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> I was following the thread on the "puffin", few wweeks ago, but
> didn't had the time to post the following:
> The puffin has a distinct shape that is sure to turn heads & hurt
> necks. I'm sure I would turn my head when/if I'll see one. I hope it will
> be on the water & not while driving.
> the thing that made me drop my mouth is the recessed coaming. I'm
> currently building a "coho", & @ some point during the
> construction I went to a place where they sell & rent kayaks, to take
> measurments & make some drawings of hatches forms & locations,
> & skegs. that's the place I use to rent kayaks - it's called
> "water ways kayaks", & it's in Hollywood florida. I thought
> I should give the man the credit for the advice he gave me (following).
> his name is Jeff.
> It's about the ability of eskimo roll a kayak. It goes like this:
> lets take a common S&G, a c-17, coho, whatever.. What's the heigt from the
> inside bottom of the hull to the underside of the deck just behind the
> backrest ? in the coho it's 10", on the others I guess it's a similar
> number. The coaming adds about an inch.
> For eskimo roll you need to lean back - alot! but the way the wooden
> coamings are constructed makes it harder/impossible for you to lean back
> far enough so it's harder for you to eskimo-roll, or maybe you can't do it
> @ all & you don't know why...
> The solution is to drop the deck in a slope, few inches behind the coaming
> @ the back, & then put the coaming @ the bottom of the slope, the way
> it's done on the puffin.
> with the puffin they did it all around, but eskimo-roll-wise it's enough
> to do it in the back.
> While I consider this advice very smart, I didn't implemented it yet. My
> current coho is my first one & I want to paddle it a little before
> breaking it to pieces. I plan on implementing it along with TAKE-A-PART.
> hope you find it useful
> merry x-mas everybody
> erez
I'm in the process of completing a Coho and had the exact same thought when I saw the recessed coming on the puffin a few weeks ago. Aside from production boats and strippers like N. Schades design, I have not seen a recessed coming in S&G designs. I agree with you wholeheartedly about rolling. I cannot easily roll my current Chesapeakes because of the high cockpit comings. Leaning your head right back on the deck drastically improves your success rate. I bought the Coho for its reputed rolling ability, but I am still concerned with the coming - it's still to high. I hope to pursue the same solution, i.e., sloping the rear deck to accomodate a recess only in the rear section of the coming. Since I have not starting decking the Coho yet, I have time to think about how to best do this and hope to use the Puffin postings as a guide.
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Guillemot Kayak - High
Performance Wooden Sea Kayak Designs
