Spring Run Description

The Spring Run is a kayak brought to you by Redfish Custom Kayak & Canoe Co.. Read Spring Run reviews or submit your own review to share with the paddling community. Check out a few other kayak recommendations below or explore all kayaks to find the perfect one for you!

Redfish Custom Kayak & Canoe Co.
Spring Run Reviews

Read reviews for the Spring Run by Redfish Custom Kayak & Canoe Co. as submitted by your fellow paddlers. All of the reviews are created and written by paddlers like you, so be sure to submit your own review and be part of the community!

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4

Built it from plans, using…

Submitted by: may106 on 6/30/2015
Built it from plans, using beveled strips purchased from separate source. Plans and instructions were fine, the boat went together without any drama, and it paddles fine. Like any strip-built boat, it is a work of art. Great support from Redfish when I had questions. I'd build another design from them.
4

I was blessed to have…

Submitted by: Denver on 9/8/2014
I was blessed to have purchased a wood strip Spring Run a couple of years ago and have since been blown away by how well this kayak behaves in all types of conditions. She's light, tracks beautifully, turns well when leaned and still stable enough that one does not fear accidentally landing in the drink. Hat's off to the folks at Redfish!
5

I bought a third hand Spring…

Submitted by: paddler234278 on 9/6/2011
I bought a third hand Spring Run about a year ago. It instantly became my favorite kayak. It had already had 5 or more years of use but is still watertight and beautiful. The boat is perfectly balanced and requires essentially no correction for weather cocking in a side wind. I paddle on SF Bay a lot and get lots of wind. It is stable and comfortable in waves from pretty much any quarter. There is no need for a skeg. Both the primary and secondary stability are quite good. You can go out on a rough day and still relax and look at birds. It does not have a great top speed but it cruises along very well in group paddles with no more than moderate effort. The top deck sheds chop water well. It is not a surf boat as the stern will slew somewhat in a 2 foot following wave. It turns well enough to get back on track when this happens.

When my schedule allows, I want to take one of Joe's workshops and learn how to build a King. I was very lucky to find an already built one at an affordable price.

5

I recently launched a Redfish…

Submitted by: guest-paddler on 3/24/2009
I recently launched a Redfish "Spring Run" cedar strip kayak that I built from a kit. The "Spring Run" is a 16'9" long and 23 3/8" wide sea kayak designed by Joe Greenley of Redfish Kayaks.

Building the boat was a truly wonderful project that I enjoyed so much that I plan to start another strip boat this spring. As a first time builder, I had lots of questions and I have to say thanks to Joe Greenley for his untiring willingness to provide answers and offer suggestions. Building a cedar strip boat is not a small project but is certainly not beyond the skill of anyone who can use simple hand tools and is willing to "go for it".

Now for the boat. The kit had everything I needed (wood, forms, fiberglass, epoxy, hardware)including detailed instructions. The total time required to build was just shy of 250 hours over about 9 months. When complete, the "Spring Run" weighed 40lbs fully rigged including my plan modifications to add an extra layer of 6oz glass on the hull bottom as an extra abrasion layer.

I launched in March during a trip to the Florida Keys and found the boat to be both stable and quite fast for a fairly wide sea kayak. I paddled with some friends with plastic sea kayaks and quite literally left them in the dust. I found the tracking to be excellent and the 18-20 knot winds to have minor effect on paddling. I paddled in moderate chop inside the reef and found the handling excellent.

The only handling item of note was when paddling in a following sea in the moderate chop, I did detect a very slight tendency to weathercock but it was easily corrected. I do not see a need to add a rudder but may consider retro-fitting with a drop down skeg as a winter project. Turning the "Spring Run" in tight quarters takes a bit of effort but is manageable and is very acceptable given the excellent tracking it has.

I also modified my boat's coaming from the plan and made it 17" x 33" so that I could easily sit in the boat and then bring my legs inside. I also abandoned the hardwood coaming rim and made mine from a carbon fiber and fiberglass layup as used by One Ocean Kayak designs.

I'm extremely pleased with this boat and especially the attention it gets from others. The wood looks spectacular and probably makes it paddle just that much better as the pride of making your own likely caused me to rate a 10 when it's probably a 9....

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