A bunch of people have asked how the kayak catamaran performs on different points of wind so here’s a few video clips. Here we are sailing through Hood River and the usual gauntlet of interesting wind powered contraptions. The wind is blowing about 12 to 16 gusting to 20 which is nice conditions. Plenty...
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Video: More skin on frame kayak catamaran madness
More skin on frame kayak catamaran madness, just a wee bit overpowered here… This is a case of conditions dramatically exceeding the forecast (forecast 16 gusting to 21, reality 25 gusting to 45) and we had a long conference that morning talking about risks and contingencies before making the decision to go for it....
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Video: Second day testing the kayak catamaran on a multi-day trip
Second day testing the kayak catamaran on a multi day trip. These are pretty much ideal conditions which is why we were able to fly the Skydio drone. Liz is steering and I’m flying the drone. Wind is blowing about 8mph boats are going about 4-5mph. Ditched the center sail yesterday after a somewhat...
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Video: First multi day trip in the kayak catamaran
First multi day trip in the kayak catamaran. Wind speed 10-15. Current 1-2mph against us. Total sail area 3.17 sq meters. Boat Speed 5-6mph. Not bad…. ...
Video: Slowly sailing past stuff…. Not ideal sail testing conditions
Slowly sailing past stuff…. Not ideal sail testing conditions....
Video: Testing the Swiftwater Touring Kayak
After two years of waiting I was finally able to (very carefully) test the latest prototype of the swift water touring design I’ve been working on for over 10 years now! Careful not because of the skin on frame construction, but just because I’m dealing with some spinal instability right now so I have...
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Video: Side by side rudder testing
We headed out to the Columbia for a side by side comparison of the Smart Track and Sea-Lect rudder systems with identical F1 kayaks and identical sails. 1 sq meter sails, gusting to 30. I like to test everything in the worst case scenario to check for any serious function or safety issues that...
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Video: Sail Fail
Before I talk about yesterdays sail and rudder tests, let’s have a little bit of fun at my expense. The play by play: Trying to stick a cool looking landing I wait too long to take down the sail. Instead of releasing the halyard and pulling back on the boom I release the sheet...
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Rudder testing and installation course development
In the midst of everything else that’s been going on we’ve been steadily slogging away at developing our skin on frame rudder and footbraces instructions. Basically I have three goals for this new addition to our video courses: The first one is to lose more money than I could ever possibly make back on the...
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Video: testing the West Greenland with a tie on skeg
I’m not sure how much this actually interests anyone but I took the new Greenland design out in wind and waves with the tie on skeg (see post from a couple days ago for details) set in three different positions along the keel, and also just an oversized tall rub strip for comparison. Testing:...
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Video: New West Greenland Kayak design on a wind wave
This is our new West Greenland Kayak design on a wind wave. Being low-volume, fine in the bow, and forward weighted, Greenland kayaks are typically not great surfing boats, but this one is a little better than most. Still not great but entertaining on the right wave....
Video: effects of too little bow rocker
This video is a perfect example of the negative effect that an undersized kayak with too little bow rocker has on downwave performance. I’ve been expanding the size range on my LPB design and this is the prototype of the new 125 pound size. It has 1/2 inch less bow rocker than it should...
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Video: A few clips of canoe catamaran sailing last summer
Just a few clips of Canoe Catamaran sailing the nesting canoes from a YouTube video I’m working on right now. The Canoe Catamaran functionality is built into our system from the ground up, meaning that it’s integrated and standard and not just an afterthought. The sail rig weighs 2-3 pounds (carbon vs aluminum), takes...
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Video: drone shots of the kayak catamaran
Here’s a few drone shots of the kayak catamaran testing. Not the best videography because the wind had died down a bit and it’s pretty hard to use the drone in these conditions, but it does give you some idea of how the whole set up works and how it rides the waves. For...
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Video: Perfect conditions for testing the kayak catamaran
We had perfect conditions for testing the kayak catamaran yesterday. 65 degrees, overcast, with 15-20 mph winds. (There’s audio here by the way) So how does it work? Surprisingly well actually. We tested two different forward catamaran board positions; one directly ahead of the cockpit, the other right behind the masts. A bit of...
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