Hunter

Latest updated Tuesday, March 05, 2013, 8 comments

Images | Particulars

Plans, Hunter - 108 EUR Purchase

Hunter is a very long, narrow, low volume kayak, loosely based on the hunting kayaks of south-eastern Greenland. It is fast and responsive, tracks well with good balance and is very easy to roll and perform various braces in.

Most European or American built "Greenland kayaks" have been modeled on west coast designs (ultimately from the kayak Ken Taylor brought back to Scotland in 1959). By that time the west coast kayaks were influenced by the outside world – for good and bad. The east coast had been more isolated during what is sometimes referred to as "the little ice age" and when the eastern hunting kayaks were rediscovered, their forgotten qualities had a profound influence on the development of the modern Greenland kayak – the rake of the stems are greater, the sheer flatter, the flare of the sides have increased and the deadrise in the bottom is almost gone. They were faster, particularly against a head wind, more maneuverable and less affected by wind.

Hunter is not intended to be a replica. The construction method is strip instead of skin-on-frame, the foredeck is 2" higher (I guess few paddlers would be happy with the 7" under-deck height of the original!), the bottom is slightly wider (since westerners are taller in general than the Inuit of 19th century, the kayak would have felt much tippier without the adaptation) and the chines are slightly rounded (giving a smoother stability curve and better water flow over the hull, without sacrifying the ability to turn by leaning). But I have tried to keep the beautiful looks and performance characteristics of the Greenland original.

This is a narrow boat (20½" at the sheer, 18½ at the waterline), however it is not scary to paddle. Initially tippy but with a reassuring secondary stability, even novice paddlers quickly feel at ease (I would not recommend Hunter as a first kayak though – at least not unless you have ambitions and perseverance above the ordinary). Yet the narrow width does make it easy to lean the boat over with confidence when desired. The flat sides create a smooth and predictable secondary stability without the feeling that you will suddenly get dumped into the water.

The low aft deck permits the paddler to lean back with his head to the deck, making eskimo rolls and many traditional braces easy. The fore deck is also low by modern standards (9,6" at the foot rest) and intended for those practitioners of Greenland-style paddling who prefer a truly snug boat. Sitting eskimo style with knees slightly out and toes pointing slightly forwards, it is surprisingly roomy, even for a male western bigfoot. Those who prefer a little more comfort might use the higher deck (10,6"), indicated by dotted lines on the plans. With its low deck the boat is not adversely affected by wind.

The kayak is very easy to maneuver thanks to the rockered keel, flat bottom, rounded chines and comparatively short waterline. Leaning is a choice, not a necessity.

When the speed increases, the bow and stern wave climbs the raking stems, rapidly increasing waterline length and as a consequence, hull speed and tracking. The results are the unusual double benefits of extreme maneuvering at low speed and good tracking at high speed.

With a short waterline and a narrow hull, the wet surface and the friction are small (not much more than a competition K1). The acceleration is impressive – a couple of strokes to hull speed.

Overall, this boat is a lot of fun to paddle. With its relatively low volume, it is not intended as a multi-day touring boat. It is probably better suited as a day-tripping boat, the high touring speed letting you explore a lot of shoreline in a day - though traveling light and with a little packing discipline it will hold a surprising amount of gear. It is even better for practicing rolling, surfing, rock hopping and playing in breakers off the beach.

Like the traditional boats of the Inuits, it is a versatile boat ready to follow wherever you wish to go and whatever you wish to do.

Images

Stability

The curve shows the calculated stability with a static load, and therefore of limited use for a real paddler. The part of the curve near zero degrees indicates the initial (primary) stability – the steeper the curve, the more stable. The part of the curve left of the peak indicates end (secondary) stability – the higher and wider, the safer you feel edging the kayak. The position of the peak shows also how much the kayak can be leaned without tipping over. The part of the curve to the right of the peak with rapidly decreasing righting moment is almost impossible to take advantage of.

Plans, Hunter - 108 EUR Purchase