happy 2011
kayakamaran build begins in may
And hydrocat
build completed
Sea Kayak sailing for speed
Valley Nordkapp _kayakamaran
without the hydrofoils i believe i will attain 18 knots--with the hydrofoils attached the speed tends to double -and everything will be designed and built for these higher loads
i live 1 mins walk from the beach at southend on sea-and will be testing extensively this summer,if you would like to get envolved with sponsorship or have any windsurf equipment you can supply me with ,you can email me at,
Redhousebluesband@hotmail.co.uk
kayakamaran
Hydrocat
I decided to make use of the windsurfing equipment
that wont be part of kayakamaran
and have built a car toppable
hydroplaning catamaran
this 6.0 metre sail has great wing shape and will give me confidence
before i stick the bigger sail on
the aluminium frame can be shunted forward or back
this allows me to balance hydrocat,to any size sail
i would like to thank greg mckee and his 1980,s design (itzacat)
designed and built by greg mckee and alex cirrigottis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbOr46fV4n0
which inspired me to build hydrocat
greg has an impressive portfolio at
http://www.mckeewildthings.com/
hydrocat
with improved rudder mounts/plastic floor/board connectors/taller mast and seats
there,s some video
here
video of the second test (after design improvements) here
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=419937083558&ref=mf
kavan,the cameraman,reveiws the pics
both tacks ,jybe ,reach,broad reach,and every angle i could go
upwind,,downwind ,were all completed satisfactory
hydrocat with redesigned rudder mounts,board connectors,plastic floor,seat,and taller mast
Speed test - kayak with V sail
Wind --gusting--18 to 25 knots
waves -- i waited for the tide to drop till wave height was 1 ft,,water depth less than 3 ft
With the wind strength increasing and wave height at acceptable levels i popped the v sail up
the kayak took off rather more quickly than i thought it would,wonderful pulls of acceleration in the gusts
the odd touch of my paddle skimming for stability it was great to see two sheets of water flying from the bow
the sharp front of my valley nordkapp sea kayak cut through the bigger waves with ease
the sail was making some funny creaks and groans-and at one point i thought the lines were going to snap
but they held,,and i got my first taste of how the hull reacts above 12 knots
a look at the gps counter recorded 13 knots as a best--although it was a bit scary with no outriggers
ok-the warm weather is here and i can order the epoxy and fibreglass for the float build--i have 8 different size windsurfer sails to test with..it is great being out on the water testing this equipment in different configurations and conditions
some video of calmer conditions
A trip to leigh on sea,,twas a nice and sunny day
very strong aluminium angle stress frame
and rear t foil support section-a more accurate drawing will follow as the design evolves
i managed to get 3 windsurfers from ebay for 25 pounds,with 5 masts,6 booms,8 sails and 4 drop skeggs
and a bag full of bits including mast extension and connectors/harness/spare fins/and other stuff--luck really
1 . 2 and 3 sail combinations will be tried out this summer-with me wearing upper body protection/lifejacket
i will cover all hard and nasty surfaces -so i do not injure myself-when the inevitable capsize/pitchpole occurs
The Warren lightcraft is the closest thing
i have seen to what i am building
http://www.youtube.com/user/warrenlightcraft
this is a neat little design and much better than the hobie adventure island
my kayak is narrower and will be faster and accept more sail area,due to the wider beam
i think kayaks are perfect to fit hydrofoils too
because of their very low weight
There are some great hydrofoil profiles on the I.H.S hydrofoil website
http://www.foils.org/index.html
calculating weight and lift ratios can be tricky-but
the web is like a big brain-and it has all the answers if you go looking
good luck to team sailrocket for 2010
an inspiration to all
1/10/2009 i will update this site as the build progresses
So why am i turning a 17 ft (valley--nordkapp) sea kayak
into a trimaran,why not just buy a boat- -the short answer to that is
i wanted to build something that was faster than the hobie adventure island
My father built two planning speed boats in the back yard back in the 70.s
but it was summer 2009 that had its effect on me
my son came home one day looked up at me and said DAD!!.
At this point my hand automatically felt for any loose change in my pocket.
iv,e just been out on my friends inflatable kayak.somewhat relieved and surprised i asked him
if he enjoyed it and,was he wearing a buoyancy aid or lifejacket. IT WAS AMAZING came the reply.
His enthusiasm and non stop talking for the next twenty minuets revealed a passion in him for sailing,kayaking,canoeing.Ok im,e off down the park (front door slam) . i think i stood there for a couple of minuets just taking in what he had said and it slowly dawned on me that something had sparked in my mind.
The next day saw me trawling the internet in search of inflatable kayaks, i soon realised i wanted one NOW !!so i walked round the corner to the boat shop on the seafront and as luck would have it,they had one ,and it was a good one.A two seat spree 2 ,by stearns.After some impatient opening of the box and some pumping we
were good to go,so with me one end and my son the other,we walked it over to the beach,.a quick shove and of we went,only mildly aware of all the onlookers on the beach,And he was right about kayaking being fantastic,its so peaceful and at the same time exiting ,After weeks of thorough enjoyment,my appetite for this sport was well and truly wetted (excuse the pun)
So there i am again on the wibbly wobbly web (ebay) when i spot a 17 foot sea kayak,a valley nordkapp
and after much bidding and finger biting i find myself driving down to hampshire to pick it up
and enjoying the rest of the summer in a great looking kayak
What happens next is what this site is about
and here she is before the work starts
Long slim and very fast-the valley nordkapp (north cape)
its an early nordkapp HM,the back has been modified for the rudder upgrade
if you are thinking of doing something like this, safe distribution of loads must be top priority
sails can generate huge forces,these forces must be transmitted into forward motion through your craft
these loads would snap this kayak like a twig,so the loads will be taken up by a strong aluminium frame
attached to this frame will be the skeggs and rudder-and eventually hydrofoils and hydrofoil rudder
with the strengthened kayak acting only as buoyancy
1. fibreglass boats are easier to work on,repair,and fix things to
but will need to be strengthened to cope with the higher speeds
polyethelene kayaks are much stronger,but will still need some strength added
2.A longer boat will be more stable and except more sail area
3.try to spend as little as possible on your chosen craft,it makes drilling holes in it less painfull
4.my sail/outriggers/and floats will all be detachable for easy transportation and fast set up
and because i will also be using the kayak on its own
my budget for this build including the kayak is 350 english pounds.
incredibly i am still well under this at 248 pounds
i still have the hydrofoils and streamlined floats to build,but i am doing all the work myself.
buying a dedicated carbon fibre craft may well happen for 2011
of course you can go out and buy a kayak trimaran off the shelf
like the hobie adventure island/if you have three thousand pounds knocking about in your biscuit tin
but i dont , plus i want to go faster than 12 knots and be able to add more sail if needed
so if this floats your boat (heh) click on ,building the kayakamarans parts, on the navigator on the right and check out the pages in that folder,
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The uk has a wealth of coastline to experience
its waiting for you,,the right clothing will keep you warm as toast
and some friends,a nice fire,and food on the beach will wake your spirit
just do it
after it is built and tested i will be building three hydrofoils that will bolt onto the aluminium outrig arms
with a rudder T hydrofoil at the stern
this kayak handled everything i threw at it last summer and never tried to dunk me
somebody was foolish enough to tell me i was not experienced enough after 2 months
to be going out to far having never been in a kayak before
so i thought i would row to kent -just me- find a beach - and put a tent up for the night
7 kilometers to the other side
i launched from southend sea life centre
had to wait at the shipping lane for a huge ferry to pass
luckily he spotted me and slowed a bit to reduce the bow wave
if they dont,,you have to point the kayak at the approaching wave and ride it
the two holds contained/tent,food,water,sleeping bag,lights,portable stove,
tea sugar milk,and chocolate,and a dry bag with torches/mobile phone/radio etc
there was plenty of fish around and the water quality looked good
keeping a close watch on the environment is good practice
i found a sandy half moon shaped beach,put the tent up and gathered some firewood
once the fire was going i changed out of the wetsuit into some warm clothes and contemplated the view
over to southend on sea with a huge mug of tea,and some chocolate,the tranquility was astounding.
The large stones i placed around the fire were placed inside the tent on some dry seaweed
they served as exellent heaters during the night
in the morning i was rewarded with a southerly wind when it was time to depart
the blue v sail on the front of the kayak took me back to southend with a nice 5 knot breeze
i stowed the paddle,sat back and finished off the rest of the food,rolled a couple of smokes
enjoying the morning sun ,my feet steering the rudder
wonderful
next time i will be catching some fish and cooking them on the beach
and a fresh lemon sauce prepaired beforehand
oh ,and a bottle of red
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