I built the BETA version of the Matunuk and there's nothing really difficult in this kit. The manual covers tips for getting things done, like it's easier for two people to stitch the aft deck together as one can press down on it, bringing the two halves together for the other to stitch. You also have to be careful when joining the deck and hull as the two can shift, causing the fore or aft to not line up properly. Not a biggie, just take off the tape and reposition. The aft end is more critical to get aligned as you have some leeway in the bow to even up the two halves. The only other thing to be careful of is the coaming ring, or TPMLTB ( The Part Most Likely To Break). Mine was fine but I suggest you bend it slowly.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to post here.

George K

Hi George,  when you built your Matunuck, did you put in any fins?  What are your thoughts on them?  thanks

Dave

I didn't put fins on. I've not been in the surf with it but have paddled it a bit on flat water. It's pretty loose, turns on a dime. I'd probably want fins for surfing it but they're not allowed in some classes of competition if you were so inclined to want to do that. I'd use FCS personally as that's what I have in all my boards. Future's would work as well. Whatever you use make sure they're available where you live as you've got a good chance of breaking them on a hard beach landing.

George

I don't mean to be cheeky, but has anyone actually surfed this kayak?

Looking at it, it appears that it'd be pretty fast, but perhaps not as slicey as some of the modern designs. It also seems a bit shy on nose turn-up, which, coupled with very little rocker would make it tend to pearl.

Any experienced surfers with feedback? 

George K......I am new to this kayak surfing.  it seems fun. i have a wilderness tarpon 12 that i took to Pismo beach and had a blast playing in the surf.  so i thought it would be fun to try a kayak made for that.   being new to the surf, i don't know too many brands of things.  thanks for the info. i wil checkout the two brand of fins. 

Berkeley....the terms you use are new to me.  what do you mean by "slicey"  and "pearl".  i now have plans for this and hope to build this this winter and be ready to play in the spring.  i live near SF bay area so the ocean is close. 

thanks,

Dave

Hi Dave. I'm in Oakland and have built, paddled and surfed kayaks for years. If you need any help building or learning to surf, just give a call: (510) 653-6088

Slicey in this sense means being able to carve tight turns. To pearl is when your nose submerges when going down a wave. It's short for pearl diving, and is usually followed by a tumble or three.  

Hi Berkeley.  I am in Fairfield.  the terms are kind of what i thought but it doesn't hurt ot ask.  thanks for the help info.  i am a carpenter with an interest in woodworking.  this will be a new venture.  i have looke d a the websites for the two fins listed and noticed there is no shortage around here of stores that carry fins.  i will have to do my research.  thanks again for you info and offer of help.

Dave

Judging by this picture, I'd say it's been surfed at least once :-)

I know there are few guys who have surfed it and hopefully they'll log on here and have some input. As far as the design goes, it's about as close to a Mega board as you can get. 

Have fun with the build.

George K 

Hi, guys.  We are hoping to get started soon on building the Matunuck.  I've read your posts, and I have some questions. 

George K, I'll have to look up the Mega board.  But if you wouldn't mind, what is so desireable in the Mega board that is found on the Matunuck?  Dave and I want to try this sport out and build a CLC boat, so we have got the plans for this surf kayak. 

Berekely, I recently tried a surf kayak at an outfitter, a sit on top with straps for the thighs, no foot braces.  I found it very uncomfortable within no time at all, especially as the surf was high and we needed to paddle out a mile to get to the choice spot to learn.  I enjoyed my day, nonetheless.  The Matunuck has thigh braces and foot braces, too.  So I am thinking it will be much easier on the thighs, hips, and back. 

As soon as we get our boats built, I hope to be out there having fun. 

Dawn and Dave

Dawn and Dave,

The Mega's have lots of rocker in the nose to keep from pearling, hard chines for turning. Both of those were worked into this board by Nick Schade, the designer, also the guy in the pic Laszlo posted. One thing the Matunuk has that I'm not sure the Mega has is the bottom has a slight concave starting from the nose and fading to flat at the tail. I'm always amazed at what designers like Nick and John Harris can do with flat sheets of plywood.

You might try posting here http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Building/index.cgi and ask about the Matunuk as this is Nick's site.

George K

I built a Matunuck this past spring and I have surfed it about a half dozen times (there is no surf on the Gulf Coast in the summer). I am extremely happy with it will be my full-time surf boat this winter.

I believe that this boat requires fins if you plan to really surf it. If you want to slide down some waves and feel fast, then I'd say fins are optional. If you want to make sharp turns and surf like a board surfer, then install fins. Without fins the boat tends to spin when making a sharp bottom turn. The rails on the Matunuck grab very nicely and the boat turns like a dream, but it tends to keep going without fins.

I am currently putting a graphite/epoxy bottom on this boat because of the amount of dings and scrapes I have from my first few trips. I would also highly recommend going with two layers of glass on the bottom both for stiffness and durability.

Frank

Frank,   thanks for the info.  i plan on going to look for fins tomorrow.  there seems to be plenty of surf shops here in SF bay area.  i was looking at the construction and there doesn't seem to be any closed areas for flotation.  is that an issue at all?  there might be a area toward the rear that i might be able to close off.  another thing i was wondering about was a spray skirt for Matunuck.  i measured the coaming for the Matunuck and the Chesapeake 17 and the two seem to about the same.  does anyone know for sure?  the more i look at the plans and read the manual, the more i am ready for the build.  i like the idea of the extra layer of glass on the bottom.  the boat is so light i don't the extra weight will matter any.  that sounds like a very good idea.

Hi George,

i bought some FCS plugs for my boat.  i got the 2 center and 4 rail plugs.  reading your post, should i have gotten just center plugs because the rail plugs are slightly canted, i f that is the right term, a slight lean.  should the fins be all perpendicular to the center of the hull?  then i guess would it really make a difference to someone that has no clue what the difference makes?  i am all for makingthe boat handle as easlily as possible. 

Thanks

Dave

I have foam pillars in the front and back and that helps keep it tolerable on swims to the beach. I toyed with putting in a bulkhead but once the boat was together I opted not to. There is no room in the back more much more than a big zip lock bag. This boat is quite a bit harder for me to roll than a WW boat so I've had a few swims.

I used o'fish'l fins because they snap in. If I did it again I'd use something adjustable.

I use the same spray skirt that I use for a Dagger Redline WW kayak and stay very dry. I think it's a standard "Large" Mountain Surf skirt but you should double-check.

I finally put a few more coats of varnish on my Matunuck over the long weekend, see the last link.

construction: gallery.me.com/fdbilotti#100045

test launch: gallery.me.com/fdbilotti#100060

finally finished: gallery.me.com/fdbilotti#100073

Frank

Frank,  nice pics.  the foam pillars look like it makes it hard to get in the Matunuck.  did the foam in the front between your legs get in the way at all?  i was thinking about shorting the forward foam for ease of entry. 

the location of the fins seems a bit too forward to me.  did you get the location from the manual?  by reading my manual and looking at your boat, that looks like the way you went.

In the photo the front pillar is sticking out a little more than it should because the foot brace isn't pushed all the way into place. I just installed thigh braces and I suspect it will be harder to get in/out with straight legs so I may need to shorten the pillar again.

I followed Nick's plans exactly for the fins. With adjustable fin boxes you could make Nick's placement the forward position with room to move backward. The usual layout for surf boats is to have the center fin just under your spine.

Frank

Dave,

You bought the right plugs. I would go with the manual's recommended location as Nick, the designer, says that's where they should go. Don't know what kind of info you got on installing them but this may help. http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/detail_page.cgi?ID=1635 Swaylocks is to surfing as CLC is to boats. They're always a good resource.

Looking forward to seeing pix of the build!

George K 

Thank you for the great information, everyone!  We are hopefully going to work on our boats this weekend, if the weather permits.  It is great, having this resource.  It gives me/us confidence, as these are our firsts.  I think I name mine Moon Doggie

We went to find the Okoume plywood today in Berekely only to fnd they are out of this wood and the BS100 altogether.  We really wanted to buy the wood today and get started.  I've called  West Marine, they don't have it, either.  McBeath (s) won't have it until the first of the year, and we don't want to wait that long to get started

Can anyone give me a lead on where I can find this plywood?  We would appreciate your help --

Dawn and Dave

At the risk of stating the obvious, you can order plywood from CLC, shipped right to your door. No worries about quality, no California sales tax, no hassles!

http://www.clcboats.com/shop/products/boat-building-supplies-epoxy-fiberglass-plywood/okoume-marine-plywood.html

Mark

Thanks, Mark.  We know we could get it there, but we are in California, and the shipping is expensive from MD.  But I will look into it, nontheless.  Please see post, however, entitled "plywood thickness) from tcdave.  We want to be sure we get the right thickness.  Any advice would be appreciated.  Mucho

Hi guys. I've just worked from kits in the past, but there's a place in Berkeley that is constantly building stitch-and-glue boats and gives classes in the subject. I'm sure that they have sources that they can refer you to:

Berkeley Boathouse

84 Bolivar Dr., Aquatic Park

510-644-2577

Berkeley,

thanks for the info and i am sure we will at least check out this place.  we got our material at MacBeath.  they call the 4mm as 1/8".  kind of spooked me thinking it might be 3mm.  but it is 4mm.  i think i remember them saying they are going to stop carrying the Okoume.  we are acquiring parts now and will soon start the build.  we are looking forward to the excitement and fun of  the build.

Dave

Berkeley, FrankB, and to anyone out there: 

Thanks for the information.  I checked out the Berkeley Boathouse site, AKA Waterside Workshops.  and it sounds very nice for everyone, esp for the underprivileged kids.  I believe they have classes for adults, too.  We will look into it more.   

I have another question, as we get our acquire our parts for our project, it occurred to us that we may need "handles" on the surf kayaks, and those toggle ones don't do it for me.  These boats are pretty light, 20 pounds, but may be ungainly to carry.  What do you think?  Maybe handles aren't necessary at all???????

We are going to make two boats, one for each of us.  Dave is going to paint his, and I am wanting to stain and varnish mine.  My question is to any of you out there who have done this, what kind of stain (brand?) works well with the surf kahak

A toggle is a must IMO - at least at the bow. If you're out of your boat in a knarly shore pound, you want something to grab and tow, because you aren't going to be able to carry a boat with 10 gallons of water in it.

I've never stained a boat, but it's done all the time. Just use the search function.

Out of curiosity, how much did MacBeath charge for the ply? They aren't known for being cheap.

Berkeley.  i see your point about the toggle.  IMO, it is a must too, now. 

MacBeath was the same price as CLC.  i bought 4 sheets of 4mm and walked out the door for just over 200. 

i am not a fan of the plywood look so i will paint mine.  my friend wants to stain hers.  we will do some research here for staining do, don'ts and tips.

Install the handles. Their main role is to prevent you from watching your beautiful creation get trashed against a jetty after a wet exit. I made a few wet exits when I first started using this boat because I found it tricky to roll. The hard rail is great for surfing, but not as forgiving for rolling.

Frank

I have used Behlen Solar-Lux Stains on kayaks with good success.  These are actually NGR(non grain raising) dyes which are very resistant to fading.  They are alchohol based and do not interfere with the adhesion of epoxy.  They are available from many suppliers such as Highland Hardware or WoodCraft.