New old Kestrel

[Ron Mc]

Of course I'm not new to kayaking, but picked up a new boat this morning.

14' long, 26" wide, kevlar composite, 39 lbs.
The boat has been long-discontinued, Duane at TG had contacted CD and bought the last 3 - this is the last of those, and was a demo boat.
No rudder option, and doesn't need one - you lean to turn on the hull.
Sorry about the messy garage.
There are 3 bulkheads across the hull, making it pretty much sink-proof

Not a hugely practical fishing boat, but I have some non-destructive rigging ideas.

It's also pretty amazing how well-sealed are all the hatches

[Kayak buddy]

Nice kayak

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

[JW FunGuy]

That’s gonna be FAST! Those thigh braces will come in handy.

[Ron Mc]

thanks guys - there's definitely no room in the cockpit for anyone else with me.
It fits kind of like a glove.
Mrs. TG was worried I might not be able to get my butt into it, but it's quite cozy.
The pegs are a little short with my 35" inseam - I'm probably going to eventually remove them and put up a custom bulkhead for my footprint using urethane modeling foam with a thin rubber layer - keep the pegs in a bag for loaning to shorter legs.

[SWFinatic]

Congrats she's a beauty! I know it's fast.

[texnomad]

When I was in Washington State working and living next to the Columbia River, I used the earlier version of that hull in a Sink and it was a wonderful delight to paddle. It slid along in the water like there was no resistance. And talk about twisting and turning when you wanted to play. It was a great fun hull.

[Ron Mc]

Spent some time cleaning the boat with 303 last night. It was delightful to easily pick it up at the middle and just as easily turn it over. I'm also going to coat the gel-coat with a protective glaze, Mr. Hard Water - this stuff works on PE boats, too, where I use it on the bottom after I turn them over to dress rash.

[Neumie]

Very pretty kayak. I haven't seen thigh straps in years, and I'd wager 80% plus of today's kayak anglers have no clue what those are.

You going to let me paddle it?

[Ron Mc]

only if I can borrow a motor to chase you -
- of course, everyone gets to play.

[TexasJim]

Stay tuned for the first of many Kestrel mods, from the rigging guru! Neat score, Ron. Looks fast. Bill Lee's ultralight racing sailboat company in California, Santa Cruz Yachts, had a neat motto: Fast is Fun! That applies here, too. TexasJim

[Ron Mc]

It's going to be simple rigging - I've already figured out the dashboard mount, and will add a no-holes trolley, been thinking on how to route it and have ideas.

[JW FunGuy]

Damn I like that boat!
Since your limited to the screws you’ve got it might run a little higher than you probably would like but I think it would work fine.
Are you planning on taking that down to the gulf or just lakes?

See you tomorrow?

[Ron Mc]

maiden voyage will be Boerne City Lake, where I'll christen her Donny for the tax cut that paid for her - pour a little beer on the bow, drink the rest, and pray that she always gets us home upright and safe.
10 years ago, we used Virgil's Root Beer


A definite use is to mother-ship my dad's power boat to Fence Lake and Green Island. There's some great water in the far back of Fence Lake, and the Bottleneck connects Fence to Allyn's Lake.

Any time I have a chance to loan my Tarpon to a boat-less friend, this is the boat I'll paddle, but it's not quite possible to rig it to the Tarpon level.
It won't fit a milk crate, won't stow a 3-pc rod tube, except for using the netting to pin the extending parts.
The stern hold between the bulkheads perfectly fits a 20-qt Ice Mule, which also lets me keep the ice pack and libation weight below the roll center - have to insert the empty cooler bag and load it through the hatch.
One reviewer built an insulated lid for the sternwell and used it for a fishbox, but it's where I'll stash fishing sundries. I can use my stringer on the dashboard cleat.
http://www.topkayaker.net/KayakData/Reviews/Kestrel.htm

feeling nautical - bow line dressed and secured to quick-deploy from either end

[Ron Mc]

boat porn warning.
2 hour paddle with Stevo this morning on Boerne City Lake. We paddled a bit, christened the boat, swapped for just a few seconds, and paddled some more.
Loaded up

Holy cow, the initial stability is spooky. Secondary stability comes on, but reach across waves is pucker time. Pretty big wind and waves this morning , much bigger wind than the 9 kt predicted on the ground. Up here, it was more like 16 kt.
You feel really stable going upwind, fight just a little windcock going down, and swing like a pendulum on the waves reaching across the wind.
When it feels like too much, a flat paddle blade on the surface stabilizes you.

Stevo took her out, turned back in quickly - he was not happy with the waves, and his CG is higher than mine - all my height is in my legs.
His first boat was a Kahuna, so he's very familiar with low primary stability.
Even the tall seat on the Revo is similar until you get going.

Gratuitous boat photos on a nice beach.



The boat is not noticeably faster than my T160 (it is noticeably lighter and much more tippy), except that it was much easier for me to keep up with his Revo 16 in Mirage Go.
Where the boat feels like a rocket is going upwind, where you're not afraid to dig hard.
From the beach, handed my camera to Steve, and he shot a few frames of me when we went back out.


Overall, it's a lot of core muscle work to keep yourself up. You have to press your thighs against the gunwhales at just about all times. When you're reaching through wave troughs and they rock you to distraction, that flat paddle blade on the surface helps you regain your orientation.
I never felt I was close to turtleing, but turning around to grab from the well is out of the question.
For my use of taxi to wadefishing with a single rigged rod, and more gear staged behind to access when I get out of the boat, it will work just fine.
I also didn't get brave enough to use the thigh straps, or lean to turn hard. Looking forward to more time - it's great exercise and fun to paddle.

[JW FunGuy]

I still love that boat Ron!
Like anything new it will take time to get used to. I know from decades in whitewater slolom and downriver boats that are quite tippy, using knee and thigh braces makes you not only feel but actually be more a part of the kayak. Plus with using your core and paddling more with your back (arms straighter and more latts) you can transfer that energy directly to the boat and it becomes more stable in the processs.
The best part is going out and playing with it and seeing what works.
It was great meeting you Saturday.

[Ron Mc]

Nice meeting you, too, Jerry.
No worries, I'm still excited about the boat. I just have to keep the cg down.
I'm going to spend some more time fitting the boat to me and my long legs - going to try replacing the seat with a Padz and if that works, add a back-strap, probably add some heel blocks to my custom footprint using urethane modeling foam, gel-coat, and a thin rubber layer.

[JW FunGuy]

Yep, that’s the way to do it! If you ever want some company on a cruise around the lake just let me know. I can always use the exercise!

[Ron Mc]

was out again on BCL this morning with my nephew.
Much better conditions this morning, no significant waves and SE 8 kt.
We paddled the whole perimeter, 5 mi in under an hour-and-a-half. The boat handled all points of wind very well.
A couple of improvements, replaced the seat with a Padz and back band, which lowered me a bit, and have the back band adjusted so it doesn't quite touch the back of the cockpit.
The opposite of a big padded seat, it's actually very cozy.

Also had my ballast in the front hatch, which I think eliminated windcock and improved stability (compared to having it in the rear hatch last trip)
We paddled up the creek arm until the vegetation across the width blocked our path.
I got pretty good at using the thigh-straps to make leaning turns.

another good outing, and a pretty good Corpus brew late morning, Merman coffe stout

My feet went to sleep on the long paddle - I'm going to work on building heel blocks for my reach to take out the foot pegs - the pegs come out of the rack easily and are easily put back in for shorter legs.