Well, I never made it out to Port Townsend last weekend like I'd hoped to (ended up doing some awesome skiing at Baker instead!). So I took yesterday off of work and headed over.
First let me say how great the people are at Pygmy. Kelly spend about a hour with me answering my questions, and going over the boats, and construction methods. BTW she's an avid reader of this site and said to say "hi" to everyone. (Darren, she hopes to see your boat in person when your done.)
I went in with the intention of buying a Coho kit, but decided to do a test paddle and compare it to the Tern before I handed over my hard earned plastic. I'm glad that I did, as I confirmed that the Coho is the right boat for me. I appreciated it's initial stability, and felt that it responded to my body movements in a more intuitive way.
So I handed over my card, and took home a Coho kit, with the hatch and bulkhead kit.
I was Very tempted to get the Sapele model, but decided against it solely on the fact that I didn't want the extra 5 pounds the sapele veneer adds to the weight of the finished boat. Instead I think I'll choose to stain the panels, based on the good results that I see Darren having, though I'm going to go with a more conventional color (maybe mahogany or cherry) than Darren's "purpleheart", as beautiful as it is.
There was a sapele model on display in the store though, that was absolutely gorgeous. It looked like a fine peice of furniture; the finish was immaculate, and the builder used a technique that didn't require drilling holes in the panels for the stitching (unfortunately in my rush to catch the ferry yesterday morning, I forgot and left my camera at home, so no pictures). The builder is from Snohomish, and this is his 12th Pygmy. Apparently he's been using this technique since his 3rd build. As explained by Kelly, he uses a high quality 3M strapping tape to temporarily hold the panels, and small dabs of 5 minute epoxy to do the actual "stitching". The result is a finished boat unmarred by the 1/16" holes along the panel joints. Again, I'm tempted, but I think this technique is a little advanced for me as this is my first boat, so will stick with the wire method.
First let me say how great the people are at Pygmy. Kelly spend about a hour with me answering my questions, and going over the boats, and construction methods. BTW she's an avid reader of this site and said to say "hi" to everyone. (Darren, she hopes to see your boat in person when your done.)
I went in with the intention of buying a Coho kit, but decided to do a test paddle and compare it to the Tern before I handed over my hard earned plastic. I'm glad that I did, as I confirmed that the Coho is the right boat for me. I appreciated it's initial stability, and felt that it responded to my body movements in a more intuitive way.
So I handed over my card, and took home a Coho kit, with the hatch and bulkhead kit.
I was Very tempted to get the Sapele model, but decided against it solely on the fact that I didn't want the extra 5 pounds the sapele veneer adds to the weight of the finished boat. Instead I think I'll choose to stain the panels, based on the good results that I see Darren having, though I'm going to go with a more conventional color (maybe mahogany or cherry) than Darren's "purpleheart", as beautiful as it is.
There was a sapele model on display in the store though, that was absolutely gorgeous. It looked like a fine peice of furniture; the finish was immaculate, and the builder used a technique that didn't require drilling holes in the panels for the stitching (unfortunately in my rush to catch the ferry yesterday morning, I forgot and left my camera at home, so no pictures). The builder is from Snohomish, and this is his 12th Pygmy. Apparently he's been using this technique since his 3rd build. As explained by Kelly, he uses a high quality 3M strapping tape to temporarily hold the panels, and small dabs of 5 minute epoxy to do the actual "stitching". The result is a finished boat unmarred by the 1/16" holes along the panel joints. Again, I'm tempted, but I think this technique is a little advanced for me as this is my first boat, so will stick with the wire method.