[Paddlewise] Tuning the Hull of an Arctic Hawk

Sea Kayakers,

A few months ago, I found a used 1995 Arctic Hawk at a reasonable price and 
bought it. I had tried the model briefly at expos and liked it. However, when 
I took the one I bought in the ocean with waves and wind, I was disappointed 
to find that the kayak weathercocked horribly. Also, the kayak pulled to the 
left, and when I checked the keel line, I saw there was a hook just behind 
the bow. I didn't find the seat very comfortable after 2 hours either.

I thought about selling it to pass it on to the next sucker, but I really 
loved the styling and proportions of this Greenland type kayak. So I decided 
to put my experience of building three kayaks and designing one to use.

I started by grinding away the gelcoat along the bow and stern portions of 
the keel line for a good bound with the epoxy I was going to apply there. I 
filled in the hollow in the hook at the bow with fiberglass and epoxy to make 
the keel even on both sides and to stop the pull to the left. At the stern, I 
modified the hull by building up a rail of epoxy and fiberglass along the 
keel line for a length of about 3 1/2 feet. This rail tapered up to a max 
height of 1 inch towards the stern. This modification is similar to how the 
Mariner kayaks and the Nordkapp HM have a skeggy and straighter keel line 
from behind the seat and aft. The purpose of this rail is too balance the 
kayak in the wind so it won't weathercock. As for the seat, I yanked it out 
and replaced it with a custom one that I carved from a 3" thick block of 
foam.

After tuning the hull, the sea kayak is handling great. I just can't 
understand why I had to take care of these problems rather than the designer 
or manufacturer.

Duane Strosaker
Southern California
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