Along with the Warren Light Craft Little Wing designs with their interesting hourglass profile in plan view, we now have the equally interesting Tangent designs from Rawson Boat http://www.rawsonboat.com/id1.html Extreme fish-form, with very forward cockpit and prominent rudder. Some new and provocative designs out there.

Strange looking! I'd like to see, and paddle it before forming an opinion but:
With the paddlers legs taking up most of the room forward of the cockpit and the rear half of the boat looking so narrow it dosen't look like it could carry much cargo. More of a day boat. The rudder is huge, can it really be only 33lbs? That seems almost impossibly light! I can't help but wonder how all this feels on the water.

I admire the innovation, but the first thing that occurs to me is that in big waves, you're going to be right in the soup. I suppose with all the volume forward, the bow might rise fast enough, but I do have to wonder. Maybe you could pull the rudder and paddle backwards.

Hmmmm....Just some thoughts...does center of gravity come into play here at all?
After reading "packing" posts for overnight trips, I can see where having your legs the only thing up front may work.(?) But packing everything in the back could create its own set of problems.
I'm not very experienced with waves yet, but I can imagine some issues. Isn't the whole idea to reduce going up and down if possible?
Is this one of those "west coast" innovations? It would be interesting to hear what someone has to say about paddling it. Who knows, it may work out great... So who's gonna try it and tell us all about it?

REVISION! Sorry guys, this is an "east coast thing"! Its up in Conneticut, too far north for me or I'd go play with it, just to see what it does! Its also called a "recreational touring" boat, so guess y'all have it pegged right as a day tripper.

Hope someone up that way checks it out for us...I'm curious...with all the weight up front, wouldn't the back end be a little squirrelly? OR would it really free up the rear to be more manuverable?

I've been exchanging emails with Jeffrey Rawson about his Tangent design boats. He is calling the Tangents recreational touring boats so as not to have them be seen as "sea kayaks". He says they are fine rough-water craft. And while beginners will not be able to paddle the boats effectively without the rudder, advanced paddlers can view it as an option.

With such a radical design, though, all this remains to be seen (and experienced). We'll see what sort of reviews filter in, and I might just run up to Fairfield CT sometime, and try one out. No big hurry, but it could happen.

Wow, that would be great. Hope you get a chance to try it out & let us know. I watched the videos and noticed they like to turn, kind of like my husband's old late 70s torpedo shaped whitewater boat.

hey Strange_Magic, i'm over in New Hope, PA and i've got one of Jeffreys boats (Tangent 15). i'm thinking of selling it, so if you (or anyone else) wants to try it out let me know.

it's definitely a cool boat (i love the design), and with the rudder up doesn't turn around on itself as much as you'd think, but there are a few things that don't make this an ideal boat for me. for starters, you really can't pack anything in it ... both because of limited space, and how the weight affects the handling. it truly is a recreational boat, not a touring boat. second, this isn't a boat for beginners. i'm not saying I'M a beginner, but some of my friends are, and NONE of them can paddle this boat as it requires some skill to keep upright.

but it IS pretty. =)

Dom, tell us more about your experiences with the Tangent--how/why you got it, and what's been your impression of it. I actually would like to try yours out, with the understanding that the odds of me buying it are, essentially, zero--I'm motivated entirely by curiosity. I live quite near you, and will send you a Personal Message (look under My Stuff).