New solo for smaller people

[yellowcanoe]

At Charlies request I copied this info from another forum. He has been instrumental in developing the boat along with Bill Swift and David Yost (the designer). These are Charlie's words

"Smaller folk, the majority of whom are female have been under served by canoe builders.

The Curtis MayFly, Sawyer StarLite, BlackHawk KittyHawk and Shadow 12 are distant memories from an age before the public decided solo canoeing was too skill intensive, and Placid's SpitFire is rarely converted to kneeling use.

DY also did a series of downsized solo trippers, the Curtis Vagabond in 82, the Swift Loon in 92 and the Placid RapidFire in 05. [The Hemlock Kestral, is a 98 retooling of Vagabond.] But DY
wanted a shorter, more efficient solo tripper/ pack canoe with less wetted surface/drag/skin friction.

Now, Swift C&K, from the land of Hockey, Maple Syrup and Poutine, announces a new DY solo tripper for the petite amongst us.

The Keewaydin 14, 28' max beam, 24" waterline width with 4 inches tumblehome at rails amidships, 2.5/1.25" differential rocker and weight around 24 lbs.
Shear? tough to tell until molded, ~ 16.5/11.5/15.5"

A David Yost design, available early summer '14. I do not know if we are expected to paddle the thing with our feet on the front thwart or not."



And the DY pic to accompany. Note that the boat is not the final boat. Its the plug for the mold.

 

[Seeker]

Nice... now my daughter has more options... thanks, those who are involved in doing things like this.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

So - who are the "small people" these days? Years ago, I considered myself "tall", at just shy of 6'. I was also very slender, but now - not so much. Now, when I look around me, the vast majority of adult males dwarf me in one dimension or another - and many in both. I know I am slightly overweight (for me) at ~165, but nearly every man I know of my height outweighs me.

Am I one of the "small" that this canoe is meant for? My Sojourn is a mere 6" longer (I assume), and feels about right. But it's not like I've had a lot to compare...

 

[Guest]

I am 5'10" and 175# and paddle a Colden Flashfire,Hemlock Kestrel,and Mohawk solo13 among others. I prefer smaller solos and do 3+ day trips in them. I even used to trip in a 11'6" solo. Bigger canoes feel huge and clumzy to me. Different strokes.
Turtle

 

[charlie wilson]

Fit in a kneeling canoe has more to do with thigh length than anything else. Knees should be comfortably wide into the chines and sitz bones on the seat we can comfortably get our feet under. We can adjust some with thick or thin knee pads and raise and lower the seat a little, but the bio-metrics remain key.

When the paddler sits, usually lower, which still compromises stability some, the rails and hull need be narrow enough to present a vertical paddleshaft without scraping our arm pits.

The new Key 14 will be optionally trimmed for kneeling single bladers, sitting bent shaft paddlers and low seated double blade users. I think the center seat height is the least stable configuration.

Paddler weight comes down to total burden; paddler and gear. At some point the boat's draft becomes too great for it to handle well. Real data awaits warmer spring water or a winter's trip to Florida, but, I'm guessing the 14 will be happy with near 300 lbs total burden.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Looks like a Placid Rapidfire, a few inches shorter and with a little more rocker.

 

[charlie wilson]

The Swift Keewaydin 14 has rounded rather than Bell and Placid's shouldered sides and DY's new stepped rocker at the bow. How does one "see" rocker from that i-phone image with the stems under water? The little Key will have radically different outfitting, including kneeling and Sit & Switch seats. Interestingly, DY has a Rapid, but he wanted a slightly shorter hull with a little less skin friction that would be more efficient at his current exercise level. Gilding the Lily? So it goes.

Stated weight included integral composite rails and carbon/Kevlar construction. Length/ Width ratio about 6.66, the Devil's boat?

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

How does one discern rocker from that i-phone image with the stems under water?

I discerned it from the rocker specs in the OP, which Yellowcanoe said is a quote from you.

 

[Guest]

Charlie,
I'm interested in the rounded vs sholdered sides. Is this the same a the old bubble sided solos? I thought that was old school? Also,please explain stepped rocker.
Thanks,Rich

 

[charlie wilson]

When Bill Swift desired a series of tumblehomed canoes from Mr. Yost, Bell, Placid and Hemlock were utilizing DY's shoulder, so Bill opted for the smoother curved sidewall, partly hoping to be able to utilize split rather than two piece molds. Split mold open at the back, the hull slipping out like a foot from a sandal. Infusion stopped all that, it's ~ impossible to seal the ~ halfway point where the split originates.

The bubbles have been tweaked from the older Sawyer/Curtis hull usage to minimize Coanda Effect fluid flow.

Stepped rocker has an observable break, or step. Examples would include some BlackHawk boats and Harold Deals WW hulls. Both are stepped amidships, the Blackhawks need weight aft to track, weight forward to lift the stern and spin. Harold's are the opposite, weight forward to track, aft to spin. DY's step is too far forward to offer that kind of transition. He feels it increases speed. Sorry, I don't seem to have an image, but will acquire one.