Hairie's Okwata kayak

[hairymick]

G'day guys,


I would just like to brag on this one a little. She is the prototype of the latest model put out by Matt Langenfield of Jem Watercraft

http://www.jemwatercraft.com/proddetail.php?prod=Okwata1526

He lists her as a Touring Kayak but with bulkheads and hatches, I would make the call as being a recreational sea kayak.
Like all my boats, I fish from this one and set her up accordingly.
This one is new favouite kayak, with speed like a very good TK1 and sea worthyness of a sea kayak. Stability, comfort and tracking are superb. This boat need no rudder and is a delight to own and to paddle.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/hairymick/Okwata%20Build/Okwata%20fishing/River%20Heads/3803a09c.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/hairymick/Okwata%20Build/Okwata%20fishing/Burrum%20Heads/d74f7f01.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/hairymick/Okwata%20Build/Okwata%20fishing/Burrum%20Heads/eff1da28.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c32/hairymick/Okwata%20Build/Okwata%20Trips/Hervey%20Bay/8145f57c.jpg

[rob540]

Great outfit:2tsup:
Pardon my ignorance about kayaks, but the shape of this one evokes a strong memory of a design I dreamt of building when I was a kid in the 1960's...Is that possible? Although I think maybe it had stringers...but the shape... I loved those drawings to death, but I had no way of building her. I might just keep your link, and who knows, maybe...

[prozac]

Nice clean lines hm. How is the plywood held together?

[hairymick]

Thanks guys,

Rob, I don't know about the shape from the 60s, I just can't imagine any kayak from that era, with the refinements of this boat. This boat originated as a concept drawing and with a few little requests here and there, evolved into what you are looking at. The original Okwata had a rounded deck and slightly different hull. This one is a refinement of that hull with a little added length and a much prettier deck.

Prozac, Construction is simple Stitch and Glue, using epoxy resin and encapsulated in same and fibre-glass.

My complete build thread is here.

http://www.jemwatercraft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=2501

[honkongphoie]

this kayak looks very nice with some beautiful lines.

kayaking is very popular over her and getting a lot more followers, especially the anglers as you can get very close the the reefs, but they're the plastic bath tub type yaks.

i've looked a lot of kayaks and canoes but this one really appeals to me, it's just got something about it.

hmm could this be my next project.

i'm lost at the moment after 8 months building my yellowtail suddenly i have nothing to do.

[rob540]

Richard, I'm not surprised at all to read that. When you spend months on a project, even going to sleep working through a problem on a regular basis, there's a huge nasty hole in your mind where the build used to be. But the process of finding the next challenge can be interesting :rolleyes: It looks like Hairy is a habitual kayak maker- you can fit a lot of them in a shed...Have you done a tandem Hairymick?

[hairymick]

G'day honkongphoie and Rob,

Firstly, Hongkongphoie, thank you for the very kind words mate. This truly is a lovely kayak to paddle mate and is testament to the genius of Matt Langenfield. Sort of an American Boatmik and also a very good bloke.

Matt has resisted my pleas for a couple of years to re-design his original Okwata - or to create a completely new boat. He eventually relented and this one is the result.

I have to admit to being very biased here. I have only ever built Jem boats, though Mik has sorely tempted me with his lovely Eureka canoe.

My problem is that I am a compulsive canoe and kayak builder and just love to watch them take shape. If one is not on the workbench at any given time, you can be sure one is in the planning or preperation stage. Matt's boats suit my needs and desires, and If I get a half arsed idea or find a boat or a design that appeals to me, I send him an email with a request to design something similar as a custom job for me. There are a couple of these on the drawing boards as I type.:D

Depending on the urgency of my need for another epoxy fix, Matt usually comes up with something very quickly, a few emails back and forth and before I know it another design is born.All for what I think is a very modest fee.

The original Okwata was such a request from another builder and the new one is a result of my requests to change it for me.

As a fishing sit in kayak, I think she has no peer. She has sufficient beam to promote reasonable to very good initial stability yet is still easily fast enough to hold her own against any factory TK1 that I have paddled. She will leave the plastic sit on top crowd in her wake - easily. If I could only ever build one kayak, this would be the one.

Rob, To answer your question, no mate. We have a very good tandem factory, sea kayak in the shed but my experience with them has led me to believe they are divorce machines. My wife and I rarely use it. We both prefer to paddle our own boats.

When we feel the need to paddle together in the same boat (rarely) we take the canoe. We are both shift workers and rarely get the time off together anyway, so tandem boats are of little use to us.

[rob540]

Mick, do you think a 6'4" bloke with size 11's in glorious middle age would fit and be able to get out with dignity? I keep coming back to this design. Problem is, the kayakers I know would be happier in a much smaller craft than I would.

If not, any suggestions? Enjoyed your blog BTW. (the words and the photos):2tsup:

[hairymick]

Mick, do you think a 6'4" bloke with size 11's in glorious middle age would fit and be able to get out with dignity? I keep coming back to this design. Problem is, the kayakers I know would be happier in a much smaller craft than I would.

If not, any suggestions? Enjoyed your blog BTW. (the words and the photos):2tsup:


G'day Rob and thanks for the question mate.

I think you will fit an Okwata well. The cockpit as in the plans is big - real big but there is more! From memory, the rear bulkhead placement is about 3 inches behind the rear cockpit coaming so you can extend the cockpit even further back. I did this in my boat.

I am 6' and 200 pounds with a size AU 11 foot. I can fit in this boat easily. I can straddle it, sit in the seat and then lift my legs and feet in afterwards.

Performance - I also own a Roscoe TK1 and a Naureline Wanderer TK1. Okwata outperforms them both in every aspect, speed, stability, comfort and ease of entry.

Build an Okwata mate. you will never regret it..

[Rick_Tatum]

Nice job hairymick. I'd like to have a go at a plywood 'yak some day, in a design that is suitable for fishing. The only kayaks I have built were skin-on-frame jobs, Greenland style that were far too tender and demanding to be able to fish comfortably from.

[hairymick]

G'day Rick,

Thanks mate.

I started out fishing from my TK1s and found them limited in their size, stability and the places I could take them and I have never much liked the plastic sit on top jobs that are so popular these days.

Okwata is a good alternative for me..

Matt is like an American version of our very own Michael Storer (Boatmik) in that he is very generous with his words of wisdom and advice and he actually listens to what his builders want in a boat then does his best to create something that works for us.

My problem is that I am an epoxy junky now:D and there is allways something of Matt's being thrown together down in the shed. I absolutely need no more paddlecraft but I just can't help myself.:rolleyes: There is a sleeker, lower volume version of this boat being marked and cut out down there at the moment.it is a prototype and Matt calls it as a touring kayak but I would make the call as a low volume, smallish sea kayak. I am building it for my wife who is much smaller than I am.

If you can build a SOF kayak, you can easily build a Stitch and Glue jobbie mate.

[rob540]

Thanks for the info. That does sound promising. There are so many designs out there, all paired down to meet specific needs, and the web sites often don't help much in spelling out the real meaning of the choices available. They assume you know what you want, or what would work best for you.

I hope we see some of the progress on your current build too!

[Boatmik]

Very nice Hairy

MIK

[labr@]

There is a sleeker, lower volume version of this boat being marked and cut out down there at the moment.

:think:Hhhmmmm..........don't recall seeing anything on the Jem forum about this.
Does this mean the cat's officially out of the bag or is it just between you and me?:wink:

Come on Mick - we haven't seen a build log from you in months!:U

[Rick_Tatum]

I've taken a look-see at the Jem site, he has some nice and interesting designs over there. I'm in the midst of building MIK's GIS right now, maybe a ply kayak will be the next boat to build. Yes, the plywood construction wouldn't be as complicated as a skin on frame boat, I have full confidence in my ability to do one. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.


G'day Rick,

Thanks mate.

I started out fishing from my TK1s and found them limited in their size, stability and the places I could take them and I have never much liked the plastic sit on top jobs that are so popular these days.

Okwata is a good alternative for me..

Matt is like an American version of our very own Michael Storer (Boatmik) in that he is very generous with his words of wisdom and advice and he actually listens to what his builders want in a boat then does his best to create something that works for us.

My problem is that I am an epoxy junky now:D and there is allways something of Matt's being thrown together down in the shed. I absolutely need no more paddlecraft but I just can't help myself.:rolleyes: There is a sleeker, lower volume version of this boat being marked and cut out down there at the moment.it is a prototype and Matt calls it as a touring kayak but I would make the call as a low volume, smallish sea kayak. I am building it for my wife who is much smaller than I am.

If you can build a SOF kayak, you can easily build a Stitch and Glue jobbie mate.

[hairymick]

Thanks guys,

The boat I am working on at the moment is a prototype and the concept evolved though matt and I and a couple of other blokes sharing some ideas on what we thought would make a great boat.

It evolved from a tongue in cheek comment I made in a PM to Matt and he responded with a concept drawing. the thing just seemed to take on a life of its own and eventually evolved into what Matt now calls a Cobia.

The plans are not yet listed on his site because he has yet to finalize his build instructions for her. He doesn't send them to me because I never read them anyway.:doh:

Length 4.5 metres
beam around 600mm
Matt estimates load capacity at 109kg but I think he is being conservative.

With Matt's permission, I will start a new thread when I get something worthwhile posting.:U

In the meantime, he has just released this canoe. A scaled down version of my Sasquatch 16.5 and a simpler build. I think it is going to be an even better canoe than mine, and that is a HUGE call.:o

http://www.jemwatercraft.com/proddetail.php?prod=Sas15-30