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Making the World's Fastest Kayak

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the love-boats dept.

bart_scriv writes "BusinessWeek looks at the world's fastest kayak, which floats over the water rather than nosing through waves like more typical boats. Named 'Little Wing' for the fore and aft wings that add stability, the kayak is the creation of Ted Warren. An MIT-educated engineer, Warren 'played around for three years with 3-D wire mesh designs on his PC, crunching the numbers for speed and stability, then started building actual models to test in the waters near his Massachusetts home.'"

14 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Not the fastest with me in it by jeremymiles · · Score: 5, Funny
    It isn't going to float over the water in such a delicate fashion when you put 225 pounds of me in it.

    Still, at least the water might not slosh over the side, and into the kayak itself (or worse, the nose bury itself so deep in a wave that it comes over the front).

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    1. Re:Not the fastest with me in it by dr_dank · · Score: 4, Funny

      the rubber sphincter should be tight enough that water cannot get in.

      That's why the Goatse Class kayaks never really caught on.

      --
      Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
  2. The key to the speed besides the secret 10hp motor by The_Pariah · · Score: 2, Funny
    He learned a secret from the street racing ricers.

    Add carbon fiber to ANYTHING and it will be faster!

    --
    Future ruler of a small Asian-Pacific island
  3. Aftermarket enhancements for the kayak by Erectile+Dysfunction · · Score: 5, Funny

    "The addition of the fore and aft wings was a sound decision that earned the kayak approximately an extra 50HP," a California Institute of Technology professor of Aerodynamical Engineering commented adding, "but I am really eager to get one of this into my lab to see how much performance I can squeeze out by adding reducing the coefficient of drag with racing stripes and aft flames as well as introducing a chrome muffler to increase performance by another 25HP."

  4. The World's Fastest Kayak... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hasn't won a race yet?

  5. fastest? by ceejayoz · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'm guessing this one is faster. :-p

  6. But.... by Senner · · Score: 1, Funny

    Does it run Linux?

  7. Re:But can it go... by ChetOS.net · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yeah, but can it run Linux?

    That is the real question.

    --
    "If God had intended us to walk he would not have invented roller skates." -- Willy Wonka
  8. Re:Missing information? by Timesprout · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just about as fast as you can paddle it

    --
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    What truth?
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  9. Wow by VonSkippy · · Score: 4, Funny

    Perhaps next he can put that world class education to really important stuff like lighter golf clubs or more aerodynamic bowling balls.

  10. Re:The key to the speed besides the secret 10hp mo by Itninja · · Score: 2, Funny

    Yeah, AND you can totally Tokyo Drift race this thing. Because it's light. Word.

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  11. Beware Sleestak! by krell · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Can it go over a waterfall or down some steep rapids?"

    Still looking for a way to return to the Land of the Lost, Rick Marshall?

    --
    Where were you when the voynix came?
  12. motherfvcking... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    SNAKES.... ON A KAYAK!

  13. Re:But can it go... by tylernt · · Score: 2, Funny
    Yeah, but can it run Linux?
    Yes, a Kayak certainly can. We still a few of them still around, and 400MHz is enough to run Linux.

    However, I can guarantee they won't float. They might make good boat anchors though... they are built like tanks!
    --
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