Plebeian Yacht Club

This blog will cover me making this kevlar Vagabond Poke boat a more comfortable, and seaworthy solo canoe, while still keeping it light enough to hand carry from truck to the water....all critiques/advice is welcome!

Sunday, April 24, 2016

Adjustable Minicell Seat Concept

Special thanks to canoe modding legend Mike McCrea for advice on carving a seat out of mini-cell foam, but for my needs i cannot permanently glue the seat into my hull because i plan on sleeping on my Vagabonds floor occasionally. 
I sketched these concepts around NorthWaters glue-on anchor products (colored red in these sketches)...These unique nylon webbing anchors will make it possible for me to remove the minicell seat when i need to. Straps are glued/sandwiched between two minicell blocks and should hold strong as glue likes large surface area to adhere to. 
NorthWater offers a similar idea:
My Vagabonds empty cockpit hull:



Sunday, April 17, 2016


Got some freebies!, a kayak LED navigation light, with a beefy suction cup mount and a folding Klepper cart that came with the old Klepper Aerius II "kayak" that my friend Ed gave to me. Ed is a good friend, a retired ship engineer and a Viet Nam veteran. 

 Nav light next to my cat Remus....lights are a must have here in Florida, especially on the weekends after happy hour.

 The nav light's battery holder was severely corroded so i gave it an overnight CLR bath...and it worked! I also got a stern light with a long stick....don't know how ill mount that one.
Ebay score: We-No-Nuh "lite" carbon paddle. 50" long so i might need to cut it down, the handle has a crack on the top of it so it needs a tiny patch of glass+epoxy





Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Classic Sawyer Solo Seat modification concept i drew up while being overly caffeinated...Design is for rudder systems and will retain fore/aft and up/down seat adjustability, keeping the foot braces the same distance from the seat no matter what position the seat is in.
If i ever install a rudder on my old Sawyer Solo kevlar...i might fabricate this although i have no idea how id integrate the steering cables.....got any tips/ideas?


Monday, April 11, 2016

Sawyer Solo Kevlar sliding seat

I really like the simplicity and relative lightness of Sawyers old Solo Kevlar sliding seat system, you have three hight adjustment levels and fore and aft adjustment, which helps adjust trim, and i'm told  helps when paddling into the wind (move seat forward)
Time to repair the cracks in my plastic Sawyer seat, here i am dremel'n out the crack a little with the idea ill fill it with some epoxy fairing mix and fiberglass... BUT since this plastic melts when touched with acetone( polystyrine? ) im not sure if epoxy is the best glue to use. Know what glue i need?

Wednesday, April 6, 2016



Poke Boat torture device, AKA Vagabond canoe seat



                       Seat is made of PVC (bottom half) and fiberglass (top /"back-rest")
My goal is to make this thing more rigid, and comfortable, and strong enough 
to support 135 lbs.  (me, wet with clothes)

My kevlar Vagabond canoe by Poke Boats

This blog will cover me making the Vagabond Poke boat more comfortable, and seaworthy solo canoe, while still keeping it light enough to hand carry from truck to the water....all critiques/advice is welcome! 



maiden voyage, testing trim by moving seat to "solo" position
Sitting in the rear seat, some Vagabond owners prefer this position when soloing


                         Crazy Creek seat-pad overtop the stock Poke Boat seat which must have been designed by "Marquis De Sade"according to Mike McCrea...and i concur, i tried the seat without the seat pad and it was painful!

Summary and future plans: 
Im planning to install a FeatherCraft "double" rudder kit sold by Chesepeak Light Craft:
the kit comes with the steering/control pedals+cables,  

Maneuvering the vag was a lot easier than my 15' Sawyer kevlar solo, but i experienced weather helm, especially going downwind..(it was a breezy day) so Im definitely buying a rudder system

The stern airbag's valve disintegrated and deflated during my test!! so i stayed in shallow water most of the time. So i'm in the process of making a 'hard' floatation with my homemade hot-wire foam cutter and a bunch of 2" styrofoam glued together and cut into the shape of my vagabonds stern and bow.

i think  the stock seat, when used with my old Crazy Creek seat pad, was not that bad, really...but position was a little too low for my tastes, which gives me the mini-cell modification idea i'm working on...more on that later!