Feathercrafting

This is one of the 2 new Feathercraft boats that we had the good fortune to use.  Folds up all tidy into a backpack that weighs in at around 55#.  This expedition boat is similar to the Klepper in the general mechanics of its skeleton, but it uses a plethora of hi-tech materials including; aluminum tubes, hard plastic (HDPE) cross ribs and fiberglass combing.  The hull is welded urethane with numerous strategic reinforcements.  Go to their website for all the techie details!  The boat design has an upswept bow and a "V" hull that both tracks well and is very stable.  It does come with a rudder which (I learned the hard way) is decidedly useful in a cross wind.

This was the maiden voyage for these boats so a calm, no hurry afternoon was welcome.  The encouragement of persistent little "no-see-em but feel-em-plenty" biting buggers did keep the project moving along.  We ended up with some pretty nifty transportation fairly quickly and with only a minimum of bloodshed.  We were anxious to try them out.