Anyone ever tried a three piece, cut hull kayak? Watertight? Reasonable? Flimsy or flexy? Pricey? Freya's rules, is that custom made, or off-the-shelf?
Sweetwater Kayaks in St. Pete has a valley boat that is three piece. rock solid. I think there are eight bolts or something like that between bulkheads.
pain in the butt though in my opinion. airlines checks in three pieces, destroys one an you are f***ed.
khatsalano in my future if I can find one cheap enough.
3 Piece If I recall correctly from what I read on her website Freya has a three piece NDK Explorer and a four piece Waterfield Qaanaaq SS from Japan.
I have a three piece explorer and it paddles fine but is extremely heavy. People complain about the weight of NDK kayaks but the three piece takes heavy to a whole new level. Mine is six years old so they may be lighter now. I certainly hope so.
NDK offers 3-piece boats as a factory option. Each piece has a solid bulkhead, and they’re held together with through-bolts. They’ve been used on some serious expeditions, so paddling performance and durability can’t be too bad. But they are heavy.
Then There’s The VOLKSKOMPONENTKAYAK… The VOLKSKAYAK can be and has often been built as a sectional - the fore and aft bulkheads are doubled with cardboard between, drilled for the joining bolts, and the hull/deck cut into three sections after the kayak is completely assembled. The bulkhead faces are then faired, and the sections joined together while it sets up. I’ve seen several of these modified VKs, and you can’t tell 'em from a VK Standard unless they’re in three pieces!
Kajak Sport boats are available… in three piece models also. Sold one to a fellow in Chicago who lived in an apartment w/no room for a boat of any length. It looked very nice and quite strong together. Nigel Dennis and Valley boats are available 3-piece also.
Freya’s (S)explorer Freya’s boat is an NDK Explorer Special, denoted by the red “S” decal applied by Freya. Of course, she placed it before the “Explorer” instead of after as Nigel probably intended.
The sectional bulkheads are very sturdy, with multiple attachment bolts. There’s no way on earth I can see that they would ever detach or leak, yet the boat remains feather light. The metalflake is huge, much like expensive Kustom Kar paint jobs, but the surface of the boat is crazed with spiderweb cracks. In my mind, the cracks just make the boat look like it means business…
Outfitting is minimal and well thought out, with expedition utility obviously paramount. There’s not another like it, I’d guess. Freya told me it’s actually version 2.0, as someone backed into the original boat as she was loading it on her vehicle at NDK’s facility! Ouch.
Tons of great ideas here. Freya’s website, magoo, seems to indicate that she’sselling a couple of boats. i don;t read german or live in germany. Wonder if she’s selling the metallic three piece. I also wonder why hers is so lightwieght, when others are claiming heaviness. And she even has mettalic paint! The shipping from Duitsland, though, would likely be outrageous. it’d be like your Freyamobile. only times 20.
The shipping from Duitsland, though, would likely be outrageous. it’d be like your Freyamobile. only times 20.