Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1998 12:41:27 -0400
From: "William J. Russell" <russel79@idt.net>
To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
Subject: Re: [baidarka] Coaming
kyak@rockisland.com wrote:
>
> >I saw an interesting coaming the other day outside a kayak rental shop on
> >Orcas Island (WA). It was on a wood frame in the large volume Bering Sea
> >style (Hooper Bay?). The coaming was a bicycle wheel with some additional
> >wood strips lashed on. I don't recall the details, but the wheel stood
> >out. Of course this makes for a rather large cockpit. One of the books
> >shows an Eskimo couple back to back in one of these boats, The Orcas boat
> >may not have been full size though; I can't picture fitting any kids down
> >inside that boat.
>
> >Paul
>
> Good eye, Paul, it's a (somewhat modified) Hooper Bay/Nunivak type
> about 80% of normal size, 13 feet. I posted a preliminary report to the
> group about a week ago. I am growing fonder of this boat every day. Fast,
> buoyant, responsive, you namne it, it's a very nice boat.
>
> A bicycle rim makes a pretty good coaming, quite strong, but it
> didn't save any time which was my orignal intention. There is a thin 5/16"
> strip of oak which make up the walls of the coaming and the bike wheel makes
> the rim. Put the oak on with 3-M 5200, it'll glue anything to anything. Bent
> a fat willow shoot in the channel for the inner tube to finish that area
> off- it was big enough that it made a 1/2 round molding which finished off
> the aluminum fin a fairly quick and painless manner.
>
> There's plenty of room in the boat for camping, as much as a lower
> volume 15 footer might have, but it is a one passanger boat.
>
> Skip
Skip...what was the reason for modifying the length of the Hooper Bay
boat??? The reason I'm asking is that I'm CONSIDERING building the
Hooper Bay this coming winter....my wife purchased the Zimerly book
"Hooper Bay Kayak Construction" for me this past winter...it's a LOT
larger than the other two boats I built.....Russell