Thoughts about mods on a '93 kevlar malecite to prep it for NFCT

[jffdejongh]

I made a quick and dirty solo seat using the holes that were already in the gunwales. I attached the plywood with 4"shrink wrap. It's not breathable but held the plywood on.

I was thrilled with the weight; 50.26 pounds!

I took it for a short paddle this afternoon. Sitting fore or aft on the seat seemed to make a significant difference in the handling.

Before trying it out I was thinking about making this setup that was an option a while back.

But now I'm not sure. I essentially traded my royalex Appalachian which is awesome in white water, takes all kinds of abuse but is very heavy for the malecite which is faster, tracks better is 33% lighter but may not maneuver as well in white water.

Besides the seat placement, I'm thinking about adding either dynel or S glass to the football and stems for increased abrasion resistance.

 

[lowangle al]

Congrats on your new boat. I really like mine and have been tripping with it since 94'. I removed the center seat and put in a yoke. I also removed the seat drops raising the seats to the gunnels. It's stable and a good tracker. I never used mine in white water, it doesn't ride over waves well but you may have better luck solo from the center seat.

 

[jffdejongh]

Congrats on your new boat. I really like mine and have been tripping with it since 94'. I removed the center seat and put in a yoke. I also removed the seat drops raising the seats to the gunnels. It's stable and a good tracker. I never used mine in white water, it doesn't ride over waves well but you may have better luck solo from the center seat.

So you paddle yours from the bow seat backwards when using it as a solo or do you only tandem paddle it?

 

[lowangle al]

Yes I did paddle from the bow seat but if I had to do it again I would try using the stern seat for better paddling efficiency. The boat is fun to paddle empty from the stern if you don't mind a very bow light trim.