Rainy day activities: This week I’m rigging the new 14 footer, trying to find the least worst float bags that are currently manufactured, and figuring out seat location and seat balance with various gear loads in various situations.
So much of what I do it is just figuring out annoying little technical things. Like how to fit this oversized piece of flexible polyurethane into and undersized carbon fiber tube. After two intensely frustrating hours I finally landed on a process involving a razor blade, a countersink, a freezer, some olive oil, pliers, a hard steel table top, a clamp and a hammer.
Unlike a 15 or 16 footer which can mask a sloppy seat placement, if the balance is off in a 14 footer it’s super noticeable, which makes this a great boat to learn about seat balance. I’ve got 3 seats and 3 seating locations 6 inches apart so I can try different positions with the canoe loaded and unloaded in different configurations, and also in different wind and wave conditions.
For the float bags one brand was ruled out based on availability, another based on previous experience, another I bought and returned without even putting it in the boat. So far these NRS bags are the best I’ve seen so I’ll try these out for a while and if they suck I might think about having my friend Alan of Waterlight Custom Float Bags build something custom for us.
On a very positive note it looks like I can install full size bags and still use the catamaran boards and pop-up sail system, which is really important to me!
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