So I got to check out the new Tahe Greenland kayak the other day and was VERY impressed and excited about it. Rolls like a dream, simply amazing!
Not much about it on the internet yet so I thought I’d post a few photos on my website. Some pics are on the main page now, a separate photo album in the photos section and I’ll likely add more pics to my “Paddles” page later too.
http://www.joeoblenis.com/
Can hardly wait to get a bunch of these in!!
Cheers…Joe O’
Lucky Dog!!!
I have been dying to paddle a Tahe Greenland. However, there are no dealers who sell them by me. So…I’ll just have to live vicariously through those who have paddled one. Is it as dreamy as I’ve read?
road trip!
Ro, you and hubs gotta go thru MI anyway to get to Joe in Canada, so you can demo one at the paddleshop near me and then if it’s true love like it could be, head north to pick one up! the exchange rate is slightly in your favor and there are so many great places to paddle. Have hubs bring his OI!
Yup
It is like a dream. Even Helen Wilson (2008 Greenland Champion) tried one the same day I did, she was impressed too, says it rolls better than her SOF she uses now.
That’s good enough for me. 
Sounds Like a Plan
Sounds like a plan to me, Deb. Heck, MI is not that far away! What…a mere 8 hr jaunt. Would be about the same if I was going up to NH where I found a Tahe dealer. And…added bonus, you get to show me all those wonderful places to paddle.
What’s the MSRP on these?
Carbon or glass versions?
MSRP/ Canada
I’m expecting to have them listing for right around $2700 in Canadian dollars for FG.
Carbon will be pricey, something like $4500 or so.
Cheers…Joe
are we allowed…
…to call this a greenland if it isn’t made from whale bone and baby fur seal skins?
I just kind of new here and not sure what the rules are.
sell that ‘dromeda!
here’s hoping…
btw I was AWED by the vid of you rolling that big boat! So smooth & graceful. You’re gonna be somethin’ in a Tahe…
much props to you.
D.
Nice looking boat
But I’m not one to spend my time rolling. I’d be interested in knowing how it paddled.
Andy
First Impressions
It paddles fine. Turns and tracks well. Not twitchy in confused slop. On the small waves available it caught and rode them well. Don’t know about speed as I gave out before it did at around 5.5Kts using a 2.75" wide GP, but I think few will hit a wall with it. While it might be seen as a niche FG version of a SOF, it does not have the feel of a SOF on the water, but its easier to use for Greenland techniques than a traditional Greenland SOF. My impression was that its much more than a boat for Greenland play, but it does that quite well. In many ways it seems a twin of the Black Perl; a modern hull with roots to 20th Century East Greenland kayaks.
Not a good overall “fit” for me though so I don’t think it great or whatever.
“We” can, but you can’t…
…until you understand what the issue was to begin with.
I have no problem with certain “qajariaqs” claiming a particular Greenlandic heritage in design, and the hull/deck lines of this Tahe Greenland boat seem to qualify easily for such a claim (the retractable skeg is a decidedly modern touch, but I’m more concerned with the overall hull and deck forms, and how they influence function. It seems to me, however, that you’re not quite understanding the various distinctions between a claim of “Greenland style”, “qajaq”, and “qajariaq” (three distinctly individual concepts).
Several mass produced boats can indeed claim a “Greenland style” in their designs (beyond just two pointy ends and a hole in the middle), while none can claim “qajaq” status (because no mass produced composite/plastic boat–by its very nature–is custom sized/built for a particular individual; nor is it SOF), yet finally, a wider range of mass produced boats can probably be called “qajariaq” without offending even the most staunch traditionalist, because, after all, many boats can be said to be “similar to a qajaq” (even so, I suppose how far one might feel like stretching this definition is relatively subjective).
Once you learn these basic distinctions, “we” will allow you to call this “Tahe Greenland” a “Greenland style” boat! 
Melissa
Nice
That was very well written. I liked that!
Cheers…Joe O’
Thanks Joe. Speaking of nice…
…I visited your site and spent some time drooling over your GPs! Nice work! If I weren’t so into carving my own, I’d be seriously considering a couple of yours! Also, I’d like to wish you good fortune on your Vancouver Island paddle this Fall. I hope you set your desired record, but no matter what, it’s a great excuse to get out and paddle in a nice place!
Melissa
It’s a beautiful boat…
…but to me it looks like it sits a little low in the water at the cockpit…is there a recommended weight range?
220# Capacity Listed
My SWAG is at that loading the deck would almost be awash. At 175# and a light day kit, the tape is just in the water. For comparison, the sides from chine to deck are about 6" and the distance between chines is about 16" with a depth at front of cockpit to bottom of rim is 9.75". An AA is around 1.5" more in each dimension and my SOF replica is around 1" less in each dimension. Plenty of volume for at least a weekend camping trip, but the paddler would need to be around 150# or less would be my guess.
seems like it would be a good compromise
between a cheater rolling boat, and something that you could actually paddle.
I paddled one at grand marais. Seemed like a good go-between. I could easily balance brace it without a paddle and sneeze-hand roll it up.
However it had a hard time with edged turns in dynamic water. Because of the lack of buoyancy it didn’t respond very well to bow-rudders, stern draws, when accompanied with an edge. This is to be expected.
If you are only going to paddle it on flatwater to roll, sounds awesome, otherwise give me something with more freeboard and buoyancy so I can surf, edge and pivot. These types of boats tend towards single use, which is great if you have the money. I like the challenge of performing the greenland manuevers in the boat I use for all my trips and rough water. I can do lots of stuff in a cheater boat with a tuiliq on, but it’s definitely a lot more interesting to try in my everyday boat with lifejacket, tow rope, helmet, etc. The rolls that elude me in my silhouette are dwindling.
Though keep in mind I do own a surf boat which is a single use boat, but it is not rolling single use!
2 cents of input.
Oh, Thanks!
Thanks Melissa…like you, I truly love building the paddles. Every minute spent in the garage building them is still enjoyable. The only thing better than making them, is getting out using them.
Cheers…Joe O’
Question
– Last Updated: Aug-17-09 9:21 AM EST –
You said
"However it had a hard time with edged turns in dynamic water. Because of the lack of buoyancy it didn't respond very well to bow-rudders, stern draws, when accompanied with an edge. This is to be expected."
Could this be a function of the length and shape (somewhat plump ends) rather than volume? Just curious... I very briefly paddled yesterday in flat water someone's strip-built boat (http://www.redfishkayak.com/king.htm) - to me it too lacked *immediate* response to edging, however, after a second or two of edging (vs. immediately), it begins to initiate the turn and turns in a small radius. Compared to the Tempest 165 I tried back to back with it, it felt much less responsive to maneuvering.... Basically, the King behaved like a "long" boat, even though the waterline is under 16 feet supposedly. I'm sure it would be very forgiving and smooth in rough water, since it is a combination of swede form, soft chines on the front and rounded hard chines near the seat. The Tempest to its credit felt almost as responsive as my 13.5 Sonoma I was paddling that day, and she is short with probably at most 13 feet of waterline under my 200lb load (with gear).
I think the ends are somewhat irrelevant
BTW that redfish boat is a beauty, would love to see one up close.
The volume of the kayak as a whole matters, the ends matter, but not to the extent that the volume through the middle where the paddler is sitting matters.
If you have a high volume boat where there is lots of freeboard, an edged turn can really have an effect, (as can the wind and waves). But the ends whether plumb or pointy really have less to do with it than the amount of volume through the center.
When you edge you are shifting the shape of the hull so that one side is further in the water than the other, with your weight ostensibly in the middle (more or less).
So if you have a low volume kayak with low freeboard, when you go to edge the kayak either into or on the outside of the turn, you are really not doing much because the boat is essentially buried, and you are not freeing anything. The water builds up on the gunnel on the inside of a carved turn and on the outside of a turn too.
Where as with a higher volume boat when you edge, the gunnel is still free of the water and the boat will really skid out.
The inuits built their kayaks to be relatively wind neutral and the idea was to have them be more in the water than out of them so that the wind couldn’t blow you around. Carved and edge turns I don’t think were really part of the design intent. Not saying they are flawed, just a different idea about how to maneuver.
However one of the things I really like about modern kayaks is the ability to skid out through a turn, and to use the buoyancy of the hull to come into the wind, or turn down wind through edging.
Part of the reason you see all of the modern britboats with larger midsections, is not so much that we are fat, (though that is sometimes the case) as it is the extra buoyancy makes it a lot more fun to paddle in textured water. For instance a surf kayak has to have a lot of volume in the bow and in the cockpit area to make it worth surfing. A 20" wide surf boat wouldn’t really work for most adults, it’s just to narrow a platform for wave riding. Same thing for sea kayaks a 19.5" kayak unless you are 5’5" and 125 pounds just isn’t buoyant enough to carve and edge through textured water.