We left off with some very basic parameters of design: long and lean, with hatches, cockpits, decklines, and water tight bulkheads. So beyond that, what do you need to know?
Today, modern sea kayaks are generally broken down into two categories: North American designs and British designs. To the naked eye, the differences are subtle. To the experienced paddler, they're about as vast in design as the far sides of the ocean from which they originated.
Generally speaking, North American style sea kayaks are higher volume, have a longer waterline, and are equipped with rudders. The higher volume can increase space in the cockpit for larger paddlers and add valuable storage space for long trips and expeditions. The longer waterline most commonly associated with North American hulls equates to increased hull speed and greater efficiency while underway. Foot-controlled rudders ease steering, and with the longer waterline on these craft, it's a welcomed aid.
By comparison, British style sea kayaks are virtual polar opposites. As a general rule, these are lower in volume, have a noticeable amount of rocker (shorter waterline) from bow to stern, and are absent a rudder. Some Brits have a skeg, which is a deployable blade or fin that drops from the hull just aft of the paddler, but these don't steer the kayak, they merely aid in directional assistance via straight tracking in confused seas and high wind.
At this point, if you're thinking I'm going to wax poetically about the pros of each style of boat, you can simply forget it. I've owned both, I've paddled both, and my vast experience has led me across the (big) pond for good. The British are coming, and they're here to stay.
So, what makes British sea kayaks superior?
First and foremost for me is the absence of a rudder. Folks, rudders are a crutch. They don't teach you to properly steer a kayak; they merely keep your toes wiggling while you paddle. Proper kayak maneuvering is done via strokes and edging your kayak. Period. "Why do all of that if I can just use a rudder," you might ask? Here's two reasons: rudders are mechanical and as such, are prone to failure. The second reason? Rudders make you lazy! More on that in a minute, but for now, let's get back to rudders and mechanical failure. Most paddling ruddered kayaks couldn't steer them if a rudder cable broke and their lives depended on it. Don't believe me? I recently did a trip where a couple paddling a ruddered tandem kayak had a bolt fall out of their rudder with about four VERY windy miles left in the trip and they were literally paddling in circles in the middle of the Tennessee River. I attached my tow line to their bow and got them to the planned takeout without incident, but if I hadn't, they were in for a much longer and stressful trip than what they'd planned for. Ironically enough, I'd just had a discussion with another couple on the trip - each paddling solo kayaks - about the evils of rudders. Each seemed convinced that their ruddered sea kayaks were superior. I posed the same question to them: "What would you do if those rudders failed?" They didn't quite know how to respond, but the looks on their faces answered my question when I passed them some thirty minutes later ... towing the rudderless and disabled couple in their tandem. This all leads to the second disadvantage to rudders and that's their ability to make paddlers lazy. If you're merely wiggling your toes when you paddle, then you aren't using the edges of your kayak for which they were designed - edging. Throwing a sea kayak over on its edge where the cockpit rim is mere inches from the surface and feeling that turn start to carve is one of the greatest joys in all of sea kayaking. You're paddling the kayak as it was intended to be paddled, and you're mastering a must-have skill in sea kayaking. My way of looking at it is this ... you're not just sitting in a kayak, but you're actually paddling that sea kayak.
One other huge disadvantage to a rudder that I'll throw out there, is that they make rolling a kayak next to impossible. Since the mechanics of an eskimo roll center around the lower body and a solid footing to brace against, how on earth can you possibly gain that footing if your feet move? In fact, the very act of trying to brace off of a moving footpeg once you've flipped over could be enough to actually dislodge you from your kayak. Now you've gone from attempting a roll, to attempting an open water self-rescue. Still think rudders are 'easier?'
The inherent low volume design of British sea kayaks can be a real detriment to packrats on a mutiday or overnight trip. So the question you need to ask yourself is, "How much room do I really need?" Most can get by with as much as one half of the space they currently have in the dry storage of their sea kayaks. If they can't, then they aren't being realistic when packing. Two people don't need a four-burner stove, six person tent, and a queen size air mattress. If you do, then sell your sea kayak and buy a motor home. I can almost pack what I need for a late spring to early fall overnighter in what most would consider a "book bag" sized load and I'm not kidding. My shelter and sleeping bag alone could fit into a plastic shopping bag. Even if I do a week of backpacking on the AT, then I won't carry more than a 4000 cubic inch pack will haul and my low volume Brit kayak probably has twice that in dry storage space. On the same front, don't use your size as a reason to buy more volume. I'm 6'3" with size 13 feet, and I still fit into my low volume British boat with room to spare.
Moving along with volume, what does all of this mean on the water? Well, naturally, if you swell the internal dimensions of a sea kayak, then you've also swelled the external dimensions. It relates like this: take a large beach ball and a small beach ball, inflate both, and toss them into the water on a windy day. Then, count to 50 and see which ball has been moved the greatest distance by the wind in that time. Big, fat, high volume North American kayaks will behave similarly when compared to their British counterparts; rendering them harder to handle in the chop. A story that I can relate here is last year's River Rocks Kayak Races. The morning of the race dawned clear and cool with the post-frontal winds blowing 15-20 from the north. When the starting gun went off, several in higher volume sea kayaks were off-course 30 yards into the race while my low volume sea kayak flew like a dart along my intended route and I never even dropped the skeg. I won that race, by the way.
The waterlines of North American and British kayaks are as different as night and day. If you took one of each and set them on a picnic table, you'd see that the hull of the North American styled hull rests squarely on that table top for its full length, while the British hull curves - or 'rockers' - up toward the bow and stern ends beginning 2'-3' from the center point just below the cockpit. The longer North American hulls boast greater speed; a selling point which I will gladly conceed. The more heavily rockered British hulls provide greater maneuverability; a selling point I'd much rather have. Additionally, the added rocker to a British hull also makes them inherently more stable when things get chaotic. Here's how: as waves build and the kayak begins to get tossed, the longer North American boat puts more hull in the water to be affected. Conversely, the more heavily rockered British hull is riding with largely only its midsection in the chop with the ends riding free of crashing waves. Now, keep that scenario in mind and go back to the volume comparrison. The North American hull stretches long in the soup and it's getting battered by waves fore and aft ... only worsened by the fact that it has a huge amount of volume above the water which is simultaneously getting shoved around by the wind. On the other hand, that rockered British hull is riding loose and agile in the soup; its ends riding well above the grabby froth beneath them ... all the while, the low volume decks above water are well out of the wind and assisting the paddler to focus on nothing but the destination and the song in his or her head.
Ultimately, the decision is of course yours, but I'll never own anything but British styled sea kayaks as long as I may paddle. They're the choice of instructors, expedition paddlers, and weekend warriors from the newest to the most seasoned. They're agile, fun to paddle, and they reward good technique; all the while helping you to get there.
For the best, most proven British sea kayaks, I recommend kayaks from: Valley (Etain, Aquanaut, & Avocet), Sea Kayaking UK (Romany & Explorer), Wilderness Systems (Tempest), P&H/Venture (Capella), Current Designs (Sirocco), TideRace (Xplore & Xcite), and of course the finest I've ever paddled, North Shore Sea Kayaks (Atlantic & Aspect series).
-rob
Well put, Rob! here's an idea for another day, hard vs. soft chine lines....
ReplyDelete