Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
By:JohnAbercrombie
Date: 4/10/2017, 6:15 pm

Klaas-Thanks for the update!

In our last mails we have been discussing deck height. Bjorn makes quite a compelling argument for keeping the deck low, basically because it gives more control over the kayak. I still need to think about it a little bit, but right now I feel I should do as he suggests.

What shoe size do you wear? I wear Sz 9.5-10 (euro 43 or so) shoes and I can paddle my Frej (standard/designed deck height) when wearing neoprene 'river shoes' or 'creek boots'. If I try to wear my 'water shoes' (like a running shoe), my feet don't fit comfortably.

Keep in mind that a lot of 'Greenland' paddlers (like Bjorn?) have become accustomed to paddling while 'pointing their toes' forward to fit under tight decks. My advice would be to build a short section of the kayak as a trial - use scrap strips - across a couple of forms (Station 4-5-6 ?) where your feet will land, and see how comfortable you are.

Using foam against the bulkhead as a footrest can give a few more options for moving your feet around, but in the Frej my feet pretty well only fit 'one way'.

Messages In This Thread

Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Klaas -- 4/7/2017, 4:05 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Justin -- 4/7/2017, 4:36 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
klaas -- 4/7/2017, 5:15 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy *PIC*
Curtis Fisher -- 4/7/2017, 7:29 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
scottbaxter -- 4/7/2017, 8:03 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Mike Bielski -- 4/7/2017, 8:14 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Mark N -- 4/7/2017, 8:26 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy *PIC*
Dan Caouette (CSCWC) -- 4/7/2017, 8:57 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
klaas -- 4/7/2017, 10:09 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
klaas -- 4/8/2017, 4:00 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
JohnAbercrombie -- 4/9/2017, 9:03 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
klaas -- 4/10/2017, 5:08 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
JohnAbercrombie -- 4/10/2017, 6:15 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
klaasje -- 4/12/2017, 9:44 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy *PIC*
JohnAbercrombie -- 4/12/2017, 10:26 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Bill Hamm -- 4/13/2017, 1:59 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
JohnAbercrombie -- 4/13/2017, 10:42 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Ralph Merriman -- 4/11/2017, 11:57 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
klaasje -- 4/12/2017, 9:47 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
JohnAbercrombie -- 4/12/2017, 9:57 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Ralph Merriman -- 4/12/2017, 11:31 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
JohnAbercrombie -- 4/7/2017, 4:26 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy *PIC*
klaas -- 5/28/2017, 1:27 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Etienne Muller -- 5/28/2017, 2:10 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/28/2017, 4:14 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Bill Hamm -- 5/28/2017, 9:45 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Jan Jensen -- 5/29/2017, 5:12 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
Marc Upchurch -- 5/29/2017, 3:57 pm
Re: Strip: aligning forms
Steve Solomon -- 5/30/2017, 2:06 pm
Re: Strip: aligning forms
JohnAbercrombie -- 5/30/2017, 2:45 pm
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy *PIC*
klaas -- 7/22/2017, 8:38 am
Re: Strip: Bjorn thomasson frej for big guy
JohnAbercrombie -- 7/22/2017, 10:03 am