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 in Sea Kayaker magazine 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 appear here and in prior newsletters.

1. What is the most common misconception about kayak design that you’ve encountered?

One size fits all. Initial stability equals safe.

--Nigel Foster, Nigel Foster Designs
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That folding boats are slow and delicate compared to hard-shells.
--Phil Cotton, Folbot
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There are many misconceptions about kayak design, but probably the most common in my experience is about speed. As a displacement hull, all kayaks are limited in top speed by the length of the waterline. This however is of little relevance to anyone except racers, because it does not take into consideration the amount of energy required to make the kayak reach that speed. Design considerations that reduce wetted surface, and more importantly wave and eddy making drag, are far more effective in making a kayak "fast".

If a kayak with a 17 foot waterline can go 5.8 knots and a kayak with a 15 foot waterline can go 5.5 knots, but 90% of the time you are paddling you will travel between 3 and 4 knots, then the kayak that is "easier" to paddle will seem that much faster. I think this realization has led the trend to shorter kayaks in general that are lighter and easier to handle in all conditions.

--Tom Derrer, Eddyline Kayaks
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A common misconception is that skin on frame kayaks aren't "real kayaks", and that they are slow. We have to remind people of the 4000 or so years of development that have gone into skin kayaks, the origins of today’s rigid kayaks. As for skin kayaks being slow, again- not so. Boats of similar size and shape all go about the same speed. Our Khatsalano goes the same speed as similar Greenland skin kayaks, which are quite as speedy as their hard-shell cousins. It is in the rough conditions that a skin kayaks' strength and speed is noticed the most. The soft skin absorbs the wave energy, remaining stable and keeping course, while a rigid kayak will require more correction and bracing. People are amazed by this.

--Doug Simpson, Feathercraft
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People think that a kayak must have an extended (overhanging) bow and stern (or rocker as some call it) to perform in ocean conditions. Our open ocean race experience has proven the opposite. We have video footage (which we'll be posting on our web site in a few weeks) showing that our new designs with vertical bow & sterns outperform more conventionally shaped sea kayaks in both following and head seas. The Aleutians and Greenlanders did amazing things considering the materials and technology they had available during their time. However, science & technology has progressed extensively since then, and modern designs can significantly improve your paddling experience.

--Greg Barton, Epic Kayaks
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Many paddlers approach kayak purchases looking for one boat that can do everything. This is similar to attempting to purchase a pair of shoes that can do everything from hiking, running, and biking, yet still be proper enough to wear at a formal function. Kayaks are like any other piece of sporting equipment. They should be approached with a specific goal in mind and evaluated within the context of that goal.

--Jim Koutros, Seda
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Many people are confused about the relationship between boat length and hull speed. Many people are aware that longer boats have a higher terminal hull speed. However, longer boats are not faster at normal cruising speeds; in fact they are not faster at any speed except the top end. Reducing a boats wetted surface by picking a shorter, narrower boat of the same design will give you a kayak that will come up to speed and paddle faster, with less effort at normal cruising speeds. If you are a kayak racer you need to pick a boat that is no narrower than you can handle and no longer than you have the strength to paddle for the distances you race.

--John Lockwood, Pygmy Boats, Inc.
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I think everyone has a misconception; this is what makes the world so colorful! I think the most popular misconception of what makes a good kayak is that you need a pointy, skinny bow that only holds your tent pegs and rarely does the 3-4 feet of nose touch the water. It is my belief that you should keep a longer water line, yet build the upper half of the kayak to accommodate edge relief when leaned and also to keep the bow and stern high, dry and free, meaning not swamped over and at the mercy of the water pushing you all over the place. The Delta design keeps you higher, and free to translate each stroke to where you really want to go.

--Mark Hall, Delta Kayaks
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There are many misconceptions about design fundamentals in the marketplace, but probably the biggest is an understanding of Frictional Resistance and Residual Resistance, and what these mean to the paddler. Often simplistic comments about long being fast, etc. fail to see the bigger picture of matching the correct hull to the paddler’s abilities and strengths. Our impression is that this is getting better, and the industry is providing more technically accurate information. All kayaks are a blend of variables, and there is no perfect kayak—just a lot of great ones!

--Murray Hamilton, Johnson Outdoors
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"Hard chines are ‹blank›". Fill in the blank with "more stable", "less stable", "faster", "slower", "more/less maneuverable", "better/worse in rough/calm water", etc. By themselves chines have very little influence on the performance of a boat. For each of the major performance criteria there is usually some other feature or combination of features which will have more influence on kayak performance than how abruptly the bottom of the boat transitions to the side. While the chine shape will contribute to various performance goals, it is rarely the most important factor.

Hard chines add a small amount of wetted surface area to a hull so, while theoretically they will make a boat slower, the difference is below the level of most people's ability to detect the difference. They will effect volume distribution of a boat as it is leaned or edged, but they can do so in ways that will both raise and lower the righting moment on a stability curve, so just knowing if the chine is "hard" or "soft" will not accurately predict if the boat is more or less stable than another otherwise similar boat. Chines will influence the flow of water around the boat, but the chines can be located in different places and run along the length of the boat different. As a result they can influence the handling of the boat in a variety of ways. What effect they have is dependent on how the chines interact with other design characteristics of the boat.

Hard chines aren't anything special, but used well on a special boat, they can do special things.

--Nick Schade, Guillemot Kayaks
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2. In what ways do you take the environment into account in your manufacturing? (Recycling, waste and emission reduction, etc.)


Because folding boat manufacturing involves cut and sew operations and cutting and drilling, etc., of polymer and metal components, we don't generate any emissions or hazardous waste as you might have with fiberglass or polyethylene construction. All of our waste aluminum is recycled and we urge our customers to do the same with packing materials we use in shipping.

--Phil Cotton, Folbot
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Our environmental concerns go way back to the innovations we made in vacuum-bag technology to reduce emissions and increase the strength:weight ratio of our whitewater kayaks, but more recently they are much more significant. In the early 90's we began to experiment with thermoform technology and released our first thermoformed models in 1996. This represents a dramatic shift in environmental responsibility in the following ways. No airborne emissions, no airborne dust, and more importantly, all scrap and waste is recycled. Even the kayaks themselves, eventually retired, can be recycled. Not only is this a real boon environmentally, but it led to vast improvements in working conditions for our employees as well. Essentially, our immaculate workplace leads to much easier quality control, product consistency and pride in workmanship.

--Tom Derrer, Eddyline Kayaks
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Our strategy on manufacturing the skins on our kayaks has been to completely eliminate emissions. We have replaced the gluing process, which uses toxic chemicals, with welding processes, which have no emissions at all. Material from our aluminum frames is recycled. Much of the off-cuts for our hulls are passed on to pack and other sewing manufacturers. We are in the process of eliminating petroleum-based packaging when we ship our kayaks, using just the cardboard box, no fillers.

--Doug Simpson, Feathercraft
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We follow good clean shop practices. Almost all of our products are produced under vacuum or in a press (as opposed to open mold). This eliminates a large percentage of the emissions. Waste resin is cured before discarding. We use scraps from our large parts (kayaks) to make smaller parts (paddles, rudders, etc.). Unfortunately composites are not easily recycled like thermoplastics, so the smaller scraps and edge trimmings from molded parts end up in a landfill.

--Greg Barton, Epic Kayaks
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Like most manufacturers, we strive to minimize the creation of unnecessary waste. In the composite industry, we've moved toward infusion processes that have far lower emissions than traditional open mold layups. The best way to reduce waste is to move away from disposable products, so our designs are aimed at long-term users, thereby creating a boat they can enjoy paddling for 10, 15, or even 20 years.

--Jim Koutros, Seda
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I have gone to great lengths to create a clean dust-free environment for our production workers. There are no volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used in our manufacturing. We have carefully structured our manufacturing to produce as little waste material as possible. We recycle everything we can.

--John Lockwood, Pygmy Boats, Inc.
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We are specialists in thermoforming and I can tell you that ALL of our trimmings are sent back to the manufacturer of our extrusion for recycling into other products. The only waste we have at the shop is the garbage from our lunch and supper supplies.

--Mark Hall, Delta Kayaks
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We are introducing 100% recycled polyethylene models next year generated from our own production cut outs and waste. In addition these boats will be shipped in 100% recyclable packaging. It’s a constant challenge to conserve resources in R&D, as well as production, and we’re constantly looking for ways to refine our processes. By switching to resin infusion with our Advanced Composite lay-ups we’re ahead of many manufacturers in terms of controlling emissions, and we have a superb, super tough, lightweight product. That was a gutsy move that cost a lot of money and time, but we felt it was the right thing to do. The results are impressive. Manufacturing durable products that will provide years of service is important to us.

--Murray Hamilton, Johnson Outdoors
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I build boats out of wood so my largest volume of waste product is wood chips. These are composted in a pile in back of my shop. Because each boat is handcrafted, I can take the time to optimize the use of my other materials to minimize waste.

--Nick Schade, Guillemot Kayaks
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If you would like to read the previous articles with questions to manufacturers of kayaks, paddles and immersion wear visit www.seakayakermag.com, Articles, Newsletter Archive. Or Click here now.