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Some general Observations
about the The Australian sea kayaking scene has evolved around the concept
that a sea-going kayak is not a good boat, unless it is a long boat (5.6m
& longer). This
has lead to confusion about the relationship between boat length and hull
speed. We often hear the line ‘my paddling group always seem to be a boat
length in front of me, I need to get a faster boat’. Many people are aware
that longer boats have a higher terminal hull speed – that is, the highest
speed the boat is capable of, before it reaches its hull speed. Virtually all
5 – 5.8m kayaks will cruise at the same speed, about 6-7km/h. As a general
guide, 10% of effort is required to get your boat to 90% of it’s speed, with
another 90% of effort required to get it to it’s top, or hull speed. However,
longer boats are almost universally no faster at normal cruising speeds; in
fact they are not faster at any speed except the top end. Reducing a boats
wetted surface by picking a shorter, narrower boat of the same design will
give you a kayak that will come up to speed and paddle faster, with less
effort at normal cruising speeds. We have comments from paddlers in Australia
that a boat like the Explorer or Aquanaut is too short at 5.4m, to be able to go to sea for long
expeditions. In the world context, these two spectacularly sea-worthy designs
are actually at the long end of the market (and capable of sustained speeds
of over 8km/h, if that is what does it for you), while our Force boats, the
Assateague & the Norkapp are considered long. My suggestion is that if
you are having trouble keeping up, a couple of good lessons in forward stroke
will probably do the trick. Only in
Australia has the culture developed around a perceived need for length. Why
is the rest of the world satisfied with a shorter waterline? Mainly it
revolves around the ability to be able to ‘kayak’ in a shorter, more
manouvreable boat, as opposed to being reduced to a paddler who points the
boat in the desired direction, then hits the rudder pedals to keep it
straight. Something like the difference between driving a 5-speed manual
sports car & an automatic family sedan. The boats in the SKUK , Valley
& Impex range are universally responsive, satisfying to paddle &
allow paddlers to develop their skills & become true kayakers. |
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Click on the logo for
a review of the SKUK Explorer
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Click on the logo for
Impex Kayak reviews
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Click on the logo for
Valley Kayak reviews
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