After using the new pedal drive canoe with the outrigger for a few weeks, I’m already planning for the next iteration. As I’ve said multiple times already, I am never going to build another hybrid solo/tandem. The boat just sits too high in the water, and catches too much wind in solo mode. Also, the wind down here in Baja is ferocious so even for a solo, I think I would probably drop the ends and deck them over to give me a little more control.
As far as the outrigger goes, it does make for a really nice stable platform for fishing and photography, but it’s also just more dragged and more windage. With the outrigger attached, the boat seems to have about the same amount of drag as any other wide fishing kayak, which does take a little bit of the magic away. The float is definitely oversized for this size of canoe so I will be ordering a smaller one for the next one. The nice thing is that the outrigger system sets up and breaks down in minutes so I can choose to use it or not depending on conditions.
The flat plate aluminum rudder is dead easy to build, and works reasonably well for what it is but I do think I will offer another version of it that is significantly more expensive and more challenging to build with a foil shape for better control. That way people can decide if the extra effort is worth it.
Honestly, I’m still pretty freaked out in the wind and waves, which has more to do with my background as a kayaker and less to do with the canoe. In a kayak I’ll just keep fishing in 5 foot wind waves and a 25 knot crosswind, but in a canoe I’m running for shelter the minute the wind hits 15 and the chop is 2 feet tall. I’m hoping I can push that envelope a little bit further with next year’s solo design just for a little bit of extra safety factor. If I could build something more like a Kruger canoe with a pedal drive in it, I think that would give me an acceptable amount of seaworthiness, even if it’s not as much as I’m used to.
Song is a Pinch of Salt by Headlund, licensed through epidemic music.
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