I’m finally getting around to mixing down the video footage from the last Greenland kayak build. The kayak you see being made here is based on an early 20th century West Greenland hunting kayak collected in the Disko Bay area which is currently housed in the Canadian Museum of history.
Interestingly, the cockpit of this kayak is shifted farther aft than other similar collected examples and the underwater portion of the bow stem is significantly shallower as well. Combined with its fairly moderate overall dimensions of 20.5 x 16’4” these features give this particular boat a comfort and handling that is a bit easier for modern paddlers to adapt to than many other historic Greenland hunting kayaks. It’s for these reasons that after building and paddling many copies of various museum boats I ultimately decided on this particular kayak as the foundation for the Cape Falcon West Greenland kayak.
Over the course of this series I will be discussing the various modifications I’ve made over the years to improve comfort, handling, and to extend the lifespan of the frame, but generally speaking the external dimensions of the standard size are very close to the original, which is a good fit for paddlers in the 145 to 170lb range. I also offer this in a stretched version that is a lovely fit for someone in the 180 to 190 range or someone a bit lighter who wants a bit more volume and freeboard (At 165 lbs I personally love how this boat feels on the water). Going up in size from there I offer a 7% scaled up version to accommodate up to 215 lbs and also a shallower version which makes a slightly better dedicated rolling boat. Someday I’ll have to add the dimensions for a 7% scaled down version that would be great choice for growing children or very small adults.
Like all Greenland kayaks this near-replica demands more from the paddler than a modern sea kayak but in capable hands it strikes a lovely balance between rolling characteristics and general paddling performance.
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