Reducing Kaholo volume

Hi,

I am keen to build another Kaholo, but to reduce the volume a bit.  Although it's rated as a great touring and race board, I find it a bit "boxy" compared to rounded-rail type SUPs (whether wood or foam core).

And knowing that the 14' Kaholo can support up to 218 lbs, at a little under 180 lbs I figure I can drop the volume a bit.

In some email exchanges with Larry, the designer, he mentioned taking an inch or two off the width, which would give a lsight increase in speed but affect the stability.

My thought was to tak a quater to half an inch off the width at the midpoint, and an inch or two off at the tail, as well as dropping the deck height a little - probably half to three quaters of an inch.

I'd also look to round over the top deck-side joint more to give a more curved look.

This would essentially retain the lower hull hard chines with a slightly reduced width, so shouldn't affect performance adversely.

A light lay-up should shave off a few pounds in weight too.

Any thoughs on this from others who have built and/or modified the 14' Kaholo?

Thanks,
Darren 


7 replies:

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RE: Reducing Kaholo volume

I shaved about 1/2" off the side panels, making it thinner, and added a slight deck curve, making it cooler, and made the stern 1n 1"+ narrower. 

RE: Reducing Kaholo volume

I weight 155 and am 5-8".   I wanted to build a 12.5 Kaholo but the plans were not ready.  So I purchased the plans for the 14 and shortened it to 12.5 by decreasing all of the longitudinal dimensions by 12.5/14.0.  It took a little time to reloft  it but was  a lot of fun.  I used the frames for the 14.  Several friends have paddled my 12.5 and find the stability just  fine.  It turned out really nice and is a "head turner" in Avalon harbor.  It is much faster than any of the round nose boards. 

If I were to round the edge at the shear line I would consider multiple strakes obout 3/4 in wide set at 30 degrees each or one at 45 degrees.

RE: Reducing Kaholo volume

You might get some ideas from this

http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/The-How-I-built-the-Jethrow-480-thread

RE: Reducing Kaholo volume

and perhaps some more ideas http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.393089724085112.88467.128321053895315&type=3

RE: Reducing Kaholo volume

I just got my K 14 in the water and am very happy with how it turned out. Am already starting to think about my next board and more and more am thinking of a modified Kaholo. I most paddle on flat water since there's no ocean here in Seattle. On smooth surfaces and with my 185 pound weight I find the board sits pretty high in the water compared to my friend's 12' Rogue board. I really feel above the water rather than down on the water. If I do another Kaholo I'd probably lower the sides by 1/2" or so. I might also gradually reduce the sides from say 3/4" at the nose to 1/2" from the midpoint aft. Not sure I'd want to go narrower the middle though I might taper the tail down a bit. Keep us posted if you go this route.

RE: Reducing Kaholo volume

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies and ideas.

'Hokeyhydro" - do you have any pics of the curved deck or info on how you reduced height and width...did you just pull in the bottom width and then remove excess sides material from the tail (as I assume narrower means less side length?

Interested to hear how you did it.

Thanks,

Darren

 

RE: Reducing Kaholo volume

For thin I just made the sides 1/2" shorter. I narrowed the tail by recurving the bottom panels with a batten and had to make narrower frames, no sweat. Had no noticable effect on side length. 

One newbie is talking a little wider board - that might be fun to try. 

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