Looks awesome

How about putting a kit together some time? How long did it take to make... and so on?

Well done

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +2

Nice work. How do you calculate/judge where to put the seat? I have been cotemplating building a stripper but its a lot of work to end up with major trim problems.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

Hi Richard and Jim
A bit of an estimate, but about 200 hours to build. You could do it quicker but I was keen to get everything as fair and accurate as I could. If anyone wants the design they are welcome to my delftship files and spreadsheets with coordinates for all the parts.
Some time ago when building another kayak I made a rough seat with a vertical board against my back and sat in it, balanced on a large tube to find my centre of gravity in paddling position. Turned out for me that it was almost exactly 300mm from the back board to my CoG. I did wonder at the time about "squat" and thought I would err on the side of bow down - guessed about 20mm adjustment would do the trick (ie position my CoG 20mm forward of the kayak CoB) I tried to get some advice on this from the various kayak building forums but couldn't get any definitive answer. Trim on that boat was OK so I used the same measurements again. Trim on the new ski has worked out according to the design and looks OK on flat water. Have yet to try it out in the sea. Having paddled it for a few hours on the river last weekend I am very pleased with it so far.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +1

Hi Brad, that looks stunning. Great to see some "SOUL" in the sport!

Dawid

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

... sounds and looks great! Brad, what are specifications of your surfski? I would love to post some pictures of your boat in my Fitness Paddling blog.
Marek
http://race.fit2paddle.com

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

Length is 5.7m (short for a ski but hopefully there is enough volume above the waterline at the bow to avoid going down the mine all the time - have yet to try it out down wind)
Max. width is 470mm
Width at footrest 370mm
I am hoping to complete wet sanding and polishing this weekend so will get some photos of the finished article after that.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

I sail and kayak on the Bay of Fundy, in Canada.
My kayak is one of these...
http://www.seaknife.com/fierce.htm

It's not as good as it looks. The coaming and hatches are crap, but the hull shape is actually very good. I got it used cheap. I'm interested in converting it to a surf ski, if it can still be called that at 23" wide. It's not going to be one of those fat sit on tops anyway. I've already added bouyancy on the inside of the cockpit so I can self-rescue from a wet exit in a manner similar to surf skis, ending up in butt first. I still practice eskimo rolls, but I am very comfortable with wet exits and reentries from my laser sailing experience, especially around ocean swells and surf and rocks. We don't have alot of big surf here, but we do have long swells and lots of rocks that like to pop up for a visit, and 26' of tide so its hard to remember where all the rocks are depending on where the tide is at. I really like the idea of being able to dress for the water temperature without getting overheated in summer. The surface temperature here varies 2degC in March to 12degC in September. I only paddle in winter when it is very calm, and stay in Harbours.

Thanks for the photos. Worth a million bucks.
I might try something skinnier later, but 23.5" is skinny enough for now. Cheers.

p.s. I will add a skeg or rudder also. It tracks well, but tends to broach.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

Beautiful boat Brad.
I've built a Chesapeake 17 and have a half finished oneOcean Cirrus hybrid. Both hanging in the rafters nowadays since I discovered ocean Skis. I love paddling my Red7 Surf70 but really miss looking down the deck of a wooden boat that I've built myself. And then I discover this thread and the grey matter hasn't stopped churning.
So at this stage, I'm thinking about building my own S&G ocean ski. My plan is to use a Pax 20 hull as a platform (www.clcboats.com).
Was wondering:
* Where did you use carbon fibre? I can't see any so thought you might have used some internally.
* It looks like you have fitted venturis but i can't see any holes in the footwell. Did you make your own or did you find a supplier?
* I can't see any foot straps. Have you fitted any or aren't they needed.

Once again looks great. Cheers

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

Hi Craig
I lined the inside with 200 gsm carbon as I thought there might be some benefit in stiffening the flat panels compared with just glass. The boat is very stiff but maybe it would have been anyway. I tend to over build things a bit. The bit of carbon on the transom is just a fashion detail!
I made the venturis by cutting some PVC pipe at an angle and lining with carbon (just for looks - another fashion detail). They seem to work OK but could be better ie when the cockpit gets filled going out through surf I wish it would drain faster. I see on the Huki web site you can buy them so maybe that would be the best option. The drain holes are about 4" back from the foot plate - hard to see in the photo above, so they don't get partially blocked by my heals.
I haven't installed footstraps - I don't miss them but some people who try the ski find there is nothing to hang onto when re-mounting. I may put some on one day.
Good luck

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

thanks Brad,
I had already added the huki venturi link into my favorites. Ideally, I would like some Red7 venturis as they are extremely efficient and the bulb provides some extra protection for the shroud.
Another question: Regarding the CF, did you have any problems laying it into the chines? I've never used the stuff before but have been told that it doesn't like sharp changes in direction.
cheers, Craig

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

Yes, the 200 gsm carbon cloth is pretty stiff. I filleted the chines and keel line generously and managed to get the cloth to conform - continued to press it down with the squeegy, especially along the chines and on the vertical sides,until the epoxy was cured enough to keep it all in place. Very hard to do near the ends of the boat without getting in a sticky mess, so I stopped about 300mm short of the ends. There was one small area of cloth which still lifted, much to my annoyance. It was on a flat horizontal area - perhaps I was not as diligent where the going was easy ...
If I did it all again I would probably use 90 gsm carbon though and save another 600 grams or so. The 90 gsm cloth in my local shop was a lot softer. At the time it was more expensive than 200gsm so I used the latter.

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0

PS
Further to the recent discussions on etiquette on the forum, with the layup I used ie 4mm wood core with 200 gsm carbon and 100 gsm glass, I don't need to worry about etiquette. You can't deflect the hull at all, and with such a strong carbon weave on the inside, an impact is unlikely to cause any damage other than to the outside, which is easily repairable : )

report abuse

vote down

vote up

Votes: +0