: 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/

Btw, to minimize the odd angles where stringers end on a SOF, the "T-shirt test" works great. Take an old T-shirt that's not full of holes and cut it so it's one flat piece of material, that material is stretchy, so can be draped over the framework and pulled tight so you can tell if edges look right or if they stick out, before you cover it.

I think this has been covered somewhere before, I didn't think of it.

Bill H.