Throughout their history, kayaks have been designed for particular places and purposes. Modern day recreational kayakers don't depend upon kayaks for their livelihoods, but they do require kayaks that are a good match for the kind of paddling they do. Our kayak reviews always include a statement from the designer about the purpose and features of a particular kayak, but space in the reviews is limited. We've invited kayak manufacturers to answer a series of questions that we think will help our readers find the kayaks best suited to them. Their answers will appear here and in subsequent newsletters.

How much of a role do computers play in the designing of your kayaks?

Some of our parts are designed on computer and then cut with CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machinery or injection molded. Examples: rudder parts, cross ribs, end caps. The overall shape of the kayak is drawn and fashioned by hand. I enjoy mulling over shapes and designs. Why would I want a computer to do this?
--Doug Simpson, Feathercraft
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Computers play a huge role in the design of our kayaks. We design everything as 3D surfaces, then run resistance and stability calculations based on the computer model. Of course computers are only as good as the information you feed them. In computer terms they call it GIGO - Garbage In, Garbage Out. That's where first-hand experience paddling thousands of hours in various conditions with many different kayak types comes into play. We've learned what is necessary from a handling perspective in challenging conditions. We make sure we've incorporated these elements into the design, and then work with the computer around those constraints.
--Greg Barton, Epic Kayaks
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Computers are playing an increasingly large role in boat design, but it is still more art than science. This means that even the best CAD design needs to be fabricated up and paddled before it can proceed into production. There will still be differences that the paddler can sense from using the boat that aren't apparent on a computer screen. Specific applications on computers in SEDA range from cost optimization on materials and components to 3D machining of prototype plugs and molds.
--Jim Koutros, Seda Kayaks
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All of our boats are computer designed. I worked as a computer software designer for twelve years before I started Pygmy Boats in 1985. I wrote the first commercially available software to design boats made from plywood, steel, or aluminum plate. That software enabled sophisticated kayak designs to be created for construction of lightweight glass encapsulated plywood kayaks. Gone are the days when decked, double ended, flat bottomed plywood boats were sold as kayaks in do-it-yourself magazines.
--John Lockwood, Pygmy Boats
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Quite a large one actually, as we first sketch out what we think we want, transfer it to computer, then CNC (Computer Numerical Control) it here and following a prototype or two, we make the actual mold.
--Mark Hall, Delta Kayaks
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We employ a blend of computer and hand shaping. Utilizing the computer lets us quickly and very accurately establish a base hull shape which we refine heavily by hand. Hand shaping lets us really refine what may be a great overall design. For example, it’s tough to consider all sea state variables, paddler sizes, etc. with a computer. Our world class shapers can apply decades of knowledge very quickly to a prototype or plug. The computer gets us in the zip code. Hand refining and extensive testing get us home. It’s a great balance of technology and real world experience.
--Murray Hamilton, Johnson Outdoors
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I use a dedicated naval architecture CAD package for the development of the kayak shape and several hydrostatic and hydrodynamic analysis tools for modeling performance. The CAD package is really nothing more than a glorified drafting table that works in 3 dimensions. It allows me to spend a lot of time refining the shape, almost like a large clay model that can be instantly reshaped. I can then quickly check basic properties like stability and make any necessary adjustments. With this iterative process of adjusting, analyzing and readjusting, I can refine a design to a high degree before I build a prototype.
--Nick Schade, Guillemot Kayaks
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Much less nowadays than in the early days; I think the thing I gained most from computers was the substantiation of principles that can be used in design, and beyond basic shaping, the computer programs really don’t offer an adequate solution to the complexity of design criteria. You learn the answers to most of the complex problems out on the ocean in conditions, testing different boats with different loads, rather than in front of the screen.
--Nigel Foster, Nigel Foster Designs
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None, except for developing load capacities using measurements from a physical prototype. All of our prototypes are built so that we can see, touch and paddle them. We don't have the computer capability to accurately simulate a boat's behavior in the water.
--Phil Cotton, Folbot
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When you develop a new design how do you go about field testing it prior to going into production?

One of our first field tests is to take the boat surfing, let water into the whole boat, bail out and then let it wash ashore. We see what breaks first and make it stronger. Our field testing always includes extended trips with the kayak loaded in heavy sea conditions. This includes offshore paddling in winter when the weather is more extreme. We are looking for both handling in heavy conditions and also the strength of the individual parts and how they work together. Understanding the interdependence of parts in folding kayaks is very important.
--Doug Simpson, Feathercraft
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It depends on the model and our experience with similar type boats. With a completely new design, we often build test boat(s) to confirm what we want. If it is an upgrade to a similar model that we already have, we'll sometimes go straight to a production plug, after extensive computer time confirming that our design has accomplished our goal. Our V10, an Open Ocean racing surf ski, was a completely revolutionary design and went straight from computer to plug to production with no prototypes. Of course we spent many hundreds of hours and over a year developing the design and were confident it would work. If the first boat out of the mold had not met our expectations, we would have made changes before offering on the market. Fortunately, the kayak exceeded our expectations and we were able to go straight into production.
--Greg Barton, Epic Kayaks
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We have a team of experienced paddlers in the Southern California area that we trust, both from a standpoint of paddling skills and from a wide range of experience with different designs. We provide them boats for a period of time in order to get feedback on various factors such as ergonomics, layout, performance, speed, and handling. That is combined with our store by store testing, providing early boats on loan for demo fleets and testing by staff. And of course at Seda, since the whole company paddles, we test our own boats in our very own backyard, known as the Sea of Cortez.
--Jim Koutros, Seda Kayaks
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I have taken all of my new designs on extended three-week to three-month wilderness kayak camping trips as part of their sea trials before they are released. A long trip always presents me with the variety of wind and water conditions needed to really get to know a new design. The Queen Charlotte was redesigned twice, the Golden Eye twice, and the Coho three times before I got it just right.
--John Lockwood, Pygmy Boats
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Because we have our in-house CNC (Computer Numerical Control) we cut the initial plug from the computer and then pull a part or two off it to actually assemble and test a very good working prototype. This allows us to ensure we begin production trouble free and without surprises. We immediately put the proto in the water and use it, particularly at the local paddling events that we do on the coast. This feedback is invaluable coming from such a wide variety of skill levels and sizes. To augment any decision making, each September I take a group of 15 or so people into Nuchatlitz Inlet on the northwest side of Vancouver Island. I use these folks as test platforms for everything we have to see if anything needs improving.
--Mark Hall, Delta Kayaks
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Every boat designed gets extensively tested. At times this can be frustrating to a brand director who wants to get a product to market, but they understand how critical it is to us as a team, and the organization overall, to get it right. Whether a basic recreational kayak, or a serious coastal touring boat, several prototypes are thoroughly tested and revised according to findings. Throughout this process we’ll pull in dealers and customers who use the products for their input. Revisions get made, re-tested, and the final plug gets fine tuned before production tooling gets made. This process is tedious, but it nets a better result.
--Murray Hamilton, Johnson Outdoors
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I typically bring my boats out on to the waters at the eastern end of Long Island Sound where there are a wide variety of conditions and paddle in as many different situations as weather permits. With different designs I will be looking for different performance, but I like to see how the boat responds even in conditions it is not intended for.
--Nick Schade, Guillemot Kayaks
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With my first design I paddled the prototype for a few wintry days in the English Channel to get a feel for the boat before starting the final plug-making, then I used the first of the “production-ready” kayaks for a couple of months (circumnavigation of Iceland), intending to identify any necessary changes during that trip. But field testing differs so much depending on the intended function. Although I can paddle a kayak designed for a larger or smaller paddler and make a pretty accurate assessment as to whether the kayak functions as intended, it’s necessary to allow for the different fore-aft trim I would expect from a larger or smaller paddler. Likewise the initial and secondary stability I experience will be different for a heavier, lighter, taller or shorter person, and for a more or less experienced paddler. Given all the different combinations of waves, wind and current, I can quickly get a far fuller critique when I personally test-paddle a kayak than when I ask someone else for feedback.
--Nigel Foster, Nigel Foster Designs
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We are fortunate to have a public boat landing very close to our factory where our prototypes can be tested. It's a large tidal river opening into the Charleston Harbor so we can find a big range of conditions. We also have customers who are happy to beta test our new designs and report back their reactions.
--Phil Cotton, Folbot
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