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This is a sit&switch canoe which conforms to the ICF specifications. High-kneel is for "athletes", which I am not!

@@darksidecanoes7053 that's awesome. I actually have the same thing, made by Wenonah in the late 80s/early 90s. Mine had a tractor style sliding seat that I removed and replaced with an outrigger style foam seat that's about 1 - 2 inches lower as I like to race some local class I-II whitewater races and need the extra stability haha.

Ha,ha! Carbon is good, but it's not that good.

You have a point, it would not be good for tripping, wilderness paddling or a relaxed paddle, it simply conforms to the ICF specification for racing.

Hi Duncan, I'm hoping to refine the style to move the blade path slightly away from the boat but the wing effect is quite small due to the compromises I had to make to get it symmetrical. Most of the benefit is from the scooped shape and the rotating trunk technique.

I think you need to get coaching on your single blade stroke before you try to reinvent it.

Rotating on a swivel seat feels more natural than sliding on a fixed seat and it has less impact on your back. The boat will feel less stable though and you need to ensure your feet are locked into the footrest.

Just out of curiosity, I assume you paddled during the delta era of canoe sprint, how would to compare the old deltas to modern icf c1s?

@@user-os7kz3jy5c Hi Jeffrey, l only did a little bit of Sprint C1 . Yeh, l was paddling during the era of these UK GR8's. Albert Kerr K1 Slalom. Ric h ard Fox K1 Slalom & Martin (Bushy) Hedges C1 Slalom who sadly passed away in a car accident. There was another terrific guy , pretty sure he name was Keene who also paddled C1 Slalom. I represented Australia C1 Down River & C1 Slalom. The best in the world 4 C1 Slalom 1979 for 10yr + were the Americans by along way . They had an awesome coach, Bill Endicott. And the best Australian K1 Sprint Paddler was John Sumegi . He came 2nd '79 Worlds & '80 Olympics. Gaybo Canoes built my C1 slalom boats & C1 D.R. boats . Think they r out of business these days . Pretty sure the best boats from all those disciplines come out of Europe these days .

I would love to be able to spray the gelcoat on the mold but spraying equipment is a big investment and you need to learn spraying skills to ensure a quality result. All donations towards spray equipment would be gratefully received!! 🙂

Thanks

The question is, how do you create a consistent pattern across the whole boat surface? The concept is similar to a shark's skin. Some paddler have tried to roughen the surface with sandpaper but it just produces a series of random scratches.

I'd agree with your analysis. A killer on the back which might improve with more practice but you're right, it takes too much thinking about.

@@darksidecanoes7053 I've always wondered how efficient this would be. In rowing you are pushing your body weight forwards in the direction you want to go. In a canoe you are pushing the boat forwards while pushing your bodyweight the opposite direction you want to go. It just seems like the momentum of your body weight going backwards would slow the boat down alot. Is that a wing paddle as well?

Now that's the $34,000 question! Each combination is right and there are dozens more that are equally good, but how does one know which is the best other than to try them all. I wasn't keen on the "green" fabrics as they don't look great and don't "wet out" consistently. The material cost are probably the smallest part of the overall cost as it is labour which is the biggest component which is why I never understand why customer opt for the cheapest fabrics.

Not using a rotating seat in this sequence, that development came later. This sequence certainly shows the need though.

@@darksidecanoes7053 Ok, thanks so much

Hi Tom, just finishing a write up on FB, I'll let you know when it's published (Hopefully today). I've also made the GoPro development videos public which may help your assessment.

Hi Chris, the point of this boat was to show a number of different combinations of fabric and resin. I can't afford to make four boats so I did four in one. My frustration is that there are no perfect combinations because it is a compromise, so which one is the best? It is to stimulate debate.

This was just a rough, quick video to give feedback to a racing paddler. I did it for his coach.

Hi Karl, the point of this boat was to show a number of different combinations of fabric and resin. I can't afford to make four boats so I did four in one. My frustration is that there are no perfect combinations because it is a compromise, so which one is the best? It is to stimulate debate.

@@darksidecanoes7053 ah, that makes perfect sense!

Hi, the price for a new boat is £1,800. I'd have to investigate the best/easiest way ti get the boat to Germany post-Brexit and Covid restrictions. Quickest way is to drive over to the UK.

I certainly am. I was tricked by an experienced boat builder once and got a shock.

Joining the boat down the centre line reduces the length of the join and also provides an opportunity to stiffen the lower hull join.

No, that's just for pre-preg fabrics, this is dry fabrics under vacuum, and the resin is drawn in.

@@darksidecanoes7053 Ah very cool. I tried learning how to do this and man is it hard to find info out there. I'd pay for a course if anyone ever made something like that. Hopefully I can save up and be a customer of yours sometime

@@philincaundo I made a lot of mistakes along the way!

Thanks

Don't forget the boat is designed for flat water racing, plus it supports a full length spray deck.

Thanks

You're right, it's only designed for flat water racing.

@@darksidecanoes7053 Perfect for the job.

I look forward to your order!! :-)

Thanks, but you would not believe how hard it was to get to this position.

Well spotted. It's all I had in the workshop. I rarely use pigment.

@@darksidecanoes7053 Thanks for the reply.

The experience of making many mistakes! This is the frustration of the composites industry, there is no knowledge base, and engineers are reluctant to share information. This is what I would like to change. For racing canoes, I choose a 200 gram carbon weave layer, and a 200 gram hybrid carbon/innegra or other other aramid (but not Kevlar). I use Soric ribs to add rigidity.

@@darksidecanoes7053 Hey, why not Kevlar?

@@vspetkov I'm not great fan of Kevlar. It was invented back in 1965 and there have been other more modern products developed since, including Innegra and Twaron. Kevlar starts nice and golden colour, but as it ages and absorbs water it turns an ugly dark brown. I know it's used by many canoe manufacturers by I sometimes wonder if that is because they've always used it, or because they really do think it's the best.

Very tidy result!! What was the weight of the bare hull?

I didn't really give it a good go because it is built for an exhibition display. I wouldn't use plant based fabrics for racing boats though.

Sorry, prosthetics are way out of my comfort zone.