Shuttle Punt Plans and Templates Download

Inspiration:

Last summer, our family of 4 took a 6 mile trip down the Potomac River. Each of us had our own boat, 3 SUP’s and 1 inflatable kayak. It was a day to remember: shooting the rapids, swimming breaks, watching the wildlife. Then we got the end and my wife and I had to leave our 2 kids with 4 boats and go retrieve our other car. It took us 45 minutes to drive 6 miles and back because the road did not follow the river.I had such a great time and wanted to do it again solo, but to do it by myself I would need to leave a bike at the end and go get my car and then come back for my boat, 3 separate car trips in total. That amounted to too much shuttling time and not enough leisure time. I decided I needed a boat that I could tow with my bike up the tow path which runs along the Potomac river from Georgetown in DC to Cumberland, MD. The boat would also need to be able to carry my bike with me back down river. That was the bigger challenge. I could not find a kayak or canoe that was narrow enough to fit on the tow path and big (or stable) enough to carry me AND my bike.

The shuttle punt solves the shuttling/leisure time ratio. Bike and boat travel together. You never have to leave something and then go back and retrieve it later.

Highlight points:

• It can be towed by a bike (bike path compatible)
• It can carry you and your bike
• It can carry camping gear and can be used as a tent
• It has an extremely comfortable seat
• It features a kick up fin and has excellent tracking
• It has more stability than a kayak
• It has less windage than a canoe but tracks better and goes just as fast
• It has 280 lb of floatation built into the floor (127 liters)
• It is so stable you can stand up and paddle
• It fits into a pick up truck or mid-sized SUV
• The interior floor can be self-draining (under light loads)
• It can be used as a folding dinghy on a larger boat
• It can handle small waves and rapids
• It can be used as a beach caddy to carry beach chairs, coolers, shade tents, frisbees…

About Mark Palmquist:

Mark designed his first boat at the age of 6 after watching a movie about a guy who built and raced cigarette style motorboats. He soon was drawing and designing all things mechanical, including rockets, airplanes, helicopters, tanks, snow mobiles. He was fascinated with mechanical devices and ergonomics. By second grade, he was drawing highly detailed crosssectional views of interior mechanical elements including flight controls, engines, pistons, fuel tanks, steering wheels, electric motors, transmissions, folding landing gear and living quarters. Mark’s family was heavily into watersports including beach cat sailing and racing, river canoeing and windsurfing.

Mark enrolled in The Georgia Institute of Technology and studied mechanical engineering for 2 years before discovering and majored in Industrial Design. Mark is an award winning product designer including residential furniture, roto-molded shipping containers, aluminum extrusion exhibit systems, portable tablet stands and more. After learning about the Race to Alaska, Mark has been experimenting with human-powered propulsion based on dolphin motion and has been designing sailboats to compete in coastal RAID-style events. Mark is currently building an experimental multihull featuring a hydroplaning wing. Expect to see many more designs from Mark in the future.