First Nanoq in the US...

Sunday, March 22, 2015 (Launchings, Nanoq), 7 comments

"Dan & Bjorn, I finally launched my new Alleq/Nanoq. I just love it. Nimble, quick and responsive. Did not roll it yet (water temp 34). It also seems to like the surf/waves but have not tested it in serious waves. Will send better photos. It came out 4" longer than designed. I somehow miscalculated the stems – did not allow for the thickness of the strips where they meet at the bow and stern."

Bob's Nanoq is strictly speaking not a Nanoq. It is built from the Alleq plans, the plywood version I designed for Petruskajak's building classes based on the Qanik I designed for Seabird Designs some years ago. Bob converted the Alleq drawings back to strip several months before I got the Nanoq plans ready to ship. Performance-wise the difference is probably not noticeable, but Bob kept a little more of the harder edges of the plywood version, positioning his version slightly closer to the skin-and-frame Illorsuit original, while the Nanoq has the Qanik-like softer chines and slightly more rounded panels.

More on the different versions on the Nanoq-page.

Comments

1 Dan Caouette (CSCWC)
3/22/2015 8:37 PM

Looks awesome on the water, Bob!! I know how long you've been waiting to get it wet.

2 Rick.H
3/23/2015 1:16 AM

So, Björn, how did Bob get hold of those Alleq plans? The boat looks like a fine candidate for an SOF build, which is my interest at this time, because as things stand, marine epoxy is too difficult and expensive to get in any quantity in Japan. Alleq has the looks of its ancestry and the advantage of decades of refinement by a series of builders and designers culminating in a version with the eye appeal and performance you have put into it. As you may remember, my approach a while back to Petrus about the plans went unanswered.

3 Björn Thomasson
3/23/2015 8:51 AM

The Alleq plans are comissioned by Petrus to be used in building classes and sold as kits by him and his partners: Dan Caouette (New Hampshire) and Niklas Perander (Finland). Bob's kayak is the result of an agreement with Dan Caouette.

I will not include Alleq in my catalog as long as Petrus and his partners are actively marketing them.

Plywood kayaks are trickier than strip, since even very small errors in the panel shapes create ungainly bumps in the lines of the finished kayak, and you don't have the option of sanding the surface to fairness as with wood strips. Starting with a precut kit is for the unexperienced builder a good investment.

4 Rick Hayhoe
3/23/2015 9:17 AM

Yes, the kit would be a good investment for a number of reasons. Even though I have around forty-five years of experience with building boats from plywood the precision and great saving of time are attractive. However, the high cost of overseas shipment (Europe, Australia or US to Japan) is the sticking point, just as it is for acquiring adequate supplies of epoxy for strip building boats.

5 Andreas Olsson
3/23/2015 7:28 PM

Such a beauty! Congratulations!

I have to build a kayak work shop immediately and convince my wife!

Nanoq connects with your inner spirit.

6 Nico Vertriest
3/23/2016 5:44 PM

Very nice design, and am interested in it for my next project.

I really like his deck riggings. I just wondered how to make them. Is that described somewhere ?

7 Björn Thomasson
3/23/2016 9:54 PM

It seems to be straightforward recessed line hardware with a steel rod. Those are not described on the plans (I favor the Maroske type of line fittings), but there are a lot of manuals, photos and good advice available on the internet.

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