SEA ISLAND SPORT

Haven't read a single word about this design.   Any views, comments please on either building or paddling this craft.   I think it may suit my inflexible 70 y.o. joints in terms of getting in and out readily... also my (minor) concern about capsizing and being unable to extricate myself from a conventional cockpit.   Many thanks...

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RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

Hey lol,

That's because all the initial buzz is in the old forum archives from a couple of years ago when the SIS was first introduced. You need to go there to search for all the good stuff people said about it.

But, just to save you some time, here's a few links to that old stuff which I dug up this morning:

SIS1, SIS2, SIS3, SIS4

I'll give away the punchline right now - people like it. As far as your 70 year old joints go, that first link shows George K's 82 year old dad paddling around in a SIS (and that was the beta test version with a shorter cockpit than the current production model has).

Capsiszing - I tried one out at Okoumefest a couple of years ago, including getting out of it and getting back in unaided in deep water. I was unable to make it capsize. I sat on the edge of the cockpit with my legs over the side and fell out before that boat tipped over. It'd take a lot of work to capsize one if you were completely inside the cockpit.

I was within a week or two of actually buying a kit myself, but then the Wood Duck series came out and I fell in love with the WD12. But the SIS is still a great boat and the only good-looking SOT I've ever seen.

Laszlo

 

 

RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

Many thanks for valuable comments Lazlo - I like your phrase that the craft has a 'sculpted' look - it sure does!   I'm reassured also about the stability, being quite inexperienced in the kayaking arena.

I have tentatively ordered my kit from CLC, but due to current unfavourable exchange rates (AUS$ = US65c) and cost of shipping may now change to building from plans - give me something extra to do in my retirement.

Thanks again - Lol from Oz

RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

Well I ordered just the plans and book.  I am about 50% complete.  I started the project in late Oct 08 and only work 1-2 weekends per month.  Its a pretty simple design and easy to put together.  Since this is my first plywood boat I really didn't know what to expect.  The process is straight forward.  Transferring the pattern to wood and cutting out is probably the most work along with making the joints.  You don't have to be a skill craftsman to do this. Stiching the panels together goes very quickly.

 

Guy

RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

To Guywood - that's encouraging - I'm about to receive my plans and building instructions and have the workshop and tools all set up and ready to go!   It would be useful to compare notes as we go, if you agree - I'm on [email protected] (sunny Australia).   If you'd like to share experiences/ issues/ solutions maybe we could do so... over to you, with thanks.   Lol from Oz

 

ps - I have one question already - there don't appear to be any sheer clamps in the hull to which the deck would be attached - have you thought about this one yet? (I assume you're not quite to that stage yet, but...).   L 

RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

Lol,

You're right, there's no sheer clamps. What happens is that you wire the deck on, turn the boat sideways, reach in through the hatch openings and put down an epoxy fillet. Then while that's setting up, you take a piece of glass tape of the correct length, saturate it in epoxy and roll it up. Now, very quickly before the epoxy gels, you put the tape onto the fillet and unroll it with a brush mounted on a stick such that it smoothly covers the fillet and you have your taped seam. You unroll from the center of the boat towards the front or back.

This gets repeated a total of 4 times, 2 back, 2 front. That's the reason that you have to have the hatches - otherwise there's no way to put in the interior fillets.

There's a also a variation (which is what I prefer to do) where you tack the deck in place with little dabs of epoxy, let them cure and remove the wires. The rest of the process is the same. I like the tack method because it makes a lighter seam which uses less epoxy, while staying just as strong as the other method.

Both should be explained in your construction manual. You might also want to invest in some tyvek sleeves to keep the mess off your arms.

Have fun,

Laszlo

 

RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

Thanks again, Laszlo - I thought that might be the case.   PROBLEM though - I may well elect not to install any hatches (and of course there's no cockpit opening) - craft will be used only for shorter day-sailing trips, or at most I may put in only the rear hatch.   Even so, my arms are not 8' long!   Therefore I think I'll have to plan to install a sheer clamp and deal with it like other craft with the same element in their construction.   Glass tape will be rolled over the deck/ hull join so that should suffice with a well-epoxied deck/ sheer joint.... says he, hopefully!

Cheers... Lol from Oz

RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

Lol,

That was also discussed on the old forum and definitely not recommended. The main problem is that the angle at which the hull and deck meet are not conducive to sheer clamp installations.The outward pressure of the sheer clamps would distort the hull to where the deck wouldn't fit, or something like that. Also, by the time you made the clamps thick enough to give sufficient bearing area, you'd have added significant weight to the boat.

You do have to have hatches, but you don't have to be an orangutang to do it as specified. A brush on a stick takes care of the reach problem. It worked fine on my WD12, though I was also very doubtful. I found, too, that also using a second stick with a plastic putty knife in conjunction with the brush stick worked very well to keep the tape straight.

It was definitely something I was glad to have over and done with, but it did work the first time.

Laszlo 

 

RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

Thanks again Laszlo - I may have to take up something less cerebrally challenging, such as professional chess or golf!   But I guess half the reward in taking up this sort of a project is keeping the old brain active.   I will certainly give much thought to your comments - it will help when I receive the plans and manual and can study them in depth.   Cheers - Lol from Oz

RE: SEA ISLAND SPORT

 

Believe me, we tried sheer clamps on early versions.  It definitely didn't work, even on hulls we tried to tweak to work with the two-dimensional bending characteristics of sheer clamps.  (One of those abandoned hulls is still in the rafters here.)

So you're obliged to install hatches.  Getting around them would take more creativity than I can manage.  That, or a $500,000 laparoscope.

Gettin' sticky.

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