Frej – Mark Vande Kamp

den 7 september 2025 (Frej, Sjösättning), 1 kommentarer

Hi Björn – I started working on my Frej (S) in late November of last year and I took it out on the water for the first time last Friday. I'm really enjoying it and I've gotten many compliments on the kayak, several of which specifically mentioned the graceful lines of the boat.

I've almost exclusively paddled classic british-style kayaks but after only about 10 hours of paddling, I'm really enjoying the way the Frej paddles. I very rarely use the skegs on my other boats, but I think the hull design makes the Frej quite skeg dependent. It takes a lot of concentration to keep it in line when paddling straight with no skeg deployed. However, it's also very sensitive to the skeg. 1/4 deployment is enough to make the kayak track straight for me, and it will still turn very sharply when edged, sliding the tail of the boat sideways across the surface of the water. I also found it easy to use small increases in skeg deployment to adjust for sidewinds.

As we discussed last year, the Frej is a snug fit for my feet, but for my 2-3 hour paddles I've been comfortable and I am enjoying the feel of a boat more suited for my weight without a load of gear.

Attached are some pictures.

Thanks for your boat designs! I tell people to check out your website when they ask about the boat.

Best,
Mark Vande Kamp