another good point
Yes, that’s another good point about Greenland kayaks – most are lighter than similar length touring kayaks, especially the S & G and skin-on-frame models. Besides liking the way it paddles, I am more often inclined to grab my Greenland for a trip because it only weighs 31 pounds and I can easily hoist it over my head to load on the car.
resources
Great resource
http://www.qajaqusa.org/default.html
If you like to build things:
http://www.yostwerks.org/
http://www.capefalconkayak.com/
http://www.superiorkayaks.com/
less traditional, but good stuff
I crashed my bicycle this past spring, cracked some ribs, and had an acute dose of sciatica that had seniors with walkers asking if I needed help to my car. A powerful dose of humility - that part I am honestly thankful for.
Fortunately, with a little luck, recommended physical therapy exercises, and regular visits to the chiropractor, it didn’t have me down for too long.
The Caribou and Greenlander are probably what I have that closest resemble traditional Greenland style, and I certainly appreciate that the long keyhole cockpit on the Caribou, glass construction, weight, etc. leave it a solid step from traditional. But that long keyhole cockpit had me paddling the Caribou pretty exclusively for a while after that, and I made some fun discoveries.
It handles surf better than I had given it credit for. I found myself getting pretty aggressive trying to dig in those chines while riding, and it responds well. The most fun part has to do with the foam pile on top of a crumbling wave.
Sea kayaks, with their displacement hulls, don’t lend themselves to snapping off bottom and top turns on waves. So you keep that kayak running fairly straight as long as you can, and take an angle for speed at the end of the ride, and the wave is going to eventually broach you once you get to much of an angle off perpendicular to it. So you stern rudder hard, and try to break over the top and head back out. Often times, I’ll broach accidentally, before I want off of the wave, or before it will let all of that volume just slip over the top. When that foam pile takes you side surfing, the ideal scenario is that you can do a powerful sweep while your displacement hull is freed up in the foam and/or on the crest, swing the kayak back downwave, and continue on. It’s a fun moment for me when I pull it off.
In the Caribou, I got to doing that better than I’ve ever managed. The bow tends to get knocked forward off of the foam pile down wave and start the rotation, and I’ve even managed to swing that thing around with a quick sweep and twist beyond perpendicular, and end up heading back down the opposite direction.
Now to be clear, some things have to come together to pull this off in a sea kayak, and it’s more of an occasional accomplishment than something that I can just do whenever I feel like it. So I’m just describing how the Caribou seems to lend itself to accomplishing this more regularly.
The last time I was in it, I purposely sat myself parallel to the waves in the break zone just to practice recovery. I tucked as a wave broke on me, and zippety-do, the wave has me rolled around with the kayak pulling my upper body behind it (as normal), and I feel that bow dropping back down in front. So I sit up with a hard sweep, and I find myself surfing down in front of it towards shore. That felt very cool. I never figured on being able to do such a thing.
I don’t know why, but playing in the water just never seems to get old.
Go for it!
If you want a Greenland kayak, get a Greenland kayak! As with any kayaking, I highly recommend getting good instruction, and starting out in near-shore, tranquil waters. Learn how to do a wet exit right off the bat. The Qajaq USA events are phenomenally helpful if you can attend.
There’s a broad range of what are loosely regarded as Greenland kayaks. The simplest defining element to me is the hard chines. In their purest form, Greenland kayaks are uber-low volume, very snug fitting skin-on-frames. They can be a little twitchy and take a learning curve, but they are amazingly easy to roll and have the responsiveness of a Ferrari. I love their close interaction and paddle mine everywhere… even fishing on small rivers. ;^)
At the far end of the spectrum, there are kayaks with just a modicum of Greenland inspiration, like CD’s Caribou. That kayak is fairly wide and has great primary stability (and secondary, provided you don’t tilt it at all past its well defined tipping point). The newer version has semi-hard chines and carves turns nicely, so it has a Greenland-ish feel. It’s not a great choice if you want to become a Greenland rolling practitioner, mainly because the rear deck is too high to lay back on aft-finishing rolls. It’s also a little too high volume overall to allow effortless rolls.
In between these extremes lies everything from stich-and-glue kayaks, to the Tahe Greenland, Water Field Qaanaaq models, and others. This spring I test paddled a Boreal Designs Baffin, which caught my eye because it had Greenlandic lines, though I don’t believe it’s touted as such. With it’s low back deck, it seemed to roll almost as easily as my skin-on-frames. The front deck was low, too, which even made front deck sculling rolls a snap. That’s priced reasonably and IMO would be a decent choice for a beginning paddler who wants paddling stability, and yet would like to develop various rolling skills.
Since there are so many forms of what loosely are referred to as Greenland kayaks, you really need to define what you want from one and pick the kayak for the task. Tradition? Rolling? Keeping upright? Camping? Your size / flexibility? If at all possible, test paddle a few before you buy, since the fit and characteristics vary so much. Seek out good instruction and have fun in your journey!
Thanks everyone
I really appreciate all the well thought out responses. It shows me that I have a lot to consider, and I can see that greenland-style can mean different things to different folks. I’kl have to dig in and explore more and see what I might be able to take for a test spin or demo before I make a decision. Thanks again for all the feedback. It’s wonderful to see such an enthusiastic paddling community.
your choice
I would not get to hung up on just Greenland yaks. CD makes very nice kayaks in a few styles. British, Greenland and North American. Get one to fit you body and weight. CD can get you many boats in the below 50 lb range. 22-24" is good for most people even if learning. Get lessons, rent and try before you buy.
More skills you develop
Better decision you’ll make,