Boat Testing | Cape Falcon Kayak

Video: Crashing the canoe into an underwater dam

September 2023July 2024Leave a comment

The audio from this clip is quite entertaining, but despite two very frustrating hours of trying I just can’t get it to upload. This was our first time at this particular lake, and we were not aware of the remnants of an old dam just below the surface. The pedal drive fins kick up...

Video: First trip in the new pedal drive prototype

September 2023July 2024Leave a comment

First trip in the new pedal drive prototype was exceedingly pleasant, if not quite perfect. Just a recap of yesterday’s post, this new version is 33” wide and 15’6” long and can be used as a day trip tandem for lighter paddlers, or a solo capable of carrying quite a bit of weight. I...

Video: An on the water ergonomics check

August 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Just another quick trip down to the river to check the fit of a new backrest design, and various other aspects of the ergonomics before I fully commit to those decisions on the current prototype. I was lucky to get a big barge wake for a little bit of rough water testing. Interestingly, the...

Video: One more of the Mirage drive in action

August 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Just one more of the Mirage drive in action. We start on the next prototype tomorrow and I’m gonna try very hard to get plans and videos for this done by the end of August. ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed. See the original post and discussion here. Follow Cape...

Video: Another clip from yesterday’s pedal drive canoe test

August 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Just another clip from yesterdays pedal drive canoe testing. It doesn’t give me quite the same satisfaction as using a canoe paddle, but it’s faster, easier to push into the wind, and most importantly, I can actually do it with my spinal injury! ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed. See...

Video: A bit of early morning canoe testing

August 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Just a bit of early morning canoe testing. I like the new seat and tiller assembly; steering is exactly where my hands naturally fall and doesn’t shift when I take my hands off the tiller. The drop seat adds a bit more stability to this narrower pedal drive canoe (they can be build any...

Video: How sailing superstitions are born

July 2023July 2024Leave a comment

On our last kayak catamaran test sail we held hands for a moment and the wind picked up, then we did it again, and the same thing happened so we developed a superstition that holding hands made the wind increase. It’s amazing how quickly superstition takes hold in a sailing context. Here we are...

On the water pedal drive test with Tom

July 2023July 2024Leave a comment

I’m slowly grinding through all the testing that needs to happen to make the pedal drive canoe a reality. Today we tested it with longer legs and larger feet and several different rudder blades. I was holding my breath on the feet because I really can’t lower the flood level any farther, so however...

Video: More drone footage of our canoe rowing and sailing system

July 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Here’s another bit of drone footage of our canoe rowing and sailing system. More than anything else both of these features are designed to be as simple as possible. My recent experiments with the pedal drive not withstanding, I generally subscribe to the philosophy that complexity is the enemy in small boats. The pop-up...

Video: pedal drive canoe prototype in row / sail mode

July 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Here’s the pedal drive canoe prototype in row / sail mode. In my defense I had a much more graceful dismount planned but dude in the boat slid in front of me at the last moment! ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed. See the original post and discussion here. Follow...

Video: Slow motion rolling in a Greenland kayak prototype

July 2023July 2023Leave a comment

While making an update video for our YouTube channel I came across this nice slow motion rolling clip from the Greenland kayak prototyping I was doing last year. I recently changed the way I do prototyping work from finishing kayaks and testing them to just building the frames and then shrink wrapping them for...

Video: Testing a Bixpy electric motor with the pedal drive canoe prototype, Part 2

July 2023July 2024Leave a comment

After testing the Bixpy motor in the Hobie Drive slot in yesterday’s post, I switched it to a stern rudder mount. The big advantage of this configuration is that the motor can kick up if it hits an object and also it can be used on any of my canoes, even without the pedal...

Video: Testing a Bixpy electric motor with the pedal drive canoe prototype, Part 1

July 2023July 2024Leave a comment

I bought this Bixpy motor four years ago when I was prototyping the pack canoes. Ultimately, I decided that the weight and the hassle just wasn’t a good fit for an ultralight, ultra-simple canoe, but fast forward to my current project, and the motor doesn’t seem quite as crazy paired with the fundamentally heavier...

Video: Running whitewater in a skin-on-frame kayak

July 2023July 2023Leave a comment

…continued from yesterday’s post: what makes this kayak different than the old longer whitewater kayaks and most newer crossover kayaks is that the paddler sits significantly back from center and the volume of the kayak below the water line is pushed back as well to keep things balanced on the water. This is shaping...

Video: Solo canoe self rescue with paddle float

June 2023July 2023Leave a comment

Here’s a variation on the solo canoe self rescue, this time with a paddle float. I have to be honest that whether it’s a sea kayak or canoe I find the paddle float to be much less effective than just using the paddle without it. Without the float the paddle stays buried in the...