Hello all-



I recently heard about the GA boats and have been doing as much web

research as I can on these intriguing, beautiful boats.  I've been

through the archives on this board and got some useful information,

but still have some concerns.  Here's my situation:



1) I live in an apartment and would be doing the build in my living

room (which has maximum 18' for building room, 17' storage room).  I'd

also store the boat inside the living room, suspended from the

ceiling.  Ingress/egress must be through the 44" x 28" window (I'm on

the first floor).

2) I'm in Portland, OR, so my most accessible waters are the small to

medium-sized shallow lakes and slow back channels in the

Willamette/Columbia basin, as well as the rivers themselves.  I would

  also like to paddle some of the more protected coastal bays and

estuaries.  The local whitewater is not on the menu for this boat, as

I have an inflatable kayak for that.

3) I have a paddling partner, and the two of us together weigh about

300 lbs.  The plan is day tripping only with some binoculars/camera

and lunch supplies.

4) I've been paddling canoes and kayaks since I was little.  I'd class

myself as a competent intermediate.

5) I prefer an upright, single-paddle style over the more reclined,

lower kayak style.

6) I've never built a boat, but I'm handy and have some woodworking

experience, as well as a very competent carpenter friend to help with

cutting and shaping the wood.



So the upshot is that I'm looking for the smallest, lightest flatwater

  open boat which will hold two people and supplies for a day trip.

I'd like to have the option to do multi-day solos, too.



I'm looking mainly at the Snowshoe 14, set up with no rocker for good

tracking and traditional canoe seats at or below thwart height.

However, I suspect it would be overly tippy if used this way.  While I

don't mind initial instability, I'm concerned about getting topheavy

and losing secondary stability.  The second choice is a Snowshoe 16,

but now we're talking about a boat which will max out my available

space and weighs just enough more to begin defeating the purpose of an

ultralight.



So my questions (finally):



Does anyone have experience paddling a Snowshoe 14 using a

single-blade paddle and higher-mounted seats?  Or does it have be

paddled from the floor with a double blade?



Does the Snowshoe 14 have enough freeboard at maximum load to handle

powerboat wakes and wind chop, regardless of seat height and paddling

style?



Since the Arrow is similar, perhaps an Arrow owner could comment?  If

what I want to do is not possible, please advise.



Thanks very much,

John

Hi John, I've built and paddled a Snowshoe14 both solo and two-up.

This was all done on a freshwater lake with small chop, no waves to

speak of though quite windy at times. No seats were fitted so it

was "sit on floor" style and I used both single and double paddles. I

actually preferred the single paddle even when going solo. The light

weight is a beautiful thing to experience being supremly responsive.

Our two-up weight would have been around 400lbs and even at that

there was plenty of freeboard and i never felt less than confident

and secure. Oh, I also flattened out the rocker something like the

Arrow. --- In Airolite_Boats@yahoogroups.com, "jelautomotive"

<jelautomotive@...> wrote:

>

> Hello all-

>

> I recently heard about the GA boats and have been doing as much web

> research as I can on these intriguing, beautiful boats.  I've been

> through the archives on this board and got some useful information,

> but still have some concerns.  Here's my situation:

>

> 1) I live in an apartment and would be doing the build in my living

> room (which has maximum 18' for building room, 17' storage room).

I'd

> also store the boat inside the living room, suspended from the

> ceiling.  Ingress/egress must be through the 44" x 28" window (I'm

on

> the first floor).

> 2) I'm in Portland, OR, so my most accessible waters are the small

to

> medium-sized shallow lakes and slow back channels in the

> Willamette/Columbia basin, as well as the rivers themselves.  I

would

>  also like to paddle some of the more protected coastal bays and

> estuaries.  The local whitewater is not on the menu for this boat,

as

> I have an inflatable kayak for that.

> 3) I have a paddling partner, and the two of us together weigh about

> 300 lbs.  The plan is day tripping only with some binoculars/camera

> and lunch supplies.

> 4) I've been paddling canoes and kayaks since I was little.  I'd

class

> myself as a competent intermediate.

> 5) I prefer an upright, single-paddle style over the more reclined,

> lower kayak style.

> 6) I've never built a boat, but I'm handy and have some woodworking

> experience, as well as a very competent carpenter friend to help

with

> cutting and shaping the wood.

>

> So the upshot is that I'm looking for the smallest, lightest

flatwater

>  open boat which will hold two people and supplies for a day trip.

> I'd like to have the option to do multi-day solos, too.

>

> I'm looking mainly at the Snowshoe 14, set up with no rocker for

good

> tracking and traditional canoe seats at or below thwart height.

> However, I suspect it would be overly tippy if used this way.

While I

> don't mind initial instability, I'm concerned about getting topheavy

> and losing secondary stability.  The second choice is a Snowshoe 16,

> but now we're talking about a boat which will max out my available

> space and weighs just enough more to begin defeating the purpose of

an

> ultralight.

>

> So my questions (finally):

>

> Does anyone have experience paddling a Snowshoe 14 using a

> single-blade paddle and higher-mounted seats?  Or does it have be

> paddled from the floor with a double blade?

>

> Does the Snowshoe 14 have enough freeboard at maximum load to handle

> powerboat wakes and wind chop, regardless of seat height and

paddling

> style?

>

> Since the Arrow is similar, perhaps an Arrow owner could comment?

If

> what I want to do is not possible, please advise.

>

> Thanks very much,

> John

>