Here’s bit of maneuvering in the new modified F1 kayak. There’s music here if you like that sort of thing.
The design progression of the F1 started 16 years ago with the closest skin on frame copy I could make of a Mariner Coaster. A lot of people have pulled lines from the Coaster over the years but as far as I know I’m the only person who ever asked permission.
Stable, quick, maneuverable, and a banshee in the surf zone, at 13 1/2 feet long and 23 inches wide the Coaster was a good fit for where I lived on the Oregon coast which is an environment that most sea kayaks just don’t perform very well in. Also as someone who started on Whitewater I’ve always found the lack of maneuverability in normal sea kayaks to be infuriating.
After about a year of paddling my SOF Coaster copy, I started making changes, adding a little more length, a little more skeg, more foot room, a slight shift in hull balance, and many many design experiments most of which just ended in failure.
Little by little over time I learned why the Coaster paddles the way that it does and how to apply those design principles two different variations without ruining the boat, which opened the door to different versions and different sizes.
15 years later, well over 1000 F1‘s have been built all over the world. They’ve gone on thousand mile journeys, made challenging circumnavigations, paddled big water rapids, carried rifles, crab traps, fishing poles, and even chainsaws. I built a small house with logs I salvaged in an F1, and even paddled it in 40 foot waves off the coast of Hawaii (not recommended).
Living with a severe chronic illness I can’t really paddle anymore, but I’m still evolving this design. In addition to the seven different sizes, the F1 comes in four different versions and this year we will be adding a 300lb Big Guy version, a flatter deck version, and a sailing catamaran version. After that I think I’m probably done working on it.
___
This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed.
See the original post and discussion here.
