''The LostSoul Design by Hendrik Maroske''

LostSoul Design 1998 (HHM)

Some of the slides are large animated GIF movies. To reduce load time I have cut the assembly process into parts. Just keep in mind that the assembly happens within the skin, but is shown without the skin for clearance.

This whole shebang is available on a CDROM, including several other web sites. It is made by Charles Hall and distributed for production cost.

The animated assembly movies of LostSoul:

	General assembly.
	Cockpit assembly.
	Center part assembly (midsection structure).
	Forward gunwale lock assembly (forward structure).
	Rear gunwale lock assembly (rear structure).
	Two-part keel assembly.
	Inserting the hatch covers.

With this design I wanted to reduce the height of the deck stringers. I always wondered if the one-hatch Baidarka deck design really is the big thing, partly because I am making foldable Baidarkas:

• A deck with a ridge like the Baidarka's is difficult to climb upon after a wet exit
• I could not find a good way to attach a paddle outrigger to the deck of my folding Baidarkas. With the Lost Soul this is no problem. The reason is the deck ridge.
• At least I cannot lie down on the rear deck while sitting in the cockpit. This is needed for practicing Eskimo rolling techniques. The deck ridge is the problem.
• A flat deck allows neater hatches, both for rigid and foldable boats.
• I couldn't find a really good mounting point for my hand pump. A foldable boat is a sad place for this, but this deck ridge...
• Mounting a compass results in an essential item placed on this deck ridge, where it is easily ripped off. I cannot recess the compass in a foldable hull. With a flat deck, I can place the compass within a centered hatch cover.

Surely the Aleut people had their ways to cope with that, but I was struggling to make my craft seaworthy. According to today's accepted safety standards. I had to change it in order to get a foldable design, and the result is very similar to the Greenlanders, especially since the waterlines of my folding kayaks come close anyway.

• I very much appreciate the Baidarka's carrying capacity. Loading the Baidarka always was something like "Put the bag in". In comparision to that, I have strong recalls about someone placing tiny bits of equipment onto the paddle and then carefully inching them into the narrow hull. Something alike the "baker man is beaking bread". And as slow. (Hi, Gerald :) A good part of this carrying capacity comes from the Aleut stern design, and that's why I keep it.

Well, this looks like something. I made a good rear hatch, with the pump installed and everything, skipped that rear deck stringer and now have a nicely fitting tilted cockpit. Seems like progress.

Here is what others have said about my modifications to the Aleut design.