Jfpaddler wrote:
I’ve seen your work on a few forums now, and I’m curious about what you look for in your tandem kayak to decked canoe conversions. I’m interested in the idea of converting one myself and any advice you have on selecting the right candidate boat all the way to modification advice would be greatly appreciated
So this doesn’t get lost in the gel coat discussion I’m posting a response as a new thread.
JF, you have done it now. Converting a ‘70’s style “European-style tandem touring kayak” to a solo decked tripper is shop tinkering time near and dear to my heart. Most of our current fleet of 6 such conversions were bought used, mostly in the $100 range, and a two were battered freebies. With a couple hundred dollars in parts and pieces they make very functional open water tripping and sailing canoes. Fun day sailers too.
As far as a good candidate hull to convert to a solo decked tripper I would look for something that approximates the lines and expansive cockpit of a Sawyer Loon or Mad River Monarch, both Kruger designs.
MRC Monarch, page 8
https://web.archive.org/web/20130604032 ... ocused.pdfFor lack of better order I’ll present some in the order in which I converted them.
Old Town Sockeye
16' 5' x 31 1/2"
Link at the bottom of the page
https://adirondack.pastperfectonline.co ... 3539293670Pros: Very deep (15 1/4") , all the way to the both stems, where most ‘70’s tandems are quite shallow at the stern. A heavy load gear hauler, friends call it the Winnebago, I named it “The Sea Wimp”. It is the best sailing hull we own, even with too much sail aloft (photo courtesy of Charlie Wilson)
Mike M Sailing 01 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Cons: Ours is from 1971, heavy as hell woven roving. No cockpit coaming for a skirt or storage cover, just a smooth rounded transition; Cooke Custom Sewing made a snap on cover for it. I have seen a total of two in 30 years.
Poke/Phoenix Vagabond
16’ 5” x 29”
Pros: Most often found used in a glass & nylon layup, so lighter than some others. Another nice sailing hull. All of our decked conversions have a simple downwind sail, handy for big open water wind, but also for shallow waters where getting a paddle blade down is an exercise in futility.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU2mE83Gi0MCons: The Poke/Phoenix MSRP was always crazy high, and so it is hard to find one at a rock bottom price. I drove from Maryland to South Carolina for that one.
Hyperform Lettmann Optima
16’ 6” x 30” (Notice the length/width similarities in those vintage “European-style touring kayaks)
Pros: Another excellent sailing hull, and seemingly not a unicorn in rarity; I’m converting a third one; maybe I just got lucky, each cost around $100 used.
Cons: Lots of glassed in OEM features to cut out. Hyperform made them either in heavy woven roving or lighter glass & nylon, even in the same year (1977)
Here’s a write up on the process of converting one of them. I do not recommend trying to get it all done in a three day shop marathon.
http://scooter-bangortoportland.blogspo ... canoe.htmlKlepper Kammerad TS
15’ 11” x 30”
Pros: The “TS” stood for “tandem sailing”, the Kamerad makes fine solo sailer too. Built like a tank, with buttresses between the hull bottom and decks.
Cons: Woven roving, very thick gel coat and internal buttresses heavy as hell.
P4170008 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
There are other possibilities in vintage composite tandems. The Bavaria Boote Amazonas II/Missouri II comes up for sale occasionally. Or one of the venerable Rob Roy-style designs, although those are uncommon used cheap.
In more modern poly tandems the Wilderness System Pamlico 145T (14’ 6” x 28”) makes a wonderful pocket decked sailing canoe, and the Pamlico 160T (15’ 6” x 33”) makes a fine, albeit heavy, big boy, big load hauler.
The P145 is my wife’s favorite of all the decked sailing trippers. Less width and wetted surface length, plenty nimble. Sail up, rudder down, feel free to talk with your hands.
IMG014 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
Converting those by raising one of existing seat is easy, and the seat can still be slide fore and aft for trim. Mostly though, in terms of available tandems, with modern rudders & controls, they are more common used than the ‘70’s composite tandems.
One interesting thing with the 1st and 2nd generation 145 and 160 Pamlicos, they have slight but near continuous rocker, so they are very responsive to the rudder when sailing, and fairly nimble when paddled. The 3rd generation Pamlicos, with the gurgling tracking channels along the bottom sucked, and were noisy about it.
PA260039 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
My Pamlico holy grail is a 145T-Pro, the 15’ 1” x 30” kevlar version. With an MSRP of $3500 Wilderness Systems didn’t sell many, and folks that have them don’t let them go.
By way of comparison, foreground to background, MRC Monarch, Pamlico 145T, OT Sockeye, Phoenix Vagabond
IMG019 by
Mike McCrea, on Flickr
One seat note; the “seats” in the Vagabond, Optima and Klepper were designed by Marquis de Sade; since you need to install a raised solo center seat for decked canoe conversion find a comfortable one.
One or two rudder notes; most of those ‘70’s era European-style tandems had extraordinarily rudimentary rudders, so rudimentary that there was no mechanism to retract the rudder blade while in the boat. Pull over, get out, and retract or remove the rudder blade by hand. And most of them did not have foot pedal controls for steering with the rudder, just a hand cord loop through pulleys.
To be functional those have needed modern foot pedal controls, and either a modern rudder or significant modification.
FWIW the Wilderness Systems P145 and P160 storage covers fit the Optima and Klepper (and Monarch) cockpits, and, if you are into wearing a skirt, a P145 solo spray skirt fits the Optima solo seat placement.
JF, I am obviously smitten with those converted tandems. If you find a suitable candidate and have questions you know where to find me.