Thinking about building a Kipawa this winter but also have my eye out for a used Bell Northstar (which would negate building a Kipawa). Wondering about average weight you guys have been getting on your Kipawas. Weight will determine how hard I look and how much I'm willing to pay for a used Bell Northstar should one come along for sale in my area (upper midwest).

Thanks,

Alan

Depends. Get your calculator out

http://www.greenval.com/weight.html

Think mine was around 60 pounds, but I'm not a lightweight builder.

Wow, great link on the weights. Don't know how I missed that.

I built a Kite (Osprey) a couple years back and it came in just over 40 pounds. I was trying to keep it lightweight so used aluminum rails and thwarts and a fiberglass sliding seat.

According to Jonathan's weight estimates the bare fiberglassed hull of an Osprey would be 33.7 pounds. To this I added just under 10 pounds to get my actual finished weight.

Going by the same numbers the bare fiberglassed hull of the Kipawa would be exactly 10 pounds heavier (43.7 pounds). Rails would only be a couple feet longer. I'd need 2 seats instead of one but I also wouldn't have the weight of the sliding pedestal that I had in the Kite. Would have to add a wood carry thwart. Maybe 3-7 pounds more than I had in the Kite in terms of trim, seats, and whatnot if i built it the same way? So it should be 13-17 pounds heavier than my Osprey. That would put the boat at the mid/upper-50's. Sounds about right based on what RHaslam's weighs.

Also going by Jonathan's weights building with 3/16" strips would drop another 8 pounds. Now we're talking possible upper 40's or low 50's.

I could live with that but knowing how much $$$$ and time it takes to build a stripper I'll certainly be keeping my eye out for a used Northstar at a good price. Of course a used Kipawa would be nice too but I've never seen a Swift for sale in the area.

Alan

Well, it looks like I won't be posting the actual results as a Bell Northstar in Black Gold came along for a price I couldn't refuse. So no Kipawa build for me.

I did, however, order plans for a Barracuda and hope to get going on it in a week or so.

Alan