Re: [Paddlewise] Innovations in sea kayak designs

Craig Jungers wrote:
> I've been mulling over the thread that rotated around the video "a
> conversation with Derek Hutchinson" and some of the comments. Derek
> Hutchinson has said that he thinks design innovation in sea kayaking is
> moribund, if not dead, and this got me to thinking. In many ways I agree
> with him. Especially over the past few years with the popularity of the
> "Brit Boats"; many of which are indistinguishable from designs of the 1970s.
> I suppose you could say, "why tinker with perfection" but I'm not at all
> sure that the Brit Boats are perfection. At any rate, whether you are
> admirer of this style or not, they certainly don't typify much in the way of
> innovation.
> 

<snip>

> 
> At least until recently.
> 
> Last September in Port Townsend I noticed that George Gronseth (
> www.kayakacademy.com) had a few of his new design, the Illusion, in
> different volumes. In fact George even had a cockpit mockup which was being
> used to determine which version would best fit an individual paddler. They'd
> seat the protential buyer in the mockup and then adjust the "volume" to the
> point where the paddler felt most comfortable. Then Gronseth's manufacturer,
> Sterling Kayaks in Bellingham, Washington, would churn out a nicely built
> Illusion that not only fit the paddler precisely but would paddle pretty
> much the same (for them) as a boat built for a bigger (or smaller) paddler.
> 
> Let me emphasize that the Illusion is not just offered in HV or LV (high
> volume or low volume) like other designs. The Illusion is adjustable in
> volume. If you need a deck height of 11-3/16 inches then you'll get a deck
> height of 11-3/16 inches; not 12 and not 11.
> 
> This doesn't mean that Gronseth's Illusion will be the perfect sea kayak for
> all paddlers; or even a single individual paddler. I remain convinced that
> there is no such thing as the perfect "all around" kayak. I'll still want
> one kayak for surfing and another kayak for long trips and yet another kayak
> for rock gardens. I don't believe that will change (but we might be getting
> close).
> 
> What it means, in my opinion, is that when Pam buys an Illlusion that is
> sized specifically for her (this is pretty much inevitble, by the way) and
> raves about it to me (also inevitable), I can buy one in the reasonable
> expectation that the one I buy - sized specifically for me - will fit me
> just as well as hers fits her.
> 
> There are still bound to be some differences, however. For one thing, the
> length of the boat does not change and, since I'm a more powerful paddler
> than Pam is, some of the performance characteristics will be different for
> me than for her. And, of course, changing the volume of a boat - which means
> flare changes too - means that stability factors will change. They'd change
> anyway since I'm heavier and taller. Until George can adjust length and beam
> along with volume, at least. You can take a look at the Illusion CV at
> http://www.kayakacademy.com/catalog/Illusion.html .
> 
> I find this exciting and the trend towards customizing a boat for purpose
> and size exciting. But the infinite adjustability of the Illusion is, for
> me, truly innovative. Up until now you could only do this if you built your
> own design or modified someone else's design (this can be problemmatic for
> some designers) or did your own SOF (which Pam and I are going to do next
> month at Cape Falcon Kayaks). In fact, this is more like the traditional
> method of building a kayak.
> 
> Your comments and ideas are encouraged.
> 
> 
> Craig Jungers
> Moses Lake, WA

Perhaps I am more dense than usual today, but I seem to be missing the 
point. On the one hand, you speak of a lack of design variation; on 
the other you speak of custom-sized boats.

Is this not apples and oranges?

The fact that a boat is available in a multitude of sizes does not, it 
seems to me, make it a "new" or different design.

I must hasten to add that I applaud the movement to making boats in 
varying sizes. I think it's a great idea!

And I also agree -- although I cannot afford to follow up on the idea 
-- that having different boats for different purposes (or even 
different moods!) is also good.

But there seems to be a fairly limited range of variables involved in 
building a kayak, so that they will tend to resemble each other. And, 
it seems to me, there is a certain inertia in the marketplace that 
almost dictates that a kayak must look like other kayaks to gain any 
foothold in the market.

As an example, there were some reviews of a kayak in the past year or 
two (my memory isn't what I'd like it to be) which has sides that 
curved inward in the middle of the boat. This, to me, was a new 
variation in boat design, but it seems to have disappeared from view. 
I have seen nor heard nothing in many months about this design. 
Perhaps it was an ill-conceived design from the performance point of 
view and has justly been tried and sentenced. Until I read otherwise 
though, I will  hold my suspicion that people didn't buy it because it 
looked *too* different.

An interesting topic. I'm looking forward to reading other comments on it.

-- 
   Darryl
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