Quote:
Originally Posted by bubblehide
Well, I've been thinking of taking the plunge for a few years now..... I've discussed my idea with Jim Day....so I decided to make my Current Design, Alutra into a pedal drive.
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Since I'm better at posting pictures as well as "novels" let me help Gary out here.
What he's doing (and yes I'm making one as well) is putting a Hobie drive into a Current Designs Altura...
The Altura is a Kevlar composite kayak that's fifteen feet long and about 55 pounds they were marketed as a high end alternative to plastic fishing kayaks and retailed for just under two grand.
These kayaks are very fast, handle well in the surf and they stronger and lighter then anything on the market in their size class because they are made from Kevlar which is something like as strong as steel though lighter weight then fiber glass. Since Kevlar is laid up with the same process and resins as glass it's fully glass compatible, and in fact the production Altura has both glass and Kevlar elements in it's construction.
Here's the stats:
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Length :
| 15' 0" (457.2 cm)
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| Form :
| Swede
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Width :
| 31" (78.74 cm)
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| Depth :
| 12" (30.48 cm)
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Chine :
| Soft
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| Hull :
| Shallow arch
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Cockpit size:
| 55" x 20" (139.7 cm x 50.8 cm)
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| Cockpit type:
| Open
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Forward Hatch:
| 16.5" x 11" (41.91 cm x 27.94 cm)
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| Day Hatch:
| 8" dia. (20.32 cm)
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Front Hatch Volume:
| 35 gal. (133 L)
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| Day Hatch Volume:
| 25 gal. (95 L)
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Max. load*:
| 450 lb. (202.5 kg)
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Current designs usually builds touring kayaks, and the reason they make them out of kevlar is not only are they lighter weight but also stiffer then other materials which makes them faster. The less flex you have in the hull the more paddle energy goes into forward progress. So this design is actually about the fastest paddle driven sit on top fishing kayak ever produced even though it's now been discontinued.
As soon as I saw it I wanted it as I already knew their specs, but also for a while I had been toying around with the idea of putting a Hobie drive into a non-Hobie yak, and the Altura with it's strong specs and composite construction was the perfect opportunity for me to do that without building another kayak up from scratch.
I've long been a fan for the merits and technology of the Hobie drive, but have never been a fan of their actual kayaks. So the idea for me was to take their superior drive system and put it into a superior kayak, that should out perform other yaks even stock Hobies especially in the surf.
Naturally when he brought it by the shop topic turned to what I planned to do with it which got him interested in the idea of putting a Hobie drive in his Altura as well.
We got a hold of a Hobie made some molds purchased our drives retail as replacements and ever since then for me the projects been on the back burner. I always have a ton of projects and this happens a lot for me but Gary is now boldly going it on his own, partially he claims to get me off my ass and building my own
So what he's done is made a glass plug off a mold that will now hold the drive in the new yak.
That looks like the form upside down laminated out of carbon, kevlar and a glass composite.
That looks like a detail of where the drive locks go.
Looks like he's cut out stainless that's going to be tapped for the locks mounting screws.
...and there he has glassed over those mounts..
So Gary it looks great. I would of probably predrilled the mounting plates and tapped them, then glassed them in place with bolts already in them.
That said you've made great process.
So when are you going to cut the hole in the hull? Your welcome to bring it by when you want to do it.
If I was you I'd find someone with a Revo and measure the distance from the slot to the seat again. It's the old Rastifarian proverb, measure twice cut once...
That applies to boat hulls more then anything.
Good stuff.... Jim