(Gene Cosloy) wrote in
om:

John Fereira wrote in message
...

I admit that I haven't paddled the new Impex version of the Outer
Island but I've been paddling a cedar strip version I built for a
couple of years. Yes, it has good initial stability for a 21" wide
boat, but it also edges and turns quite well for a 17'10" long boat.

Does this look like it's hard to edge?

http://caddis.mannlib.cornell.edu/pa...nd/launch7.gif

Well, no it certainly does not. On the other hand my experience with
the fiberglass version was decidedly different. I want a boat, the
stability of which allows me to place it on balance edge with J-leans
alone.
That is different. I have no trouble putting the cockpit rim underwater
with just a J-lean. In the picture from the link I *am* leaning over with
the paddle in a high brace position but that is what I was trying to do at
the time.

some of the boats are so stiff they may require upper body
leans and strong bracing which is not for me. I want to lift my knee
and get the boat over as far as I want. I can't do that with a lot of
so called strongly stabile boats

I understand where you're coming from. I tried a local paddlers boat a few
years ago that he'd built that I could not get on edge unless I really
leaned over the side. The problem wasn't so much the design of the hull as
much as the height of the seat. He hadn't built the seat yet and was just
using a half inch foam pad. Since I carved a foam seat for my Outer Island
I've been able to carve enough off the bottom such that it feels like an
optimal height for stability and boat control. I would imagine that adding
a bit of padding on the seat of the Impex version would change the stability
and boat control characteristics significantly.