I finally had the opportunity a few evenings ago to try the new river kayak design. I decided to load it with a heavy load of camping gear and water for the tests this time because that is the intended use for this particular kayak. (Total load in video is 225lbs)
Overall I feel like the kayak paddles well but I’m pretty unhappy with myself because I pushed the shaping a little too far too fast and blew right past my target, resulting in a kayak that is too stable and a LITTLE bit more sluggish. (but only compared to its predecessor which was just a bit too far in the opposite direction) You really wouldn’t think that a half inch increase in width and a three-quarter inch increase in chine breadth would make so much of a difference, but there it is.
The result is a kayak that would be perfect for loading with two weeks of food and gear and bombing multiple big water class III rapids a day, (like the Grand Canyon) but I was looking for more of a one week of gear and one or two class III’s per trip sort of boat, something biased a little bit more towards flat water/swift water slipperiness than the crossover boats currently available. I also made some changes to the shaping concept that turned out to be a minor but noticeable mistake.
On the plus side I was able to load the kayak while sitting on the back deck, and I can easily paddle it on my knees which is something I quite enjoy doing especially while fishing. I’m also 100% in love with this latest deck line arrangement and I’m in the process right now of updating my other designs to include it.
Bottom line is that there is more work to be done here, I need to adjust the hull balance slightly, I need to get the sizing right, I need to try several new shaping ideas to see if I can accomplish what I was trying to accomplish with this one, and most importantly, I have to feel “the magic”. This is only version number 9 and it often takes a lot longer than that to get a design working like I hope (if it ever does!)
Unfortunately I have to be responsible and turn my design focus elsewhere for a few months at least which is a bit of a bummer, but it is what it is. Next time….
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