![A few more shots from the F1 Max and Kamilla built for the school in Tiilerilaaq, a small village in Tasiilaq East Greenland - more details in the last post.
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From Kamilla: “The whole idea was that the kayak belongs to the school and will be used by pupils to learn paddling. Max has tested the kayak on the sea and reported that it’s stable, comfortable and easy to navigate between ices. …[the] children love it! Some are already very good and can paddle well. We made it comfortable to sit in the kayak with a layer of thermarest and seal skin on top. The kayak is light too, less than 15 kg.”
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Photos are of Asser (Grade 6) and Miki (Grade 5).
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It’s tempting to look at this and want to see the children in more traditional Greenlandic kayaks but I think it’s important to note that the defining characteristic of native kayaks has never been a specific shape but rather the suitability to the primary objective purpose. In this case, safety.
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Interestingly the F1 has very little primary stability which makes it a good stepping stone towards more traditional kayaks if the school decides to move in that direction, but it also has very strong secondary stability which greatly reduces the risk of accidental capsize.
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Now having said all that, I’m going to contradict myself and say that somebody really needs to build those kids some Greenland paddles!
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.](https://i0.wp.com/capefalconkayak.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/82027111_538177876800302_708354980795060245_n.jpg?resize=577%2C577&ssl=1)
A few more shots from the F1 Max and Kamilla built for the school in Tiilerilaaq, a small village in Tasiilaq East Greenland – more details in the last post.
From Kamilla: “The whole idea was that the kayak belongs to the school and will be used by pupils to learn paddling. Max has tested the kayak on the sea and reported that it’s stable, comfortable and easy to navigate between ices. …[the] children love it! Some are already very good and can paddle well. We made it comfortable to sit in the kayak with a layer of thermarest and seal skin on top. The kayak is light too, less than 15 kg.”
Photos are of Asser (Grade 6) and Miki (Grade 5).
It’s tempting to look at this and want to see the children in more traditional Greenlandic kayaks but I think it’s important to note that the defining characteristic of native kayaks has never been a specific shape but rather the suitability to the primary objective purpose. In this case, safety.
Interestingly the F1 has very little primary stability which makes it a good stepping stone towards more traditional kayaks if the school decides to move in that direction, but it also has very strong secondary stability which greatly reduces the risk of accidental capsize.
Now having said all that, I’m going to contradict myself and say that somebody really needs to build those kids some Greenland paddles!
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This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed.
See the original post and discussion here.
