The Seahopper Kondor
This page is dedicated to my Seahopper Konder
“Piglet II”
WHat is a Seahopper?
About half way through my first sailing season, I just got the sailing bug and I wanted to try and explore some rivers, which could be quite calm when the weather was bad on the lake.
Originally I was thinking about something inflatable, but by pure accident I ended up finding out about wooden folding boats. The charm of the Seahoppers got me from the first moment I saw them, so the 2nd hand search was on!
The story of Piglet II
Seahoppers hold their value and whilst I found a couple of examples online, they were just too expensive, so I kept looking. Soon enough I found Piglet II. She was the larger “Kondor” version too so I drove down to a London lockup to view her.
She was in a bit of a sorry state, having been stored in a damp garage for years. She had peeling varnish and mould everywhere. However the seller threw in an old 2 stroke and a bunch of accessories he found whilst we rummaged through his garage. So we shook hands on a deal that I was pretty pleased with.
On the roof rack she went and homeward bound we drove!
Once at home Piglet II was quickly assessed and we were lucky to find only the lower panels needed renovating. The mould was largely only in the varnish at this point so sanding that off should do the trick.
Out came the trusty sander and you can see the difference just a sanding made to the oars alone. She was starting to look great.
I decided to paint the wood. Partly because it’s no doubt easier and quicker to do than it is with varnish. However paint is also a bit more resilient and I had some left at home. I also liked the idea of Piglet II having the same colour scheme as my Mirror dinghy!
Meanwhile the brass got a good polish. It looked like new after a good clean!
The final job was to get the outboard working. Could I do it? I’m an engineer, albeit largely a software one these days, but it does mean I have the right kind of brain to tinker with motors. This small 2 stroke is so easy to pull apart and fix and in the end all it took was a new spark plug, a good clean of the carburetta and fuel system/tank. With fresh fuel she then started on the 3rd pull!
Here she is done. I didn’t need to do the sides or inside, they largely look fine and I can only take so much sanding and painting in one go. It was particularly fiddly to get the wood painted where the boat folds.
I even had time to make some 3D printed oar sleeves for the oars which work really well and also some nuts that connect a roller to my roof rack so I can roll the boat up onto the roof of the car easily.
Piglet II – Shakedown
The plan was to be ready for a river cruise on the River Weaver, however I ended up taking her down to Lake Bala for a shakedown sail. I realised I hadn’t even tested if she floated yet!!
The shakedown was more than I bargained for with pretty big waves clattering the poor little Seahopper. I thought at one point the whole thing was going to fold in on me, but we survived and she proved her worth that day!
Here’s my most viewed Seahopper videos
Seahopper Kondor Specs
- Length
- Beam
- Length (folded)
- Width (folded)
- Depth (folded)
- Sail Area
- (If sail kit purchased)
- Weight
- (inc oars and seats)
- Carrying capacity
- 10ft (3.05M)
- 4ft 8″ (1.42M)
- 10ft 4″ (3.15M)
- 22″ (0.56M)
- 5″ (13cm)
- 5.67 M2
- 107lbs (49KG)
- 4 Adults under motor
