My favourite
Boat Designer, Phil Bolger, has a saying something like
"there are two sorts of good boat, ones you live aboard and ones that
you stick on the car roof to take home".
This might be an
oversimplification, but it contains more than a grain of truth.
I have taken it to heart
with
each of the boats that I have built for myself, "Beth" the 16ft sailing
canoe that I can get off the car roof by myself was followed by the
Balsa Strip "Wee Lassie" canoe which is 10 1/2' long and weighs in at
12 lbs. Then I designed and built the Wooden Raceboard
(racing
windsurfer) that, even though weighing in at a "hefty" 12kg (about 3/4
the weight of a carbon fibre production board of the same era) was at
least stackable!
To reduce size much
beyond
these limits starts to strain the definition of what a boat is
-
is a surfboard a boat? I suspect not - there is the question
of
using hands for propulsion and the board not supporting the surfer's
full weight - both of which are quite unboatlike. Though I
did
borrow this sailing dinghy once . . .
Move a size up to a
surfski
and I think you have a real boat - most sizes keep you out of the water
most of the time and there is the possibility of moving moderate
distances at moderate speeds with the use of the paddle.
Surfskis come in two
basic
types. Long thin ones for speed in open water and short ones
for
catching and maneuvering on waves. I am interested in the
short
ones here.
These skis have become
shorter in the search for tighter turning while on a wave.
Their
thickness has increased at the same time to retain flotation.
The curious thing is
that for
every ski I see being used in the surf I see 10 being used on smoother
waters. I suspect people like their portability and the ease
of
storage – easy to drop onto the roofracks and head down to
the
water for a spontaneous paddle after work or on the weekend.
Covering longer
distances is just not the point – the point is to clear the
cobwebs and get cool.
The Ski shown here, the
“Russki” is a relative of my sailboard in shape but
with a
much simplified structure. It has enough buoyancy to support
a
paddler of up to 200lbs (90kg) with a good reserve.
The really high
performance
waveskis are usually a couple of feet smaller for even better turning
when surfing the face of a wave – they can turn much tighter
than
most of us would need when a good ride on a moderate sized wave is the
focus. The slightly greater length of the Russki will paddle
easier on flat water and provide a good,
fast ride on a wave.
The Russki comes out of
a couple of sheets of ply – (imperial 8ft x 4ft, 2440 x
1220mm)
and is a suitable project for a first time builder of teenager.
It requires no strongback (building support) as the hull is
self jigging. The
hull has a minimised internal structure, the seat is a block of foam
set into the deck, carved to hold you in place and then glassed
over. My calculations show the weight will come in at
11.5kg (25lb) built of Gaboon ply and epoxy –
comparable
with production skis.
Oh Yes, it is
called
the Russki after a former workmate of mine. Russell is a
sawyer,
a big bloke with a beard and tattoos and a couple of missing teeth (a
hazard of the trade). He also writes rather good
poetry. It
was his idea, so Russell's Surfski – Russki.
er and provide a good,
fast ride on a wave.