Re: MC 16.5 questions

Posted by Terry Mcadams on Jul 20, 2004

Conditions for the one long paddle were 8 -12 knot breezes in a 1/2 mile wide harbor. Waves one foot with 2 - 3 foot waves as power boats passed.

With the rudder down, it handles similarly to a shorter canoe with a lake keel. With rudder up, it tracks poorly into the wind, ok down wind, as my 50 lb. weight difference over Jen allowed the sharp but short aft keel to get some bite.

Making the side decks wider is an option to make the boat dryer, but you may want to think this through before you do. One thing I like about the wide cockpit is the knee/leg room, which, with a bad back, allows me to move my legs in a variety of ways to avoid pain and numbness ( I can even drape them over the side). Widening the side decks would reduce or eliminate this nice feature. A narrower cockpit would also make the boat a bit more difficult to sail, as you could not shift your weight to windward as much as with a wider cockpit.

I recall someone talking about a spray skirt for the MC a while back on this forum. Something to consider if you're using the boat for long journeys or in colder weather

I don't dislike the boat so far. It's pretty much as I expected it would be. Slow, a bit clumsy and needing a rudder. One of those dripless paddles may help the stern paddlers. And I suspect it will sail ok in light airs. It will also hold a kid or two along with two adults. But folks should know this is not a quick, good-tracking, spritely sea kayak.

One other modification I plan to make: I always install brass rub strips on the first and last 18" of the keels of my boats. Great for the rocks and coarse sand of Maine and Nova Scotia. With the MC, the keel changes to a flat bottom in about 6", which will expose the flat bottom to damage. What I plan to do is glue on two or three more half-oval brass strip on the first and last foot or two on the flat bottom, arranged in a fan design. Won't be able to screw and glue these on, as the bottom is so thin. May be able to use 1/2" screws and reach in there and grind off the tips with the Dremel, or use small lock nuts with washers on small machine screws. Have to think about this more.

terry

In Response to: MC 16.5 questions by Jon T on Jul 20, 2004

Replies:

• Re: MC 16.5 questions by Jon T on Jul 20, 2004
  • Re: MC 16.5 questions by Terry Mcadams on Jul 20, 2004
    • MC 16.5, plenty of fun by Nancy on Jul 20, 2004
      • Re: MC 16.5, plenty of fu by Dave on Jul 20, 2004
        • Re: MC 16.5, plenty of fu by Jon T on Jul 21, 2004
          • Re: MC 16.5, plenty of fu by Dave on Jul 21, 2004
      • Re: MC 16.5, plenty of fu by Terry Mcadams on Jul 21, 2004
    • Re: MC 16.5 questions by Jon T on Jul 21, 2004
      • Thanks by Jon T on Jul 22, 2004