Boat Testing | Cape Falcon Kayak

Video: Catching eddies and dodging rocks

June 2021September 2022Leave a comment

Here’s a short edit of the same run I posted yesterday, but from the vantage of the canoe. Whether it’s continuous class IV in a creekboat or class II in this new canoe, catching eddies and dodging rocks on a shallow creek is definitely my happy place. It’s like playing an incredibly beautiful video...

Video: A short river run in the solo canoe

June 2021September 2022Leave a comment

After spending a day practicing maneuvers I felt reasonably confident that I could control the canoe, so the next morning Liz shuttled me a few miles upstream for a short run. Pro tip: if you want to catch that beautiful early morning filming light, it helps to remember to bring your paddle with you....

Video: R&D in the new 14 foot solo on the Upper John Day

June 2021July 2023Leave a comment

Last week we went back to the John Day River, this time on one of the upper sections for some R&D in the new 14 foot solo. I experimented with different seat positions, different float bag configurations, and different gear loads. The first day we parked next to a swift water section with plenty...

Video: Skin on frame solo canoe testing

May 2021September 2022Leave a comment

Skin on Frame Solo Canoe Testing. There’s music here and full specs in the previous post. For a variety of technical reasons it’s actually quite difficult to design a good skin on frame solo canoe, but this latest effort increases my confidence that it might actually be possible to create something that a serious...

Video: Testing last year‘s canoe of very similar size

April 2021July 2023Leave a comment

This is last year‘s canoe of very similar size to the one I just finished. Very helpful to be able to take them both out at the same time. Dimensions here are mostly the same as what I described in the previous couple posts. The big difference is that this is 3/4 of an...

Video: Testing this year’s first solo canoe

April 2021September 2022Leave a comment

I’m pretty excited about the new drone, not just for the media potential but also because it lets me see the boat in new ways which is helpful from a design perspective. There is no perfect drone for this sort of work but after much deliberation we decided on the Skydio2 for it’s simplicity...

Video: Testing this year’s and last year’s canoes

April 2021July 2023Leave a comment

This 13’9” x 28.5” canoe (brown) is roughly the same dimension as the smallest canoe in my triple nesting set from last year (gold). I built this mostly just as a teaching tool to re-film the canoe building course on our website, but also as a “throwaway boat” so I could blast through a...

First side-by-side canoe comparison of 2021

April 2021September 2022Leave a comment

First side-by-side canoe comparison of 2021. Both canoes share almost the same dimensions but somewhat different shaping. I like and dislike things about each one. I’ll go into detail about this in the next post once I edit the video we shot. For now I just thought I’d throw up a few pretty pictures!...

Video: Just a pretty clip of a 14ft pack canoe built with our system

March 2021September 2022Leave a comment

Just a pretty clip I found while scrolling through old pictures. 14 foot pack canoe, 27.5 inches wide, 24 lbs. Build time 30-45 hrs using our system....

On YouTube: Skin on Frame Kayak Sail Testing

March 2021September 2022Leave a comment

I’m trying to learn how to film on the water. It’s incredibly challenging but if I can get my sea legs under me I think this would be a great way to share experiences and paddling tips. Most of what I’ve shot so far I’ve trashed but I did throw up a little four-minute...

Video: More footage from yesterday’s kayak sail testing

February 2021September 2022Leave a comment

More footage from yesterday’s kayak sail testing. The first sail is a 1 square meter ripstop nylon sail in 10-15 mph winds. The second is a .8 square meter laminate sail in 15-25 mph winds. I’m sailing upriver here and current against me was 1 to 2 mph. More technical details in yesterday’s post....

Video: Sail testing in the LPB

February 2021September 2022Leave a comment

I managed to find some decent wind yesterday to test the new sail rig. With the wind blowing 12-15 and gusting to 25, and 1-2mph of current against me, I started out with the 1 square meter ripstop nylon sail, but it was too twitchy in the gusts, and I had to throw several...

Video: Rolling a kayak with the sail up

February 2021September 2022Leave a comment

As is so often the case with me and sailing it was blowing like crazy until literally the second I put the kayak in the water and then the wind completely died. A bit frustrating but we decided to use the opportunity to do a little bit of sail rolling practice on camera. I...

Video: Sail testing an F1

February 2021September 2022Leave a comment

I’ve been steadily working on the canoe/kayak sail system for about the last 10 days. The geometry and componentry of all parts of the system is getting really clean and functions really well. The harder part is just testing the rig. I’ve got 3 different sail designs, in 3 different sizes, with 2 different...

Video: Took the sail set up out for some testing

January 2021September 2022Leave a comment

Took the sail set up out for some testing on a rainy afternoon. The goal here isn’t so much a performance assessment as just evaluating the functionality of the rigging. I ditched the various in-line tensioners that I had bought to try to make the stay attachment and tensioning quicker. It’s a good idea...