Preliminary rendering of the Blackburn II sea kayak

Last month a previous customer from NH (see the “Azure” Njord project) asked me to help him design a new strip-built sea kayak.  He’s smaller in stature and has a hard time finding high-performance sea kayaks that fit him.   The new hull is roughly being modeled on a SOF that he designed and made with a friend of his in VT.  He’s an avid kayak racer.  The SOF was designed to compete for the tough Blackburn Challenge race off Cape Ann in Massachusetts.   It’s a 20 mile off-shore race for canoeists, kayakers and rowers that’s held annually every July.  Fittingly he called it the “Blackburn.”  The new hull is codenamed the “Blackburn II.” It’s not a race boat by any stretch of the imagination.  Like I said, it’ll be a high-performance rough water sea kayak aimed for people who weight less than 140 pounds.

Original Blackburn SOF

We just completed the preliminary design stage.  The old SOF wasn’t modeled on a computer so I took the offsets he gave me and created a new  3D model of the existing SOF.  The hydrostatics and estimated speed data were very comparable to the actual boat.  I then reshaped and massaged the model to meet his new requirements: it’s shorter and wider.  The hull has more rocker, less deadrise and the sides have less flare.   The deck has flat sections forward and aft of the cockpit.  The cockpit is smaller and is more square-shaped (like the Japanese Waterfield “Qaanaaq” series).  The stems are also higher.

Preliminary Gaussian Rendering of the Blackburn II"

He’s planning on building it himself this winter.  He’s talked about having us supply him a basic kit with pre-cut forms and strips.  We might also supply some solid carbon fiber bits and bobs (like a pre-made recessed coaming and seat like on his Njord).  Who knows…

In the next few weeks as it evolves I’ll post more updates.

Anyway,  this is just a quick note to say that “Elsie”, the semi-historical rendering of the LC-148 specimen at the Danish National Museum collected from East Greenland, now has her own page in the portfolio.  There’s some project information, construction pictures and computer renderings.  Looking back on it, I really wish I had the time last winter for a “proper” build log like I had been done in the past.  “Elsie” ended up being so unique she deserved one.  I’ll definitely be doing them for future projects.

Our Connecticut-18 sea kayak (CT-18 for short), of which “Elsie” was the prototype, isn’t quite final yet.  The person who commissioned her had his interpretation of the design.  As built it’s a striking boat and very capable.   I just think it’s too West Greenland-ish personally.  I’d like to take it back to it’s East Greenland roots and make it a little more versatile.  I’ll  modify the deck slightly and return some of the sheer that was taken away.   It’ll give more freeboard and room in the cockpit.   I also want to spend some time optimizing the hull.  In the end it’ll be more faithful to the original from the 1850′s.  When I’m done tinkering with it I’ll post full design details for it and my other designs.

I also transferred over John from N.C.’s  2007 “White” Black Pearl to the new Portfolio.

Until then, enjoy the pictures.

Dan

In my “break” I did build some neat projects and will hope to bring you up to date in the weeks to come.

Last winter before my break, I had the opportunity to design and build a really unique kayak we ended up calling “Elsie.”  It was based on a kayak specimen called the LC-148 taken from Eastern Greenland in the mid-1800′s.  The hull design was modified to better fit a modern American paddler.  It was built as a really different, yet light-weight hybrid construction: a wood-core fiberglass hull with a traditional SOF deck (with hatches).  Neat boat.  Very elegant.  It’s currently living in Massachusetts and can often be seen on Walden Pond. If there is an interest I may offer plans for the design (yet to be officially named).

Construction of "Elsie"

Paddling "Elsie"

This fall/winter I also built a SOF prototype of the Saco 13.  I refined my old Saco 12 rec boat and gave it more overall performance.  With two young girls we needed a second kayak with a big cockpit. It fit the bill well.  It also gave me the chance to try out a new dual layer skinning system using aerospace Dacron and abrasion-resistant Vectra cloth.  Since the picture was taken it has been skinned.  Winter came early this year and we never had a chance to paddle it.  It should get a lot of use next summer!

Saco 13 SOF frame

For Christmas I built Danielle her first kayak: the “Pink Pearl.”  It’s a Coos 8 like Lena’s.  The biggest change from Lena’s is cockpit floor is made out of a piece of clear Lexan instead of 1/4″ plywood.   The girls had to try their boats out in the snow…  Hopefully Danielle will use her boat as much as Lena does.

Danielle and Lena in their kayaks

In the next few weeks I’ll try and put information up on these projects including more images.  I’ll also be performing a major overhaul/rebuild of the entire site.  It will be entirely WordPress-based.   It should be much easier to use.

This spring I’ll start offering my own line of paddles.  I’ll offer hand-carved canoe paddles and Greenland-style sticks for kayaks. I’m currently working on my version of a hybrid paddle construction using wooden blades and carbon shafts that should be as light but more rugged than all carbon.

2010 should be an interesting year.  Stay tuned!

Dan

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