'll give them a call tomorrow.

Robert

Haven't tried it yet. I just got the boat ready last weekend. The larger deck plate is installed- I just have to glue on the splash rail. The bilge pump seems to work as advertised.

It's too bad I've never paddled a Phantom before, because I won't be able to make a "before and after" comparison, but I'll post my impressions as soon as I can get out on something with Cockpit Moisture Potential.

K

I just went to Verlen Kruger's website and it states that Verlen passed away just this week. Go to the website when you have the time and learn a little about a man who a lot of us never knew.

Vaya con Dios, Verlen.

Neal (KNeal)

I first heard of Verlon about 24 years ago. I was working in an outfitter shop. He and his son-in-law were beginning one of their first expeditions. I think they were paddling across Canada. I know they had specially built boats (Mad River?) with rudders operated by cables. The cables were attached at one end to a knee operated rig that aided them in turning the boats. Seems like the boats were rather big and heavy (to accommodate gear) and their trip included a lot of open flat water.
When I read above about Verlon I wondered what had become of him. I guess I'll go check out the site.

I guess that out of respect for the man, I should at least spell his name correctly. Verlen. Sorry about that.