For the year I had the necky Chatham 18 it was neat to see the application of knit fabrics and what appeared to be unidirectional glass (lengthwise though) but there were a few anomalies on layup that didn't make sense like the ends where impacts would occur didn't look any thicker than the adjacent panel. The gel coat chipped off a section of the bow and with a flashlight I could get a decent gauge on the shape of the inside.
When I saw a Chatham 17 which had a slightly larger flat section the rigid soft chine met a fairly flexible flat section which made the whole kayak rattle on pounding waves. It looked like the kind of place that transverse unidirectional cloth or core material would have made a difference. It's funny how some kinds of flexibility in the hull bottom isn't bothersome (old Necky Swallow, QCC400) but in the higher tech Necky Chatham 17 it rang like a drum enough to make the deck vibrate visually. Which is something the wider Chatham 16 didn't do. Funny what a difference placement of core materials makes.
Too light I’ve seen more than one kayak made from kevlar where the deck was made too light. The decks cracked during rescue practices in the surf or ocean chop when many boats were in very close proximity. I think they try to make them too light because floks want light boats and they have to justify the extra cost of a kevlar boat.
If you aren;t racing then you don’t need a light boat. All you need is a barbell and about 60 pounds of weights. In less than a month or 15 separate 20 minute workouts you will be able to lift a heavier boat with ease. Studies done by Nautalus showed that even floks in their 80’s could build muscle as fast as youngsters. So get the weights and start out easy and keep at it.
On the other hand, if you are racing and you have plenty of money then get the lightest boat you can and do whatever you can to make it lighter. After all it only needs to last through this weeks race. Train in your heavier boat.
Frank… Getting it up was never a problem, but as I get older, KEEPING it up is more difficult.
Even when I was 30, and lifted weights seriously before a 12 night Quetico trip, I found lofting and portaging our 85 pound fiberglass canoe difficult. I had a good padded portage yoke, but the pressure of that boat would make me miserable on longer portages. Lifting weights does nothing for that.
Now I have a 48 pound Bluewater Chippewa. Getting it up and keeping it up is no problem.
Never had to keep it up for so long Since I’ve never been on a trip to Quetico, I’ve never had to keep it up that long. I guess I just finish earlier than most…
We are still talking about portaging right. What I mean is the portages here are short.
For one thing, the marginally improved acceleration on each stroke is partially offset by the marginally increased inertia of a heavier boat.
More importantly, since drag - not weight - is the major factor curtailing speed and acceleration for a given amount of horsepower, a 2% decrease in weight does not translate into a 2% increase in speed. I have no idea how to calculate the exact effect, but I'd be surprised if it was significantly more than 0.2%.
The bottom line is that saving five pounds makes no significant difference on the water for a touring kayaker. I vary the amount of gear I carry when paddling by at least that much and I can honestly say that I have never noticed a difference in the speed of the boat.
While Kevlar kayaks can have other benefits, higher performance is not one of them.
Weight… It’s funny how weight is perceived in different fields of kayaking.
Last week I helped my training mate collect a 2nd hand Nelo Vanquish ICF kayak in marathon(8 kg) layup. The seller adviced us that by exchanging the rudder cable, it might be able to shave off 100g…
While 100g might sound laughable, anyone used to a 12kg sprint ICF kayak can immediately feel the difference when placed in an 8kg version of the boat. Much faster to accelerate. It might make the difference between drafting or being left behind.
Still when touring in a sea kayak, I doubt I’d feel the difference between a 24kg boat + gear and a 21kg boat + gear.
