Another two Frej launched...
Friday, July 7, 2017 (Frej, Launchings), 1 comments
The first built by Axel Wolff in Arles, France:
"Hi Björn,
Well, it almost took 9 months to build my Frej, just like a baby. I did take my time and enjoyed every minute of it (well, maybe not that mistake I made, and that other, and maybe all the sanding at the end...). It was my first build, and despite a few cosmetic flaws I'm really proud of it.
I shortened it to 481 cm, and it weighs 17 kg fully outfitted.
She went into the water yesterday, on the Rhone river in Arles city center. Just a 5 min. walk from my house, with the kayak on the trolley. All my friends and neighbors came along to see the boat finally on the water after all these months seeing me work on it. The kayak was of course christened with Champagne (although I didn't bother giving her a name).
I'm not an expert paddler, and the Frej was quite a change from my chubby, inflatable Bic HP2, probably the most stable boat you could find. Quite a transition, the Frej, of course, felt tippy at first but I soon tamed it and it was fast and fun to paddle. I also made myself a Greenland paddle, and being used to euro paddles it was quite a discovery. Paddling with a canted stroke felt swift and natural. I can't wait to take the boat back to the water and paddle some more!
I published a Facebook album of the build and the maiden voyage at:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1494023520643369.1073741827.100001072055180&type=1&l=0270d8a3e4
I'll be updating it.
Thanks for the design and for your advice. The online building guide was of great help, together with all the builders' reports on the site.
/Axel"
...the next by Hans Brattberg, Strängnäs, Sweden:
Hej, har glömt sända in några bilder och kommentarer men här kommer dom. Kajaken blev färdig i höstas men har sedan sysslat med annat varför de sista detaljerna nyligen utförts. Det har varit ett trivsamt projekt med många utmaningar. Vikten har stannat på 18 kg och pagajen som jag byggt enligt ett danskt koncept var mycket intressant och vikten stannade på ca 900 gram.
MVH Hans
