T H E G R E E N L A K E P A D D L E R LITTLE BASTARD, A GREAT SMALL KAYAK |
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  Home Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5Part 6Part 7OUT ON THE WATER THE LINK I'VE MISSED BETWEEN KAYAK AND PADDLER And now, the ultimate moment of truth has arrived. The same person who told me this small craft will not keep me above the surface also remarked that I am forty years too old for a kayak of this size! I never knew there was a relation in boat length and the age of the paddler. I must have missed something ... somewhere. What length of kayak do I have to paddle then, when my age is eighty? Probably something like 12 meters long, thinking of it, Copper Inuit Caribou hunting kayaks were pretty long. Must be very old guys!  Cold water 6 degrees celcius, microwaves only, closing my neck seal just in case a freak monster wave likes to surprise me from an unexpected angle.  Like so for example, you never know what creeps up.  Of course she floats high when empty...and me standing beside. The boat looks tiny.  But what happens next on entering ... OH NO...short boat ... getting exiting already! This askes for a swift entry or I will face disaster. Perhaps I should have gone for more volume in the rear, like a Swede shaped hull. When I was building the frame I didn't think of this to happen. What I had in mind was a boat that doesn't dive with the nose ... seems that worked out so far.  Fish ( widest beam in front of cockpit ) vs Swede shaped hull.  Once seated and floating, things leveled out again and some inches of sinkage are still unused. The boat could even be smaller in volume, initial stability feels slightly lively at first.  End of the scale is pretty much ok, ... don't know how long this tape will hold when wet.  Enough for now, back home to do some small alterations... Home Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5Part 6Part 7LB rev 2021 A A R D V A N H O L L A N D . C O M |