Making the World's Fastest Kayak

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.'"

Comments

Re:Not the fastest with me in it

[Upaut]

Thats funny, I'm 240 lb., and I never have any trouble when I kayak out to the sea for a week of random camping along the ocean (great way to drop some weight...). Kayaks themselves are VERY good at handling weight, and the rubber sphincter should be tight enough that water cannot get in.

I hope that these engineering features can be used to develop better salt-water kayaks as well, as it may make my trips a little faster, so I can get more of the East Coast in.

Overhyped article - a planing hull kayak

[truckaxle]

There are two types of hulls that you'll find in a boat (or kayak) - a planing hull and displacement hull. So this is a planing hull. The fact that it is designed by an MIT graduate using finite element analysis makes this news? And just what criteria are they using to make the claim that it is the "worlds fastest kayak"?

Not really about the boat

[alop]

Anyone else notice that the article about "worlds fastest kayak" wasn't really about the boat. Seemed like it was more about a particular ride. I wanted specifics, ya know, more techie stuff like said 3d wire mesh or something.

Re:Not the fastest with me in it

[strider427]

I actually know the Warren's and have ridden in this very kayak. I'm a complete kayaking novice, so can't comment on comparing these to more traditional boats but at 220lbs myself, I had no problem at all maneuvering. It seemed very responsive to my paddling and felt quite stable.

Re:Not the fastest with me in it

[Mr. Flibble]

From my understanding, kayaks originated with the Inuit people of the far north (arctic ocean). None of the Inuit kayaks I have seen (in person or in photos/films) look anything like a canoe. They are all closed topped with an opening for the kayaker.

That is correct. The Inuit kayaks were nothing like canoes, they were very wide with flat bottoms and very stable, and the Inuit *DID NOT* "eskimo" roll them. Indeed, I remember a traditional Greenlander Inuit who paddled a sealskin kayak being asked: "What would you do if you flipped upside down?"

(Keep in mind the incredibly low temperatures of the water, and the artic conditions.)

The Inuit thought, for some time and answered: "Drown."

Re: Inuit

[jpkeating]

This anecdote, if true, must be relatively recent -- this clearly is not a guy whose life, and that of his family, depended on his ability to hunt from his kayak in any weather. Traditionally, Arctic peoples certainly could roll, with differences among cultures. Hunters who used kayaks could roll even if they lost their paddle or dislocated a shoulder. Even so, kayak deaths were common. From what I understand, children learning to kayak first learned how to brace ("leaning" on the water with a moving paddle) to keep from capsizing in the first place, then learned how to roll up, and only later learned how to paddle forward. Their kayaks were narrow and sat low in the water, both of which made rolling easier and helped keep the kayak from getting blown around. They also wore one-piece sealskin jackets whose bottoms were tied around the hatch, keeping the paddler warmer and drier than modern equipment does. For a list (with pictures) of capsize maneuvers performed at the Greenland championships, including rolling without a paddle while holding an 8-kg stone, see http://216.92.139.192/QK/rolls/rolls.html.

viking longboat?

[CAIMLAS]

Is it just me, or does this kayak look a hell of a lot like a Viking longboat?

Viking longboats were well known for being fast, sleek in the water, and capable of traversing the shallowest of waterways - kinda like what a kayak is intended to do.

I personally wouldn't be surprised in the least bit if he copied the general design of a longboat while making it slightly more streamlined and rounded on the topside.