Just taking a quick spin in a customer’s boat before we send it out the door. This is our F1 kayak design, which is 14 feet long and 23 inches wide and weighs 32 pounds at this particular size (it comes in eight sizes). Due to the length, weight and narrow waterline, it has...
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Video: Fishing on the lake in an F1
Just a moment from fishing on the lake with Liz. Notice the Greenland paddle used as a stabilizer. This is one of the huge advantages of using a Greenland paddle, with the paddle tucked like this Liz is extremely stable in both directions. ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed. See...
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Mike’s F1 kayak
This was a nice email to wake up to: “I have been meaning to do this for a while – I just wanted to express my appreciation for this wonderful design of the F1 and the seamless build experience from your videos and personal availability. It is a rare product where over the course...
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Video: How sailing superstitions are born
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...
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Jim’s F1 on the Student Builds blog
A fantastic resource for anyone considering building one of our skin-on-frame boats is the Student Builds Blog on our website. We offer a $75 discount on the cost of your plans in exchange for writing about your build and posting pictures. There’s a map that shows where people are building and a feature that...
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Video: Float testing an older F1
We took a moment yesterday to float test this older 187 lb size F1. The frame for this kayak was originally built for a customer that I decided to put in a different size, then sat in storage for a couple years. Last week I got an email from someone that it seemed like...
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Video: A 90-second tour of our modern kayaks
My kayak outfitting recipe is an eclectic mix ingredients, but each element has a very specific job to do. Feel free to ask questions!...
First test of the new 250 lb size F1
We had an extremely successful wrap test of the new 250 pound size F1 frame. This version is 15‘8“ long and 25 inches wide (but paddles like it’s 23 because of my hull shape) and the paddler is 6’5” 265 lbs. The extra 15 pounds is useful because it shows me what this kayak...
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Photos: More progress on the big guy kayak
A few more photos of the progress on the big guy kayak prototype. Seems like things are going pretty smooth with just a minor diversion of having to cut the entire thing apart to replace a couple ribs that weren’t giving me the shaping I wanted. I’m about five days into the build here,...
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Repairing a cracked deck beam on the old F1
Generally speaking, I try to stay as far away from epoxy as possible but sometimes it’s just the right tool for the job. (I bought this Cab-o-sil 20 years ago!) Very cool to come across this 14 year old F1 that’s in remarkably good shape for it’s age, especially considering that the earlier boats...
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Video: A 14-year-old F1 kayak, one of the originals
I started designing the F1 kayak about 15 years ago, based on the lines of the Mariner Coaster (with permission from Matt Brpze), since then, it has undergone a relentless process of iteration, ultimately resulting in a kayak that his lightweight, stable, highly maneuverable, impervious to weathercocking, and surprisingly fast for a 14 foot...
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Video: A quick peek at this winter’s madness machine
Here’s a quick peek at this winter’s madness machine. After our successful test of the flat deck F1 in heavy conditions, (scroll back for that insanity) the next step is to try the kayak catamaran on the peaked deck version. I’m still not sure if this set up can handle the racking forces of...
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Video: Liz builds a skin on frame kayak, Part 14
Here Liz finishes various rigging tasks to complete the kayak. This kayak and its twin have quite a bit of rigging because they will be used in open water with our catamaran and sailing system. Total time spent working on this kayak was about 65 hours, including the prep, (this was her first time...
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Video: Liz builds a skin on frame kayak, Part 13
With the polyurethane cured, Liz starts the outfitting process to make this a fully functional kayak. Some of this stuff is optional, and some of it is standard on our kayaks. In this video, she adds deck lines, seating, foot braces, backband, a drain plug, and various pad eyes for the perimeter lines. Not...
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Video: Liz builds a skin on frame kayak, Part 12
After coating the hull with 2 part polyurethane Liz turns the kayak over to coat the deck. As usual there’s dozens of tricks to make this turn out well, which is why this part of our kayak building video course is so ridiculously detailed. It sucks to work so hard on something only to...
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