Boat modifications
I just noticed this is my 200th post and I've only been here about 6 months. Obviously, I've been running my yap too much.
Anyhow, the sailing kayak thread started me thinking about other modifications people have may have made to their boats. I've been seriously considering the installation of some sort of rowing conversion for my Penobscot 16 canoe. Something that can be easily installed and removed so the boat can still be paddled tandem or solo. I've looked at a lot of youtube ideas but haven't found anything that suits me just right. So I've been thinking about designing and building my own. Has anyone here done that successfully? Or seen a video that looks like a good idea?
The rowing conversion for the canoe actually sounds like an idea with merit, especially for traversing long stretches of slow moving water with few obstacles. One of my bucket list items is to take a canoe into a wilderness area in a national forest on a hunting trip and take in all my gear and bring out all my trash plus (hopefully) the fruits of the hunt. There are areas where this is quite feasible including some which would be easier rowed than paddled in some places but still require paddling in stretches of rapids.
I am sure that you have thought of it but it occurs to me that all that would be required would be clamp-on or permanent tholes to receive the oarlocks. Seating might be another matter although the center seat might be adequately positioned as long as the canoe was rowed with the seat closer to the bow and the rower looking aft. Definitely an interesting idea.
I have made modifications to my kayak but none really major. A bow to stern anchor trolley has replaced the rather short one provided by Old Town and several gear restraints have been added for convenience. A couple of RailBlaza mounts have been added and a couple more are under consideration. Nothing that really alters the dynamics of the craft though.
just remember most rowers sit low to the water more like a sit in kayak than a canoe, i have a canoe i use for fishing - exploring and it's far less stable than my kayak but i guess if i rigged a seat touch the floor lowering myself it would gain some stability. one of the places i kayak a man in his late 80's bring his rower and once he gets out on the water he can move his along at a good speed, they also have college competition on the lake and those rowers are mostly bare hull and just above the waterline.
What I had in mind is a very low removable center seat. Hopefully a sliding one with foot braces. And some sort of outrigger system to allow the oarlocks to be mounted outboard of the gunnels. Here's a YouTube video of a guy in an old aluminum canoe with something similar to what I have in mind, except his seat is too high and it doesn't slide. Also, the sides of my boat are lower and it glides through the water a lot better too. But this might give you an idea what I'm thinking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcCbYek_ERw
And for someone more serious about rowing and camping, check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_l88iwI4CU
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