From Instagram | Cape Falcon Kayak

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: Sam in his LPB

July 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Check out this short video from Sam who just completed our LPB kayak design. This is Sam’s second skin on frame boat. The first one was one of our canoes. Thanks for sharing Sam! From the website: “Pulling much of it’s genetics from race, rather than sea kayaks, the LPB features a narrow catch...

Thinking about spine safety

July 2023July 2023Leave a comment

I spent the last 48 hours flat on my back as part of a medical test to try to figure out exactly what’s wrong with my back, which has me thinking a lot about spine safety. To be clear my back injury doesn’t have anything to do with my time as a paddler, but...

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...

Giovanni’s tandem canoe

July 2023July 2023Leave a comment

Check out this recently completed tandem, built by Giovanni on Bainbridge Island, Washington. I’ll let him describe it in his own words:“I am over the moon today! Just back from the first trip on my new skin on frame tandem canoe. I have started this project back in Dec 22’ and planned to have...

Video: Our Jeep Cherokee Remote Work Setup, Part 2

July 2023July 2023Leave a comment

Just in case you missed the first part of this video, this is a detailed overview of the solar electric set up that we use for camping and working for a week at a time out of our ’99 Jeep Cherokee XJ. I made this video because I haven’t seen a lot of good...

Video: Our Jeep Cherokee Remote Work Setup, Part 1

July 2023July 2023Leave a comment

Part 2 coming tomorrow! Setting up an XJ for two people to live fully self-contained for seven days without going over the GWVR (gross vehicle weight rating) is a mighty task in minimalism, especially when you add boats on the roof and the ability to work remotely. I’ve been designing minimalist solar electric set...

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...

Video: Self-rescue tests with the pedal drive canoe

June 2023July 2024Leave a comment

When I was developing our pack canoes I really wanted them to be self rescue-able in the same way as a kayak so I incorporated self rescue loops that would later become the foundation for our catamaran system. This technique is dependent on the right kind of flotation, a kayak paddle, a canoe there...

Video: Sail testing the pedal drive prototype

June 2023July 2024Leave a comment

I took the pedal drive prototype out yesterday in relatively light winds to see how our pop-up sail system would interface with the pedal drive. As expected, not very well. The flippers add enormous drag to what is otherwise a surprisingly swift sail, despite its tiny size. There’s also just way too much risk...

Video: Walkthrough of the pedal drive canoe outfitting

June 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Sound on for narration! Here I’m outfitting the pedal drive canoe prototype for rough water trials and self rescue practice. ___ This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed. See the original post and discussion here. Follow Cape Falcon Kayak on Instagram »...

One of the worst boats I ever built

June 2023July 2023Leave a comment

One of the worst boats I ever built was this 20 foot long outrigger sailing canoe. I can’t say enough bad things about this boat. It was heavy, it took forever to set up, it paddled terrible, sailed even worse, and the outrigger leaked. At the time I was living on the open coast,...

Video: Testing the reverse function of the Hobie 180 Mirage Drive

June 2023July 2024Leave a comment

Here’s a quick look at the reverse function of the Hobie 180 Mirage Drive. Basically you reach down and pull a lever and the flipper fins flip backwards, and then you can pedal in reverse. It’s a cool mechanism, but I’m not sure how much it makes sense for our application. For me reverse...