Kingfisher or no?

[Ranger5280]

I am looking to combine my love of wood working with my quest for new and challenging activities. I have been searching online for sculling boat plans and have become enamoured of the kingfisher design. I fear that, lacking any true boat knowledge, I might not have chosen a boat suitable for the lakes and reservoirs of Colorado. I have minimal rowing experience.
Any suggestions?

You might post it.

Originally Posted by mark775

You might post it.

A good idea!

It is getting more and more popular that a questionner expects WE do the research before replying............

[Boston]

two things to remember about Colorado lakes
wind and cold
you might not think it on a hot summer day but the mountain lakes are ice cold sometimes just a few feet down
the wind here can pick up to 70 and 100 MPH gusts in an instant
I once saw a hobie cat get blown the length of Chatfield res and end up on the rocks in the middle of the dam
the boat flipped about five or six times and every time they righted it the wind just grabbed it and sent it over again
the guys sailing got ejected about mid way and had to be rescued by the parks boat

a scull is a bit different but is a narrow delicate boat and the lakes of Colorado are deceptive in there tranquility

my advise is to use a lot of caution and have a great time
build a solid boat and make it positively buoyant with your weight included in the calculations
best of luck
B

Bos, have you ever seen dome tents rolling on the water? It's hilarious. We have here a spit of land, "the spit" made of mostly sand, as spits are. No amount of tentpegs hold these things in place and a gust will sometimes take them miles before they fill and sink, spilling tennis shoes and Doritos the whole way! I had a friend that got hit with one once - he claims that a camera in it dented his car...

[Boston]

oh that is hilarious
we were out camping at lake Maconahe and got caught up in a wind storm
blew a half dozen tents out across the water never to be seen again
I tied mine to a tree cause Ive seen it before
but Im not sure they ever sink if the thing is zipped shut
we took a one of the water ski boats across and looked but there was no way

we do get some nasty wind storms round here and folks out on a lake are particularly exposed

another one thats real deceptive about the lakes round here is the clarity of the water. I once walked up to a shore line, looked in and thought it was maybe wading depth,
it wasnt
and the water was flipping frigid
gave everyone a good laugh though
to bad I didnt have any extra cloths