Builder’s
Name |
Skip Snaith |
email |
qayaqskip@hotmail.com or kyak@rockisland.com |
Name and source
of boat design |
The Alaskin series, my design, based
on a Fox island Aleutian single |
Type of
construction and materials |
Skin on frame. |
Dimensions and
finished weight |
15' 8" LOA, custom 25" beam (has been
built to 22 ") 8 " deep amidships (keel to gunwales), fairly low deckrise.
Custom large (32x18) cockpit. 8 oz nylon skin. Paddling weight 29 lbs. |
Date of first
launch |
August 1998 |
Height &
Weight of paddler |
Built for customer, not sure, but I'm 5'7",
165 and it was ok for me. |
Typical paddling
conditions ( eg. Open ocean, flat river, white water river, etc) |
Open ocean, San Juan Islands, Norwalk Islands. |
|
My
comments on the boat’s performance: (as applicable to particular design: stability,
speed, tracking, maneuverability, effects of wind and waves, load carrying capacity,
general "feel" and overall seaworthiness) |
This is a fast, very manuverable
boat that gave up nothing for tracking. I use a modified aleutian stern board construction
that works very well. Responsiveness and being a pleasure (fun) to paddle were major
design goals. It is especially good in rock gardens, and can spin with two good sweeps,
and wants to surf on anything over 6" high. It has a low profile and balanced ends
for good behavior in winds. There is generous cockpit room because I built it for an
older paddler who wanted comfort. Plenty of room for overnights and weekend trips, but a
really fine day boat too. A very sweet paddler that I would not hesitate to take just
about anywhere. |
My
comments on building the boat: (time, cost of materials, building tips, unusual
techniques, recommended reading, etc.) |
Yellow cedar longitudunals; red
cedar bow and stern blocks; Yellow cedar lower bow; grown deckbeams of cedar; juniper,
apple and fir; grown apple stern post; ribs of willow, apple and a few cedar withes. "Feather"
is pretty standard skin-on-frame, with a few changes to the bow and stern construction. I
use a curved sternpost that retains the sternboard functionality, but is somewhat shorter,
which creates a slightly more pronounced skeg effect. I like boats with adequate rocker,
"hard mouthed" boats are no fun to paddle. I find the three piece keel to be an
important part of this design. Ribs are a mix of natural materials, but I used 4
"canoe style" oak ribs where the paddler sits to set the shape and for comfort.
There are quite a number of carvings worked onto a variety of structural members.
This boat has a strong Aleutian heritage, but is my own development, and differs
significantly in number of stringers, implimentation of frame flex, and configuration of
the stern. |
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