Sea kayaks for juniors

[mharrall]

Do they exist?

I don't actually want one, but a recent Inland forum thread got me wondering.

[JOHNF]

We have a Necky which is light. The only downside is there is no front hatch and it needs a front air bag.

[ChrisS]

I think Island Kayaks make a hard-chined sea kayak for young people called the Newt. Island Kayaks' website is frustratingly uninformative though.

[RichardCree]

http://www.gla.ac.uk/medicalgenetics/20 ... C00817.jpg

picture by Douglas of Jordan, in a Newt

no idea how to put the picture here sorry folks

[Owen]

I think Mega do some very lightweight smallish sea kayaks. There's a link in the almanac somewhere.

[Pelagic]

I would say the Best sea kayak for juniors would be the Island Kayaks Qaarsut. I haven`t paddled a Newt but it seems very small! I have paddled a Qaarsut since i was 14, now Im 15. It`s a great boat for the smaller paddler but still big enough to fit all gear and food for a week.
Pic of me in a Qaarsut in the Treshnish Isles


Alex Winch
Phil`s Son

[Jim]

Oh yeah, that was the nice day of that trip :) (actually we had 2 3/4 nice days)

Al, did you have a 50/50 split with your dad for the food and stuff on that trip (or the summer isles)? Either way even if the Quaarut didn't quite carry a weeks worth of gear, between that and his dads boat they were able to take everything 2 people needed without problem (including beer, Phil's share anyway) and I can't see many juniors doing a week without adult support....

Can't say as I'm aware of anything else specifically for youngsters but something like an Anas Acuta or Pintail should be suitable - especially with an ocean cockpit since most adults can't be doing with them anymore :-) (I do).

JIM

[Rich Best]

My partner, 154cm and 47kg, has been struggling to find a small enough seakayak. She liked the Pintail, even more the P&H Vela, but in the end went for the Qaarsut. It's a great boat, and I paddle it too when I get the chance. As far as I know Island kayaks aren't building any more Newts. Brookbank canoes might be worth a ring.

Richard

[Pelagic]

Hi Jim
True we did split but i carried the most food and all my own gear the only thing i didnt carry was the tent!!! The qaarsut is based on the same boat that the anas is based on, Ken Taylors Iglordorsuit Kayak! so really the qaarsut is much the same as an anas just more modern and has a weird skeg thing. Also the Anas is bent!!!
Alex

[Jim]

Also the Anas is bent!!!
Alex

Well what can you expect when they didn't use a 3D modelling package to check for fairness? :-)

As your dad explained to me, not only is the Anas bent, but the designer (Geoff Blackford?) did actually straighten out that return curve that the Qaarsut has in the keeline thinking it looked wrong - apparantly it's the key to the boats handling (not the anas is bad, just that the Qaarsut is apparantly better). A 3D modelling package would need some convincing to leave that in ;-)

(Actually you can do that sort of thing fine it's just that usually it's the sort of thing you are looking to get rid of when fairing a hull - the programs don't do that automagically and you can actually make the inflected curve fair if you're careful!).

I've digressed again - sorry!

JIM

[Pelagic]

Also the Anas is bent!!!

Why cant children keep secrets!
ahem...this is based on the fact that the original plug warped slightly, hence many Anas Acutas have a slight twist in the stern, allegedly. Still a great boat though!

The return curve at the stern of the Qaarsuts keel is an original feature of Inuit boats and for many years due to kayaks being kept in dry museums etc was considered to be either a/ a mistake on the builders part or b/ due to the boat drying out and "pinching".
Its neither and Duncan Winning has done a great job of maintaining the original "hunters boat" style. Anyone who has paddled one of these boats will tell you they track reasonably well but turn on a dime as well. It really is amazing. Reccomended for all smaller paddlers.

Phil
Alexs dad
(a bit embarrassed now)

[capsized8]

My 13yr old daughter paddles and comfortably hand rolls an Avocet. Certainly suitable for the smaller paddler.

[Owen]

Have a look at the North Shore website, they do a boat called the Mystic which looks like a scaled down shoreline. Its 435cm long by 55cm and 240Lts, doesn't say what it costs.

[Rich Best]

I have a copy of Duncan Winning's 1964 survey of Ken Taylor's kayak. It shows the stern (above the waterline) had a slight curve to the left. So maybe they copied it when the Anas was being drawn up! On the drawing there is also what appears to be an extra keel line from the stern foot (is that the right word?) to level with the cockpit. This looks like it was added later to fair the hull, but I've no idea by whom.

The Qaarsut seems much more faithful to the original design, which for an anorak like me is a very important, if not the most important, thing. But it really is great to paddle. And the original was built for an adult european man, so the Qaarsut might well suit anyone of medium build. You just have to get used to smaller volume boats.

Ken Taylor, by the way, is living in the USA. He recently built a replica of his original kayak. I'll try to attach a photo to this post...

Anas Acuta beside Ken Taylor's replica Greenland kayak



WOW! Made it work!!

[Jim]

Now that makes an ocean cockpit look big!

JIM