Ya Big Jessie.

A year or two ago I bought a river boat for myself and my son. I used mine to learn to roll and also during three star training.

We went out in the firth in front of the house and a wee paddle on the river in Alness, but quite frankly they weren't being used. I preferred paddling in the sea. What we needed was a double.

A guy at work happened to mention that a colleague of his in the fire service had a double for sale but didn't know much about it. To cut a long story short, I seen it, I tried it, I bought it.

She's called Big Jessie. It fits the description of a North Shore Atlantic 2. Thanks to the UK Rivers Guide Book forum once again.



She's big alright and a few years old by the looks of her.



She's had a few knocks, some of which will need repaired.



I had to remove this security shackle as it had punctured a hole in the boat.





I also need to have a closer look at the rudder which didn't drop down too willingly, that is not at all, but when pulled down it performed REALLY well.



The boat itself is six metres long and has a beam of 65cm. The hull is... just a hull I hear it has now been redesigned.

I paddled it with the wee fella in front and we were getting just over 7 kph. It's very stable both initial and secondary. We paddled it in the flat calm so I can't wait to get out in some waves.



I'll try to address some of the minor defects first though.