I am so glad to find others willing to chop and cut perfectly good boats to make them a little better in ways they want! I seem to have this driving need to modify everything I touch to make it better. I am glad someone else is doing it.
Here below is a test paddle by one of the Hurricane Riders kayaking team after modifying a NDK Romany.
Flat Water Surfing at Carolina Beach
I was king of reminded about that quote from "Jaws", "You're gonna need a bigger boat". I felt like I could have done better with a Sea Kayak given that the waves were small and not very steep. But I had a great time!
Thanks Virginia and Curry for the pictures and the late lunch!
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And thanks Chris for coming along!
Thanks Virginia and Curry for the pictures and the late lunch!
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Skegectomy
I always hated the way my Cobra Expedition Kayak turned. It took about 10 to sweep strokes to turn it 180 degrees if you edged it. Turning it flat only increased the sweep count to 11 or twelve strokes.
I had paddled it for a few years and liked most everything about the boat, but one afternoon with my friends Dawn and Lee I noticed that could keep up with them but had to go work much harder and go farther because I could not turn the kayak. So I started looking to sell it and trying to find something similar. Unfortunately there is nothing close to what I want for sale within a 500 hundred mile drive.
I wanted plastic for dragging over rocks and logs in my local rivers. I wanted a sit on top, because it is so much easier to get in and out in shallow water or on and off rocks or logs. ( I think this is why must wade fishermen prefer Sit on Tops) I wanted it at least 17 feet long and no more than 24 inches wide for decent speed. And finally it needed to handle a 250 pound load for racing and more like 310 for cruising. If you know of a boat like this please bring it by, because I still want to find it and try it.
Since I couldn't find a boat that was better for me than the Cobra Expedition I decided I would make the Expedition better for me.
Here is the boat with the mark of how much I wanted off of the skeg.
I found the skeg was solid! So I had planned the cuts all wrong.
Here the skeg is removed.
I left plenty of solid stuff fo future rock dragging resistance.
I tried welding it back together with a heat gun like I had seen some people try but it is very easy to get whole sections too hot and bendy this way. In the future I'll stick to welding plastic with and iron type plastic welder and a hair dryer to keep things warm.
Here is the boat post skegectomy operation. Ready for a test paddle!
I had paddled it for a few years and liked most everything about the boat, but one afternoon with my friends Dawn and Lee I noticed that could keep up with them but had to go work much harder and go farther because I could not turn the kayak. So I started looking to sell it and trying to find something similar. Unfortunately there is nothing close to what I want for sale within a 500 hundred mile drive.
I wanted plastic for dragging over rocks and logs in my local rivers. I wanted a sit on top, because it is so much easier to get in and out in shallow water or on and off rocks or logs. ( I think this is why must wade fishermen prefer Sit on Tops) I wanted it at least 17 feet long and no more than 24 inches wide for decent speed. And finally it needed to handle a 250 pound load for racing and more like 310 for cruising. If you know of a boat like this please bring it by, because I still want to find it and try it.
Since I couldn't find a boat that was better for me than the Cobra Expedition I decided I would make the Expedition better for me.
Here is the boat with the mark of how much I wanted off of the skeg.
I found the skeg was solid! So I had planned the cuts all wrong.
Here the skeg is removed.
I left plenty of solid stuff fo future rock dragging resistance.
I tried welding it back together with a heat gun like I had seen some people try but it is very easy to get whole sections too hot and bendy this way. In the future I'll stick to welding plastic with and iron type plastic welder and a hair dryer to keep things warm.
Here is the boat post skegectomy operation. Ready for a test paddle!
Well I am a little sad that I uglied the stern of my boat up so much. I am trying to smooth it out with G-Flex epoxy, but I've been having some adherence issues in spit of pre-sanding and flaming. So I have a good bit of work to do before it is pretty.
On the good side it now paddles much better! I can turn it 180 degrees with five strokes with edging and 7 or 8 strokes if I keep the hull flat! Aslo it is easy to paddle without the rudder because small adjustment for wind are made simply with a bit of edging during and a bit of sweep at the beginning of the forward stroke. It now paddles like some of my favorite handling kayaks. I can't wait to take it in the surf again!
Neuse River - One of my Favorite places to paddle
The Neuse river is one of my favorite places to paddle here at home. Soon, we plan to move less than a 10 minutes drive from a canoe launch on the Neuse.
When the flow is just right there are some good surfing waves.
This is taken from the greenway bridge as it crosses the river just downstream of the Old Milburnie Dam Canoe Launch. This is the one section of the river that require a portage because of this 10 foot dam. In the future they plan to tear this dam down.
This is the long path from the parking lot to the canoe launch ramp at Poole Road. This is the last launch in Wake County I have used. It would be very prudent to bring a cart for your boat as it is now about 100 yards from the "improved" parking area to the unimproved canoe launch.
At each section along the greenway where there is a access to a road they have put in these beautiful markers.
At the outlet of the Dam from Falls of the Neuse Reservoir there are good places to practice some white water skills.
When the flow is just right there are some good surfing waves.
A paved greenway follows the river and crosses back an forth across it so you can easily walk or bike it and see the paddlers and anglers on days when you do not have time to launch a boat.
As you can see this urban section of the river in Raleigh escaped the industrialization that many rivers experienced. Down stream of Wake County it is a different story along the river.
This is taken from the greenway bridge as it crosses the river just downstream of the Old Milburnie Dam Canoe Launch. This is the one section of the river that require a portage because of this 10 foot dam. In the future they plan to tear this dam down.
This is the long path from the parking lot to the canoe launch ramp at Poole Road. This is the last launch in Wake County I have used. It would be very prudent to bring a cart for your boat as it is now about 100 yards from the "improved" parking area to the unimproved canoe launch.
At each section along the greenway where there is a access to a road they have put in these beautiful markers.
And Finally I will add that Anderson Point Park is a great place to launch a boat or get married!
Check out the Neuse river Paddle Map on Google Maps for more information:
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