I don’t know much about hull design at all, just the most elemental basics. I certainly cannot comment on this design but would ask the opinion of those who are knowlegeable. Someone I know built a boat like this and I want to see what people who know more than I (which isn’t hard) might think of it, good or bad.
Not designed by a kayaker, canoest or anyone that paddles. Square, klunky with way too big and misshapened cockpits. Cockpits too close together. Spray rails don’t belong on a kayak. Hull is more of a planning hull.
Might make a suitable viking funeral boat.
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The square-edged cross section means it should be stable on calm water (good for standing up and fishing on a pond) but bad (squirrelly) in waves and dangerous in big waves. The chopped off tail is bad for efficiency and will cause a big energy-wasteful wake…compare to ANY canoe or kayak or sailboat. The square tail is wider at the bottom than top…exactly opposite of what you want even if you were going to hang a motor off the back (put the skinny part in the water and keep the fat part out of the water), it looks like it may be designed for ease of construction using plywood. The boxy design means it would likely be hard to turn (it’s kind of opposite to a banana-shaped whitewater kayak with rounded sides). It looks kind of wide for it’s length (chubby length to width ratio) so that also works against efficiency along with the chopped off tail. On the positive side the bow entry looks nice and sharp, the red top paint looks good with the mahogany plywood, and all those hatches mean it would be easy to load up with wood if you wanted to use it as a funeral boat.
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Thanks for the insights which confirm my experience.
We’re going to need more dead vikings…
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You made me spill water on my keyboard.
Dimensions would be helpful. Kind of looks like a huge tandem that you could sleep in, like a big baidarka.
The deep, fine entry and flat run aft is going to make it tend to broach in a following sea. The bow will plant and the flat stern will want side down the wave sideways like a surfboard leaving you broadside to the waves. It is a very hard situation to control with paddles and even with a rudder. A massive skeg would help, but I would lose the flat run aft and have more rocker in the bow than the stern.
If it is as big as I think it is, maybe 25 feet by 3.5 feet, it would handle leeboards and sail if you get the problems below the waterline worked out and add a big rudder.
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Would this happen to be the same guy who built you a kayak several years ago that did not turn out so well? If so, I can definitely see why you didn’t like it if this is his idea of a good kayak hull design.
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*Would this happen to be the same guy who built you a kayak several years ago that did not turn out so well? If so, I can definitely see why you didn’t like it if this is his idea of a good kayak hull design.
Indeed it was.
No, I am not interested in a sailboat, especially at these prices. Given how amazing boats like the Wilderness Polaris (and old Northstars) and even the Stellar ST17 are I’m all set.