Alpaca made of Scout material?

[Ben Kilbourne]

Has anyone ever had Alpacka make an Alpaca or Yak out of scout material? Seems like it would weigh less than a Caribou, but it’s hard to say. The Caribou seems too long/wide and the Scout is a little small, so I’m pondering an in between boat. They (Alpacka) assure me that the Caribou would be lighter than an Alpaca made of Scout material but they aren’t sure how much the latter would weigh.

Consider also the weight savings of using a Scout floor on an Alpaca. I’m talking 90% flatwater by the way. An older scout (normal tubes, normal floor) was about 58oz without a seat. New one is about 45oz without a seat. This is about 77% of the weight of the old boat. If we use that same ratio for an Alpaca you’re looking at about 66oz. If you remove the backrest and use a clip seat instead of a lace seat you could get that boat under 4lbs. I think that would be a pretty useful boat. If anyone out there has any insights at all it would be much appreciated.

[Philip Tschersich]

I recently had Alpacka build me a Curiyak out of Scout materials. The Curiyak is basically two scout rear ends put together with a little extra length. It turned out great. No deck or storage zipper. It has the usual 4 bow gear loops for carrying a backpack. I can’t remember the weight off the top of my head, but I can check later.

[Ben Kilbourne]

Very cool. Definitely let me know the weight if you can.

[Doug G]

Love the Curiyak for an all around boat! I would be interested in that weight also.
If you can fit in an Alpacka and you are doing mostly flat water, then why not just get the new Scout? That’s a pretty sweet set up. If i was a few inches shorter i would definitely go that route for the less bulky boat.

[Ben Kilbourne]

Doug – That’s a good question and sort of hard to explain unless you’ve floated either stillwater or labyrinth on the green. It’s flat, but depending on the season it is cold and/or choppy due to crazy wind. The bigger boat would deal with wind waves better and the 12″ tubes might keep me dryer. But… getting wet also isn’t the end of the world. I’m torn.

[Philip Tschersich]

Curiyak with new Scout fabric (with a few lines installed but no seat): 1,580 g (3.48 lb)

Curiyak seat: 140 g (0.31 lb)

Scout with new materials (no seat): 1,300 g (2.87 lb)

The benefit of the Curiyak over the Scout is a lot more leg room (a bit more than an Alpacka) and a bow that can handle a real backpack and some wave chop from a headwind.

[Doug G]

For what its worth I used the Curiyak on a Coho trip.   Went up river all day and then floated back down with Salmon for 3 of us in a backpack on the bow.  70lbs.  No issue at all.  Definitely a plus of the Curiyak over the scout.  Handles chop fairly well too.

[Ben Kilbourne]

That’s pretty light. 2.5lbs lighter than my Yak. Seems like a good option.

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