Hi guys, just signed up as I need some advice on SOT kayaks please.
I am planning to complete a crossing of the Bering Strait from Little Diomede back to Wales this winter. Myself and my mate are heading to Alaska on Friday 26 February and expect to be away for two weeks.
Please see this link to our expedition website www.thedeadliestjourney.com
Last winter to test the kit and gain experience of the area I attempted the same partial crossing and used a combination of plastic sled and packrafts. That set up didn’t work too well as the packed sled had to be carried on the front of the packraft and it was simply too much weight. Also the packraft was hard to inflate when the wind was blowing around.
The nature of the Bering Strait is we can expect mix of ice pans and some sections of open water, so have decided a sit on top which doubles up as a sled would be best. We need to be able to move seamlessly between water and ice. My thoughts are that the amount of kit we will have means a tandem kayak for each of us will probably be needed.
We have been looking into this for a while and had discussions with a number of people. There is no ideal sled/kayak/canoe for this trip, so totally understand the negative aspects of using a SOT. Nevertheless, I would appreciate any recommendations in respect of a SOT kayak which had the following criteria:
1) Probably a tandem kayak or a single with huge amounts of storage
2) Had quite a flat rather than V shaped hull. Just so we can haul it as a sled over snow/ice if needed
3) Lighter weight SOTs would be best, although we need to think about durability
4) Something with a good front point for attaching our sled ropes if we need to haul would be good
5) Has multiple tie down points to secure our sled bags would be ideal
Any product recommendations would be very much appreciated. Ideally we should be able to buy the SOT in the US as the transport costs from UK are very high.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment if you know of something suitable. It may not meet all of the criteria, we can compromise/modify if we need to.
Happy to receive emails directly if you prefer jbingham100@hotmail.com
James
thoughts
If I was going to attempt something like this I would have a large capacity skin on frame kayak, maybe a tandem baidarka, for which I would build a skeletal sled frame that the kayak would be towed upon with the gear stowed inside the hull spaces. I would make the frame easily convertible to rest on top of the baidarka with sponsons that would help to stabilize it in rough seas. So imagine a frame with skis on face side and something like 6" PVC tubes with capped ends on the flip side.
Skin on frame (SOF) kayaks/baidarkas were designed for the environment you are going to be in. They are ultra light and strong. I have an 18' solo SOF that is extremely seaworthy and only weighs 31 pounds. It is a replica of a Greenland Inuit kayak designed to navigate windy waters to hunt seals on pack ice.
If you have the budget for it you could buy a Feathercraft folding kayak, like a K-2 or Klondike. I know a woman who did coastal research at the Antarctic station who used a Klondike for her work. In fact, she chose the Klondike because she could stretch out and sleep it in when she needed rest, as this is a an open cockpit tandem (similar to a sit on top but still enclosed). This would be heavier than a wood and nylon SOF, but still reasonable especially with a custom frame sled for it, which could also be made to come apart for transport and even for alternative use as a tent frame.
Ned Gillette’s arctic gear
You might want to try to track down reports by Ned Gillette on his unsupported trek with Galen Rowell across Ellesmere Island skiing with towed sleds back in 1977. I met Ned in !978 after he gave a slide show on that trip and talked to him about the gear he used and how they dealt with the challenges of clambering over all the pressure ridges with their loads. There is a brief mention of that trip here:
https://books.google.com/books?id=6d8DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq=ski+crossing+of+Ellesmere+island+1977+Ned+Gillette&source=bl&ots=Iw4p8QufWm&sig=x6pXM1UIfyrrlsYF8zDVVyOmRvs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-0snEn6XKAhWHORoKHYxBBj8Q6AEIIzAC#v=onepage&q=ski%20crossing%20of%20Ellesmere%20island%201977%20Ned%20Gillette&f=false
Though I note an error in that third party report. Gillete and company did NOT use modern fiberglass skis for the trek. In fact, Ned told me that they used classic laminated hickory and spruce Bonna 2400 cross country skis with cracked steel edges and said they were "bomb proof". I remember this because I still have a pair of the same model that I ski on. The sleds they used were custom made versions of the kind that are made of plastic for kids to use.
Sea Wind?
I wonder if something like a Kruger Sea Wind or Dreamcatcher would be more appropriate. They are strong enough and can carry the load. They are not easy to find used,are costly, and are, currently, made to order. I don’t know how long it would take mark to make two.
Good suggestion.
When I saw your comment I was reminded of meeting the gentleman who owns Sea Wind No. 51, built by Vernon Kruger. He briefly mentioned some of his travels in that boat, noting that during his expeditions in the Yukon, his Sea Wind saved his life - twice.
Mark (ManitouCruiser) is (again) doing the WaterTribe Ultimate Florida challenge in his Sea Wind #42, which starts March 5. 1,200 miles, plus a 40 mile portage.
http://www.krugercanoes.com/Products.html
yep, that’s what I was thinking as well
although they are a heavy boat but would likely hold up to the ice abrasion over skin boats. Skin boats aren't going to hold up to the pulling forces that are being described.
You’re planning what?
Crossing the Bering Straits in a what? In the winter?
crossings have been done before there
Actually, if you note the date they are going and read up on previous winter attempts, much of the route is usually frozen over. It had been crossed with Snowmobiles in the past. But with warming Arctic seas, they anticipate stretches of open water this time. Their biggest challenges are likely to be thin ice and pressure ridges.
A skin on frame kayak on the skeleton frame I proposed would not be subject to extreme stress. And SOF’s are far tougher than most people unfamiliar with them understand.
thin ice
Thin ice can cut right through a fiberglass kayak. I’ve got several SOF’s and I wouldn’t want to try that.
Bill H.
Stand by my suggestions
Unfortunately, the You Tube video of a guy unsuccessfully trying to puncture a skin on frame kayak by wailing on it with the claw end of a hammer has already expired, but here is one that demonstrates some aspects of their overall durability . He eventually slices the deck skin with a hunting knife but you can see how tough and flexible the skin is by the end of the clip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYyvIExWkqU
Unlike solid material boats, both the frames and the skins flex and give rather than let impact stress build up until failure.
Aha, found one (the hammer test)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xb_21OLjHE
Most of the skins are 8 ounce ballistic nylon fabric with a couple of coats of 2-part urethane. Info on the materials used here:
http://shop.skinboats.com
ice abrasion is the problem, not
punctures.
not necessarily
My plastic hard boats show more damage from abrasion (from concrete, rough rock and gravel) than my skin boats. The chines and keel would be more vulnerable, but they have reinforcement strips over them. Modern Inuit use these in ice filled subarctic waters all the time.
Seems like to me
No matter which direction you go with the boat material, the logical goal would be to reduce the surface area of the sled/boat contact with the ice. Other wise you are just dragging a heavy object over ice.
I would consider some type of custom boat, or rig a set of runners under the boat. I’m assuming you would spend more time dragging than floating and at very least dragging would be the most energy burn. I would be willing to sacrifice its boat like quality for its sled like qualities.
Just some thoughts from someone that hates the cold. Good luck and Godspeed.
Seems like to me
No matter which direction you go with the boat material, the logical goal would be to reduce the surface area of the sled/boat contact with the ice. Other wise you are just dragging a heavy object over ice.
I would consider some type of custom boat, or rig a set of runners under the boat. I’m assuming you would spend more time dragging than floating and at very least dragging would be the most energy burn. I would be willing to sacrifice its boat like quality for its sled like qualities.
Just some thoughts from someone that hates the cold. Good luck and Godspeed.
Qamutiik
A Qamutiik (also komatik, many other spellings) is an Inuit term for a sled used to carry cargo over ice and snow. Many types exist (e.g. the dog sled), a common design characteristic is lashed construction (cf. SOF kayak frames). This allows flexibility, decreasing jolting, making towing easier and the sled less vulnerable to impact damage. As mentioned in the article linked below:
"Diaries and accounts from the 1800 and early 1900s tell of how British and American explorers, determined to use conventional sleds, found that the pounding of the sea-ice jolted and expelled the nails and that such sleds fell to pieces within several miles of their start point."
A folding or knock-down Qamutiik, similar to a folding kayak frame sounds like a good avenue to try. Customizing it to carry your kayak should be straight forward, and having it knock down to a set of pieces that could be stowed on board would be ideal. If the frame is made of wood, the stringers could be fairly slender. The article also mentions using polyurethane or nylon on the runners to reduce drag, a very good idea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qamutiik
sounds like a good idea
There are a number of sites about these arctic sleds:
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/92897-Qamutiik-Komatic-sled-design
http://www.dootalk.com/forums/topic/303314-komatic-construction/
And a great vintage construction drawing for such a sled from Ben Hunt, the guy who wrote and illustrated "Indian Crafts and Lore", one of my favorite books as a kid:
http://www.inquiry.net/images/eskimo_komatik.gif
Polar Attack
You might want to read “Polar Attack” by Richard Weber, who went unsupported to the geographic North Pole and back. They used sleds, but they may have had an inflatable for water crossings (can’t quite remember). He does provide a very useful list of gear and food.
Somewhat late
According to your website, “32 days : 04 hours : 26 minutes : 31 seconds from expedition departure” and you’re just now choosing the configuration of your primary kayak?
An all-too-frequent common denominator in failed expeditions is unfamiliarity with equipment chosen at the last moment.
I’ll be watching this trip with … interest.
experience
Also lots of failed very poorly planned “expeditions” by VERY inexperienced people. Bad press for all paddlers.
If you had the experience you wouldn’t be asking what boat to take in the first place, you’d already know. And it most certainly wouldn’t be a SOT.
Bill H.