Ron,
I received the info and DVD of your frontrower. I am very interested in using your frontrower unit in a Chesapeake Light Craft Chester Yawl instead of the Row Wing they suggest. I rowed in college and never liked “going backwards”. I am looking for recreational exercise and touring now.
I have not built the Chester Yawl yet, but I really like the design of the boat as it allows me to take along my wife or daughter, or hang a electric outboard on the back for those times when I feeling a bit lazy.
Since the Chester yawl has a maximum beam of 42″ would it be possible to use the Frontrower unit in the boat? I am including a link in case you need to see other dimensions.
I am hoping this can be made to work as the combination of the frontrower with the Chester Yawl would be a great combination for me.
Mark
Hi Mark,
Ordinarily, I would say that because of the 42 inch beam it will not work satisfactorily. The problem with wider boats is that at some point the FrontRower’s oars will hit the sides of the boat, limiting the forward and rearward swing. On a typical canoe, the beam limit is around 36 inches. There are other factors, such as how high the sides are and how deep the boat rides in the water. The Little River Heratage 15 looks to be similar in size and shape to the Chester Yawl, and some Heritage owners are using the FrontRower in it and reporting good results. But I can’t say if the Chester will work without someone actually trying it.
Ron
Tags: boats, Chester Yawl, FrontRower, oars
Mark,
I use my FrontRower in a Little River Marine Heritage 15. My beam is 40″ and I think my freeboard looks to be a little lower than a Chester Yawl. The Heritage 15 definitely has more of a curved sheer line than the Chester Yawl. The oars get extremely close but don’t hit for my combo. The CLC guys show their boats in lots of locations on the East Coast and so does Ron. My suggestion would be to find out which show they’re both going to and show up to try it out. If it doesn’t fit or work properly I would HIGHLY recommend shopping for a different boat that allows you to use a FrontRower, they’re great. There are plenty of wherry designs out there. If you have to build it yourself, Ron offers two boat kits or if you’re really ambitious the Adirondack strip built boats are incredibly beautiful.
Good luck,
John in San Diego