catasup padamaran standamaran supCAT

November 25, 2024
The challenge in living at 42.9° north of the equator is what to do in the coldish months of the year. While the lakes are relatively ice free for much of the year now, a dry suit is not much fun.
Maybe I'm getting old...

Plans for you DIYers out there are in the works. The goal is a roll of paper plans and an instruction manual in time for Canoecopia, which is the harbinger of spring for paddlers at 42.9° north.

As always, a supCAT starts with two pontoons and a deck. It includes a base set of ‘build to order’ features and can also include optional add-ons like:a variety of lengths and widths, several different wood species, ‘pinstripes’, a custom decal, hatches, and ‘one of a kind’ deck designs.

There's something about wood boats that is hard to quantify. For me as a builder, I love the smell when I'm working the wood into shape, the feel of a spokeshave as it moves across a piece of wood, and the look of the wood as it comes alive under epoxy or varnish. As a paddler, the feel of a wood boat as it slips through the water is very satisfying.

Pictures below are from the July 2018 supCAT splash (aka the rare time a daughter and a boyfriend visit the old home place and are willing to model.) It handled well and felt great. As the pics show, this fourteen foot model nicely fits two people. A sixteen foot model is on my strongback right now (Nov 24), but coldness is messing up my epoxy plans, something about not curing at lower temps...