Hi folks -
I'm building my first SOF and need some help with design selection. I do have some (plastic) sea and whitewater kayak experience and a solid roll. I currently mainly paddleboard on a generic 11 footer and usually go out and paddleboard 4-4.5mph for up to an hour. Home waters are tidal rivers and inlets in the southeast, so currents and winds are a factor but no plans for big waves or beach surfing. I want a beautiful fast sportscar of a kayak for fitness/touring paddling, generally 6-10 mile jaunts. No plans to camp/overnight.
I'm a hair under 6ft, 170lb, 35 years old, and in good shape, built like a soccer player. Relatively small feet at 9.5 or 10.
I'm attracted to the Yost Sea Rover LC - I've fully lofted it out on my Okhume ply ready to cut out, but it seems pretty small even after I raised the deckridge on section 4 by 15mm (and section 3 and 2 by smaller amounts). Other intentions were to make the ends a bit more upright to increase LWL, and slight decrease in rocker at bow for more LWL and finer entry. I'm worried I may sink this thing up to the gun'l's/rear deck, or legs won't fit, or otherwise be unhappy with the performance/fit after several hundred $ and a lot of hours invested.
Can anyone give feedback on how it may fit someone my size?
I'd be open to suggestions about alternative designs. I considered Nikumi/Nikumi 19 (especially since multichine = speed) but ended up shying away due to the complexity of the bow/stern for first build, and I'm not personally a fan of that style. Would that be a better option for my desired use if I adapted a conventional bow/stern?
Thanks for any input!!
Sea Rover
Hi,
I have a Sea Tour EXP that I built with a baidarka style bow and stern. I also raised the forward deck by about 1.5 inches.
Everything worked out fine.
So I can see no reason why the changes you want to make to a make a baidarka into a multichine "conventional" kayak would not work out as well.
John VB
We have a Sea Rover with the…
We have a Sea Rover with the standard cockpit. It seems pretty small because it is pretty small. :-). My son is 6’ , size 11 shoe , was about 180# in the pics. He is about 195# now and it is still all good.