West Greenland Kayak Build: Saran Wrap test 1 and 2. FYI there’s music on this one.
When designing in skin on frame there’s always a dynamic tension between gunwales that are flared enough to project a reasonable sheer line, but still vertical enough to project the ribs down at an angle that will allow for reasonable stability. Over the years this has pushed me towards designs with low primary stability, but high secondary stability, that are noticeably quicker than most commercial kayaks. I feel good about the compromises but it does get challenging to preserve stability as kayaks approach 20 inches or narrower.
This isn’t the most stable Greenland kayak but it is towards the upper end of stability for true traditional Greenland hunting kayaks. The unmodified stability feels about halfway between a surf ski and a modern sea kayak.
For people looking for more stability, historic examples give us a couple of powerful options. One is to add a small secondary stringer to the outside of the bottom of the gunwale and the other is to tie a larger secondary stringer to the ribs in the center section of the kayak. You can also just scale it larger, and as long as you’re not sitting with more than about 3 inches of freeboard, you’re still within historic limits.
In this test, the small secondary stringer noticeably increased secondary stability but had no effect on primary stability. I did notice a small decrease in speed from effectively adding 1” to the waterline width.
My general initial paddling impression is very positive. The kayak is quick, responsive, comfortable, and has a perfect balance between tracking and maneuverability (it’s actually a little loose but that will change with the real skin and rub strips). The small shaping changes and the 2% scale up really wake up a kayak that formerly felt just a bit stuck in the water at my size. It edge turns extremely well and I will be very curious to see it if that controlability persists in rough water.
There are some small nagging issues that will probably require me to build a new frame before I can finish the design update, but this is excellent progress. More testing in the next posts.
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