Thanks Nick
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Kayak Noise - Flat Hull Seakayaks
Flat hulls on Sea Kayaks .....Why not?
Well I think most people including myself would say too much wetted surface too slow won't work. But sometimes you just gotta try stuff. So what do we know is 'slow' short, wide with a flat hull right! So we made a stand up board last summer which is 12'3" long and 30" wide with a flat surfboard style hull. Just for fun I decided to sit on it and paddle it with a kayak paddle it cruised along just fine so I decided to get the GPS out and see what it could do. I managed to sprint it to a top speed of 7.2mph (6.3 kts) which shocked me considering I was paddling something with the dimensions of a rec boat. I don't think Olympic K1's will have flat hulls any time soon but I do wonder if there is some advantages for the average sea kayaker here that we are missing. The video is of me sprinting the boat. As you can see I have no seat or foot braces.
Well I think most people including myself would say too much wetted surface too slow won't work. But sometimes you just gotta try stuff. So what do we know is 'slow' short, wide with a flat hull right! So we made a stand up board last summer which is 12'3" long and 30" wide with a flat surfboard style hull. Just for fun I decided to sit on it and paddle it with a kayak paddle it cruised along just fine so I decided to get the GPS out and see what it could do. I managed to sprint it to a top speed of 7.2mph (6.3 kts) which shocked me considering I was paddling something with the dimensions of a rec boat. I don't think Olympic K1's will have flat hulls any time soon but I do wonder if there is some advantages for the average sea kayaker here that we are missing. The video is of me sprinting the boat. As you can see I have no seat or foot braces.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Kayak Noise - Elite Review
Adventure Kayak Magazine takes a look at the Elite...... 
Check out more here
http://www.adventurekayakmag.com/adventurekayakmag_fall09/
Check out more here
http://www.adventurekayakmag.com/adventurekayakmag_fall09/
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Kayak Noise - Speed
World's Fastest Sup.... (According to us)
This is the brain child of Gary. I'm not sure how to describe it just watch the video. 9 mph!!!!!!
The world's fastest SUP paddler (According to us) is Beau Whitehead from Bellingham. Check out his blog http://paddlesurfnorthwest.blogspot.com/
This is the brain child of Gary. I'm not sure how to describe it just watch the video. 9 mph!!!!!!
The world's fastest SUP paddler (According to us) is Beau Whitehead from Bellingham. Check out his blog http://paddlesurfnorthwest.blogspot.com/
Kayak Noise - Gary Seaman
Stand Up Paddleboards.........
We have been been working on paddleboards for the last couple years and recently did the Nalu for Ocean Kayak one of the first rotomolded paddleboards on the market. It has been received really well and provides an inexpensive entry in to paddleboarding.
We have been been working on paddleboards for the last couple years and recently did the Nalu for Ocean Kayak one of the first rotomolded paddleboards on the market. It has been received really well and provides an inexpensive entry in to paddleboarding.
We have done a lot of research along the way. One of the main resources for this is Gary Seaman he is a designer and shaper in R&D. Gary's back ground is not just having shaped kayaks for many years. He grew up shaping surfboards professionally in California and then was one of the driving forces in the windsurfing revolution. Gary has such a wealth of knowledge and experince it is a real education to work with him. 
This is Gary with his latest board. I have not had chance to surf it yet but all who have rave about it. One very distinctive feature is the old school 50/50 rail which makes it forgiving but still very responsive.
We are learning more and more along the way with this development that I'm sure we will start to put some of what we have learnt into kayak design.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Kayak Noise - Quadra Island
Alex and crew head to Quadra.....
Alex Matthews here, reporting in on the ‘Kayak Noise’ blog.
Last weekend I headed up-island from Victoria to Quadra Island. The crew consisted of the usual suspects: my beautiful wife Rochelle, my good buddy Dave Aharonian (see the article about him in a previous post), and the inimitable Nick Castro of Active Sea Kayaking (http://www.activeseakayaking.ca/).
We loaded up with a couple of Chatham 16s, Dave’s Nordkapp, and one of the highly coveted and all too rare Looksha Elites. Our plan was to stay at the Discovery Islands Lodge (http://www.discovery-islands-lodge.com/) for 3 nights and paddle daily at Surge Narrows – a local playspot of rare scenic beauty just 20 minutes paddling from the lodge. The constricted channels and bottom geography at Surge create a couple of good play waves on a flood tide.
An awesome time was had by all – we played hard, ate like kings thanks to Rochelle, and relaxed in total rustic luxury at the lodge. If you’ve never stayed there, then you should! The owners/operators Ralph and Lannie Keller are wonderful. Check out a slide show here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/45728820@N04/sets/72157623028104976/show/
Still not convinced? Then consider this: every day after paddling, we would stoke up the sauna on the dock in front of the lodge and bake our sore muscles until we were relaxed pools of goo. A quick hot rinse in the outdoor showers, and then we could head upstairs for a mellow evening in front of the wood stove - my idea of a perfect getaway!
P.S. We ran into local paddlers Brent, Paul, and John, who shared beta on the best spots and generally welcomed us to the area. Thanks guys!
All photos By Alex Matthews or Rochelle Relyea
Alex Matthews here, reporting in on the ‘Kayak Noise’ blog.
Last weekend I headed up-island from Victoria to Quadra Island. The crew consisted of the usual suspects: my beautiful wife Rochelle, my good buddy Dave Aharonian (see the article about him in a previous post), and the inimitable Nick Castro of Active Sea Kayaking (http://www.activeseakayaking.ca/).
We loaded up with a couple of Chatham 16s, Dave’s Nordkapp, and one of the highly coveted and all too rare Looksha Elites. Our plan was to stay at the Discovery Islands Lodge (http://www.discovery-islands-lodge.com/) for 3 nights and paddle daily at Surge Narrows – a local playspot of rare scenic beauty just 20 minutes paddling from the lodge. The constricted channels and bottom geography at Surge create a couple of good play waves on a flood tide.
An awesome time was had by all – we played hard, ate like kings thanks to Rochelle, and relaxed in total rustic luxury at the lodge. If you’ve never stayed there, then you should! The owners/operators Ralph and Lannie Keller are wonderful. Check out a slide show here - http://www.flickr.com/photos/45728820@N04/sets/72157623028104976/show/
Still not convinced? Then consider this: every day after paddling, we would stoke up the sauna on the dock in front of the lodge and bake our sore muscles until we were relaxed pools of goo. A quick hot rinse in the outdoor showers, and then we could head upstairs for a mellow evening in front of the wood stove - my idea of a perfect getaway!
P.S. We ran into local paddlers Brent, Paul, and John, who shared beta on the best spots and generally welcomed us to the area. Thanks guys!
All photos By Alex Matthews or Rochelle Relyea
Friday, February 5, 2010
Kayak Noise - Cool People
Dave Aharonian......
Dave is a local paddler and photographer with a inspiring and interesting story. Click on the Article below to enlarge.
http://www.adventurekayakmag.com/adventurekayakmag_fall09/
Dave is a local paddler and photographer with a inspiring and interesting story. Click on the Article below to enlarge.
http://www.adventurekayakmag.com/adventurekayakmag_fall09/
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Kayak Noise - Elite Review
Canoe Kayak Magazine review the looksha Elite....
Click the picture to enlarge
Click the picture to enlarge
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