: I launched the Siskiwit Bay 165 yesterday. It came in at 35 pounds,
: with float bags, Snap Dragon back band, Keepers foot braces and
: Happy Bottom seat. I wish I had used lighter (and more rigid)
: cedar, over the radiata pine.

: I am happy to say that the boat design does seem to be what I have
: been seeking in a skin-on-frame, from the amount of freeboard
: and foot room, to the rocker, multi-chines, handling and
: efficiency... at least in calm water and little wind.

: Comparisons to the WS Tempest 165 abound, since that's been my most
: regular ride this past year, and since there is a fair amount of
: similarity to the lines. The Siskiwit is an inch narrower, and
: is more efficient, allowing easier cruising, and maybe a half
: mph more sprinting speed. It's easier to paddle in a straight
: line than the Tempest is with its skeg retracted. It responds
: more readily to a light edge, and about the same to hard edge.

: My only misgiving about boats of this style is that they won't
: coast in a straight line -- a quite useful characteristic for
: snapping on-the-go photos. Well, the Tempest would, if I quickly
: dropped the skeg before raising the camera. Then, I'd forget to
: take the skeg back to about 25%, and would wonder why the boat
: seemed to be dragging.

: My issues come down to doing something with the foot braces, and
: need of thigh braces. The Keepers take up about an inch of width
: on each side that my feet really need, to be comfortable. I
: think I'll take them out, and work up an aluminum crossbar
: setup.

: A lot of the pleasure I get paddling is from edging around
: obstacles and convoluted lake and stream shorelines. I need
: thigh braces. This will also come to light when paddling in
: wind, without a skeg. I had intended to add a keyhole shape to
: the plywood coaming lip overlay, but, I forgot to do it! I have
: already pressed knee bumps into the polyester skin, trying to
: get some contact for edging.

: I would like to know if anyone has padded out some kind of useful
: thigh braces in a Yost style SOF.

: Another thing I neglected to do: Where the deck shoulder stringers
: join the forward cockpit bulkhead... I rounded the corners
: there, a bit, just as a matter of good practice. But, I didn't
: realize how prominent those corners would be, under the taught
: skin, with the coaming in place. By the time I realized how
: sharply they were poking out, it was too late to do anything
: about it. Damn!

: Jeff's videos on polyester skinning were very helpful. Coming from
: nylon, I was concerned. But, it came out well. A few things I
: think I learned... I skipped pinning down the keelson. With the
: cloth clamped along the gunwales, and lacking the
: stitched-pocket stretch of the nylon technique, I found it
: useful to pull taught down the keel line, and clamp at the
: stems. I didn't iron 100% of the cloth -- but now believe I
: should have; a few localized areas that had seemed tight enough,
: now seem less taught, or show slight irregularities, as from
: having been folded. When applying oil based paint, don't be
: running a ceiling fan! I was in the middle of my 5th application
: (3 coats x top + bottom) before I figured out that it was
: causing the paint at one end of the boat to more quickly tack up
: and become less stroke-able.

: Bryan, I'll be in touch later today.
:
: http://www.paddlinglight.com/articles/free-kayak-and-canoe-plans/siskiwit-bay-multi-chined-kayak-plans-for-plywood-building/

Looks very nice :)

Btw, the pine is far more rigid than if it were done in cedar, heavier but more stiff.

Bill H.