"riverman" wrote in
:


wrote in message
oups.com...

BCITORGB wrote:
Brian says:
=======
Paddling a tandem solo is generally a bad idea, as it can become
completely uncontrollable in any significant wind and waves, due to
poor weight distribution.
===============

Are there any recommendations then about adding weight, distributing
it appropriately, and ensuring that it doesn't shift?

Wilf

Simple enough. put your stuff in the front hatch or fill it with juggs
of water , put a spray cover or cockpit cover over the forward combing
and paddle away. The boat is heavy, long and kind of slow with one
paddler. Don't go out in 50 MPH winds and you should be fine.
Even if you put nothing up front you will be OK. I have paddled these
things a fair bit. ( I hate them , they are not my Capella or Explorer
). but it will work.
Anyone wanting to sell a single should get the posters address, he
will be after a single soon.
There are some great expeditions done with double kayaks paddled by a
lone paddler needing more carrying capacity.
You will want wheels for that monster. it is 100 lbs or close enough.
Good Luck
Alex


The only time I have seen someone paddle single in tandems, he sat in
the FRONT cockpit. He said that it was easier to 'drag' the rest of the
boat behind him and maneuver through rocks, currents, etc, than it was
to 'push' the front of the boat through turns.

Sounds like a lot of trouble to me. The obvious solution, of course, it to
buy a solo kayak. While the Necky Amaruk is fine affordable tandem, it's
just not intended for solo paddling.

YMMV, I'm an openboater. I sit in the middle.

For now...that is, if you can get your canoes to Hong Kong. Are you still
considering going over to the dark side and doing some kayak touring? As
much as I'm sure you'd hate to do it you may want to consider selling the
canoes and picking up a kayak in HK. Since someone else mentioned the
possibility of limited storage space, a folding kayak might be a good
option.

John F comments:
==============
The obvious solution, of course, it to
buy a solo kayak. While the Necky Amaruk is fine affordable tandem,
it's
just not intended for solo paddling.
================

As I've just purchased the Amaruk, I'm quite sure a solo is not in the
budget.

Perhaps I'm too obtuse or don't want to get the message "don't do it"
if that's what people are saying. Or are they saying it's not ideal?

I'm willing to deal with less than ideal conditions in terms of things
like paddling harder and moving slower. What I really need, however, is
people with expertise to weigh in with input on the extent this becomes
a safety issue. For example, by way of comparison (if that's even
possible), would I be safer in a 13'7"x24" Necky Zoar solo kayak or the
17'10"x28.5" Amaruk tandem (paddling solo - with about 100 pounds of
weight foreward)?

As an inexperienced kayaker, I realise my fixation on simply putting
weight in the foreward cockpit or hatch may be completely nutty and too
simplistic and may be missing other important variables. That's where
I'd appreciate the veterans' input.

As an aside (don't let my wife see this), I'm not sure my wife would
constitute much more than just dead weight (although more than 100
pounds).

Supplementary question: on longer, group expeditions, would a tandem
kayak be used (solo) to freight provisions?

frtzw906

I think you just need to go try it out. With the knowledge that you have a
disadvantage in high wind or strong current. With these in mind I think you
will be able to enjoy solo time in your boat. I have seen a very large
double used solo to gather firewood and it worked quite well. While you may
be limited in the conditions that you may use the boat solo there should be
no reason not to go out to a nice protected area and see how it feels.

--- This disadvantage could result in not being able to get back to shore.
Please explore the boats operation someplace where this is not a problem.
i.e. - Lake not Ocean

Ken

"BCITORGB" wrote in message
oups.com...
John F comments:
==============
The obvious solution, of course, it to
buy a solo kayak. While the Necky Amaruk is fine affordable tandem,
it's
just not intended for solo paddling.
================

As I've just purchased the Amaruk, I'm quite sure a solo is not in the
budget.

Perhaps I'm too obtuse or don't want to get the message "don't do it"
if that's what people are saying. Or are they saying it's not ideal?

I'm willing to deal with less than ideal conditions in terms of things
like paddling harder and moving slower. What I really need, however, is
people with expertise to weigh in with input on the extent this becomes
a safety issue. For example, by way of comparison (if that's even
possible), would I be safer in a 13'7"x24" Necky Zoar solo kayak or the
17'10"x28.5" Amaruk tandem (paddling solo - with about 100 pounds of
weight foreward)?

As an inexperienced kayaker, I realise my fixation on simply putting
weight in the foreward cockpit or hatch may be completely nutty and too
simplistic and may be missing other important variables. That's where
I'd appreciate the veterans' input.

As an aside (don't let my wife see this), I'm not sure my wife would
constitute much more than just dead weight (although more than 100
pounds).

Supplementary question: on longer, group expeditions, would a tandem
kayak be used (solo) to freight provisions?

frtzw906

No spam said:
=================
While you may
be limited in the conditions that you may use the boat solo there
should be
no reason not to go out to a nice protected area and see how it feels.
==================

Thanks! That might be a good start. I'm within minutes of a bay where I
could paddle for almost 2 hours and never have to be more than a few
meters from the shore (and where the shore is lined with residential
neighborhoods). That seems safe enough.

When I've tried it, I'll report back.

Cheers,
Wilf
================

"BCITORGB" wrote in message
oups.com...
John F comments:
==============
The obvious solution, of course, it to
buy a solo kayak. While the Necky Amaruk is fine affordable tandem,
it's
just not intended for solo paddling.
================

As I've just purchased the Amaruk, I'm quite sure a solo is not in the
budget.

Perhaps I'm too obtuse or don't want to get the message "don't do it"
if that's what people are saying. Or are they saying it's not ideal?

I'm willing to deal with less than ideal conditions in terms of things
like paddling harder and moving slower. What I really need, however, is
people with expertise to weigh in with input on the extent this becomes
a safety issue. For example, by way of comparison (if that's even
possible), would I be safer in a 13'7"x24" Necky Zoar solo kayak or the
17'10"x28.5" Amaruk tandem (paddling solo - with about 100 pounds of
weight foreward)?

As an inexperienced kayaker, I realise my fixation on simply putting
weight in the foreward cockpit or hatch may be completely nutty and too
simplistic and may be missing other important variables. That's where
I'd appreciate the veterans' input...

I can only speculate about kayaks, but I've done this many times in a 17
foot aluminum canoe. On occasions when I couldn't conveniently find enough
weight (I tended to rely on whatever I could find where I launched) the bow
would ride high and could get squirrelly in wind, otherwise it worked
beautifully. Obviously, it helps to get the weight as far forward as
possible. I'd guess I typically used about 60-75 lbs. or so forward of the
front seat.

Here's the speculation part: From what little I've seen of them, the seats
in two seater kayaks appear to be closer together and nearer the center of
the boat than is typical in a canoe. In theory, this means anyone soloing
from the back seat would have less affect on trim than in a canoe, and it
should be easier to balance. Unfortunately, the other seat is also closer
to center which means it would take more weight to counterbalance there. On
the other hand, if there is a forward hatch or some other way to get weight
up near the bow, it would take considerably less to do the job.

I can't think of any reason that dead weight should be a safety issue. I've
never paddled one of these boats, so I have no idea whether paddling alone
is a safety issue........but I wouldn't hesitate to try it myself.

Wolfgang

Melissa mentioned:
===================
If you have the workspace, a few basic wood working tools, and a bit
of time, you can build a very nice "high performance" skin on frame
single kayak for $200 USD or less!
==================

Thanks for the tip. I chuckled when I read it, because I had just come
in from the carport where I was fashioning a home-built dolly for my
kayak. I was, unfortunately, cursed with two left hands, making even
this simple project very challenging (and I asked myself why I hadn't
just gone out to buy one). The thought of me building a kayak was,
well... frightening.

Having said that, however, I love these sites, and I love stories of
people who can actually do real work with their hands.

Cheers,
Wilf
===============

Wolfgang says:
==============
In theory, this means anyone soloing
from the back seat would have less affect on trim than in a canoe, and
it
should be easier to balance. Unfortunately, the other seat is also
closer
to center which means it would take more weight to counterbalance
there. On
the other hand, if there is a forward hatch or some other way to get
weight
up near the bow, it would take considerably less to do the job.
===============

Wolfgang, that was pretty much my thinking as well, but I thought,
given the wealth of experience around this forum, that I'd ask.

It would be just like me to have given this a theoretical one-over,
only to have missed some fairly obvious practical variables. As a
lifetime klutz, I speak from experience. If it can be screwed up, I'll
be the one to do it (reality NEVER correlates with my abstractions!).

Wilf
=============

Melissa:
===========
Here are some pictures of the boat I built all by myself:

http://photobucket.com/albums/v61/watersprite/Kayak/

If *I* can do that, I'm sure you can! :-)
===========

WOW! WOW! You can be proud of that! Trust me, I couldn't do anything
like that. But my 16-year old daughter is doing amazing stuff in shop
at school. Perhaps I could interest her (she wants a kayak but blew her
budget on an up-coming school trip to Mexico).

Anyway, WOW! once more.

Wilf

"BCITORGB" wrote in message
ups.com...
Wolfgang says:
==============
In theory, this means anyone soloing
from the back seat would have less affect on trim than in a canoe, and
it
should be easier to balance. Unfortunately, the other seat is also
closer
to center which means it would take more weight to counterbalance
there. On
the other hand, if there is a forward hatch or some other way to get
weight
up near the bow, it would take considerably less to do the job.
===============

Wolfgang, that was pretty much my thinking as well, but I thought,
given the wealth of experience around this forum, that I'd ask.

It would be just like me to have given this a theoretical one-over,
only to have missed some fairly obvious practical variables. As a
lifetime klutz, I speak from experience. If it can be screwed up, I'll
be the one to do it (reality NEVER correlates with my abstractions!).

So, what's the worst that can happen? You die, right?

Wolfgang
um.......you won't sue me, will you?

Wolfgang opines:
=============
So, what's the worst that can happen? You die, right?

Wolfgang
um.......you won't sue me, will you?
====================

On the second point, my name's neither Tinker nor Weiser.

On the first point, in light of the reaction you got on the Florida
accident thread, I'll just leaving sleeping dogs lie. My theoretical
abstractions never include death, but, with reality, you can never be
sure.

Wilf