Builders' Forum |
|
| ↓ Scroll to Last Comment ↓ | Forum Guidelines | Builders' Forum |  RSS
|
Expedition Skerry on Live Shopcam
For all you Skerry fans who've been asking about the Expedition Skerry, It's sitting right smack dab in the middle of the Live Shopcam image, flanked by a Night Heron Hybrid and the WD14 prototype.
Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit the CLC showroom and shop and got to meet these boats in person. That Wood Duck 14 is enormous! They've taken the WD12 philosophy of an extremely capacious cockpit and added 2 more feet to the boat. There's now even a separate bow hatch area. This'll be just the boat for folks who want to pack it full of a month's camping equipment, share the cockpit with a large dog or medium kid, or who are descended from the Norse giants. As I type this, the lights have just come on in the CLC shop. Mark seems to have arrived to start wet sanding the WD14.
The Expedition Skerry is showing off its brightly painted deck. With all that sealed storage area, it looks like the simpler alternative to the Pocketship for those who don't mind doing their cruising without a top. Frame 2 looks to have been modified from the stock plans (it's more visible in person), possibly to allow stretching out on the floor?
Speaking of the Pocketship, its trailer is empty this morning, but last weekend I saw it in all the glory of its new paint job. My tourguide informed me that it now sports professionally applied coats of Imron. It looked very sleek, all the brushmarks are now gone.
So if you're not lucky enough to live within visiting distance (and believe me, being able to visit a functioning shop full of the smell of sawdust, wood and varnish while yours is too cold to use is soothing to the soul), check out the live shopcam and see what new things you can spot.
Laszlo
PS - While I was there I picked up one of the new beading saws. It's wonderful for those jobs where you need a saw that's got more beef than the bonsai saw, but is smaller than the Japanes saw. It has the same feel and balance as the Japanese saw, as well as the incredibly sharp teeth. Definitely very useful for those of us who need to be cutting thin wood.
2 replies:
RE: Expedition Skerry on Live Shopcam
The Wood Ducks have a much larger cockpit so they're easier to get in and out of. The Chesapeakes are are thinner so they're faster.
The WDs have tremendous initial stability. I can stand up in my WD12. If I sit on the coaming I'll fall out before the boat flips. Once flipped, they stay flipped. You can roll the CHs. Sidenote - I heard a rumor that Eric Schade can roll a WD. If so, I bow to the Master.
I can stretch full length in an empty WD12. Can't do that in a CH.
The WD12 will haul a lot of cargo, both in terms of weight and volume. The CHs not as much.
The WD12 & WD10 are perfect for exploring winding twisty little channels, like the local wild rice marshes. The CHs are better at open water.
Both are wonderful boats. The choice depends on what you like to do. Best bet, get one of each.
Laszlo
RE: Expedition Skerry on Live Shopcam
» Submitted by jshaley - Wed, 1/27/10 » 10:44 AM
Very interesting. I have been eyeing the wood duck as a possible Boy Scout project but was worried it did not have enough cargo for extended trips (although at 275lbs with a kid in it ther eshould be enough). The WD14 should take care of that nicely.
Aside from the extra 4' of length what would be a few differences between the WD and say the Chesapeakes? Is it sea worthiness?
John