Further to my last post warning of the stability issues on these boats, I thought I'd share a video from this morning which highlights the problem. There is absolutely no chance of getting a decent sleep in these things - regular as clockwork, just as you're nodding off, another cold wave splashes y...

The other thing worth bearing in mind is that the LV is a lot more 'playful.' My mate is a bit of a psycho when it comes to rough water paddling and even he finds his LV is very unstable and often brings out one of his more boring boats when conditions are big. I love my tippy Shrike-R in rough cond...

Pedro, I reckon that so long as the two Nicks are happy that just using twill without extra fibreglass tape on the joins will be structurally sound, then it will be a straightforward job. All you'd have to do is make sure you make the fillets neat and smooth when you're applying them. That's not dif...

My experience of glassing the inside of boats is that it's hard - much harder than doing the outside. I have to throw in the disclaimer that I'm just a home bodger without a fraction of Nick Schade's knowledge, before saying: I think glassing it whilst the fillets are still wet is just wrong. That w...

Hi Stu. I've just looked at the build manual, but my version is from 2014(!) so is probably different to yours - hopefully Nick will provide more up to date info. Anyhoo, on page 11 of mine, there's a section titled 'Measurements list, for later reference' which includes the following: 'centre of se...

Afloat at last! First impressions? Very agile and I must admit it felt a bit twitchy to begin with, but as others have said, I soon started to get used to the new feel. Obviously still to try in rough water but I’m feeling optimistic! Outfitting needs tweaked though - a little more on the foot bloc...

Can anyone advise what the neck seal is like on the Kokatat Hydrus? I am not keen on really tight neck seals...normally they leave me feeling strangled especially around my Adams apple.. The original seal was just a good quality latex seal. I'm tall and lean and it fitted me okay - it was tight eno...

The photo (but not your diagram) looks like the retro fit kit being sold by Southern Sea Kayaks. However, it seems horrifically expensive: https://www.sseak.co.uk/product/retro-fit-skeg-kit/ I'd suggest you download the Shrike build manual for free and go to the section where it describes how to bui...

Deciding which way to jump is the tricky bit. Rather than adding to the confusion by giving you loads of options, I'll just give you one recommendation, based on having purchased, used, altered and repaired loads of drysuits. The suit I use most is one of these: https://www.escape-watersports.co.uk/...

I'd say the two big factors you need to take into account are whether your outer paddling clothing keeps you dry, and whether your under clothing continues to provide insulation when it's wet. (Brands like 'Fourth Element' sell thermal layers which are good at this.) Whether or not your cag is thin ...

I've repaired both my two 'main' Greenland paddles. One had actually snapped in two at the shaft because I'd made a daft blunder when making it. The other one had developed a small crack in the shaft, which eventually started to widen and would open up if you tried to bend the paddle. I repaired the...

IF we were wearing a PFD and suitable clothing for immersion, yes, we might make it. PFDs and dry suits are obviously important for keeping you alive, but can stuff you when it comes to long swims. I know of two local divers who came up from a boat dive off the coast of Cornwall, to find their boat...

I would normally answer this question with some predictable, boring waffle about rolls and re-entries being the thing to focus on, not swimming. However, I recently discovered how my own incompetence/tight-fistedness could have resulted in me being forced to do a swim: I'd used the wrong sort of woo...

I installed a Click-On hatch in one of my boats. I've never had a full rubber hatch so can't compare the two, but it seems very easy to get on and off, and has been reasonably dry so far, even though I haven't been particularly fastidious about keeping it clean and lubed with silicone. It must be re...

This is more a comment and question of curiosity. Is this an older kayak from the era of pre-day hatch construction? If so, and if it is of interest you could add a third bulkhead and day hatch. If it could be done, that would certainly be a good way of stiffening up the back deck, and gaining a us...

Hi everyone, i'm after a wooden greenland paddle. Can anyone recommend someone who makes them or has them made for sale that are reasonably priced? Suggestion: if you definitely don't want to make one yourself, the cheapest option will be getting one from a DIYer. DIYers rarely stop at making just ...

How difficult it is for a yacht to change course at sea depends on which way he's sailing relative to the wind, what sails he's got up and how many helping hands he's got on board - they have to do something with their sails each time they turn across the wind. We have close encounters with big boat...

That's what I was thinking but also the not sure of best way to waterproof them? Foam obviously wouldn't need waterproofing, but for wood, a few decent coats of varnish would do the trick. I've made curved thigh-braces by scoring several straight lines into sheets of marine ply and then cracking th...

Can you make thigh braces? Improvising ? Yep, you can make new thigh braces out of plywood or foam etc. or you could repurpose plastic ones from a similar shaped boat. The trick is attaching them, but there are glues out there that will do it, or you could drill through and bolt them in place using...

...I'd identify a source for front hatch covers before I bought the boats... Up and Under have got a few front and rear Mk 1 Capella hatch covers in stock. I bought my first stuff from them about a month ago, and was very impressed with their speedy service. http://www.upandunder.co.uk/Watersports/...

Thanks Damo, appreciate the info. Must admit I’m a bit nervous about the glassing. I’m fairly confident with bits of wood but wet sticky glass cloth puts me right out of my comfort zone! Yep, pouring your first container-full of epoxy over the twill is a scary 'no going back now' moment. However, o...

Has anyone done a project like this later in the year in a cold garage and can advise? That's looking great. Yes, a load of us down here built our first Shrikes as winter projects so were doing glass and epoxy in the depths of January in unheated garages. I only had one problem on a particularly co...

Loving the thread and the builds. Has anyone thus far built a Shrike for a 280 lb load? I've never tested the maximum carrying capability of my full-sized Shrike, but I know it's huge as I've carried a full multi-day camping load and it bobbed around happily with loads of freeboard. If you needed m...

...What do people do about ears? ... One of the members on this forum has posted about how they've been really badly affected by surfers/swimmers ear. It seems like it's difficult and unpleasant to treat, and the risk factor is having water down your ear canal in cold weather. A few years ago I the...

Are you suggesting doing this from the inside?and then work on closing the whole tear? That sounds about right. It's really difficult trying to interpret what's going on from photos, but the mental picture I've got is that you have a fat inflatable tube which has at least one tear in it. However, t...

...should I coach them the basics with euro paddle first and migrate to Greenland later? Interested in other's opinions. I'd first check why they've already decided they want to go down the Greenland Paddle route and so long as their reasoning takes into account the considerations PeterG mentions, ...

...Any help greatly appreciated I'm a huge fan of Lidl 'specials' and I've got quite a few bits of really-good kit which have served me well over many years, including a pair of neoprene watersports boots which a few of us have been waiting to come back on sale for many years - not just because we'...

This photo from 12 years ago shows the amount of freeboard - something I didn’t really appreciate until recently. That and the practically zero rocker makes it a bit of a beast in any kind of following or quartering swell. Surfing is fun but scary as the bow soon buries and hanging on to your line ...

It's a great paddle, with loads of stuff to see - most of which is different each time you go, depending on what the weather and wildlife is up to. I've heard parking has become a problem around Mount Batten with all the staycationing going on. Might be worth paying to park in the watersports centre...

Thanks Stuwar and Spikeedog. I'm really impressed with the mouth-mount for the camera - being able to quickly bung it in your gob so it's pointing where you're looking is a no-brainer when you want to keep your hands on the paddle. The only thing I'm less than impressed with is the fish-eye lens on ...