O FIDDLE D D

“Inspired by Mathew Murphy’s article, ‘A Solo Canoe for Double Paddle’ (Small Boats 2007), a 10′6″ version of Harry Bryan’s Fiddlehead is now being paddled around the bays and beaches of the Bucklands Peninsula” in New Zealand, writes Tony Hinde. Named for his grandmother’s “favorite words of disparagement,” O FIDDLE D D went together in less than six months of part-time construction and fit the bill for “an easily managed, short-term, self-build craft” that can be walked to the nearby beach when conditions and inclination allow. Tony used radiata pine for the structural components, okoume/gaboon plywood for the sheathing, countersunk stainless steel screws, and a variety of adhesives. A polypropylene cafe chair was adapted for the seat which, “although perhaps a little incongruous in a traditional canoe… does make for a comfortable paddling position, especially on long trips.”  Tony has also been experimenting with a sailing rig which, at the time of his writing, was a work in progress.