Aaron Hines Design Portfolio

X1 Kayak Prototype

The X1 kayak has been prototyped, although its only been paddled a few times.  First impressions are that it meets most of the design goals:

• more speed – it is certainly much faster than my other kayaks
• less stability – while less than my other kayaks, it is not difficult to handle and is not as challenging as I had hoped it might be
• easy to build – the frame went together in only a few days
• “modern” appearance – without deck lines it looks very minimalist, but it needs on-deck storage as nothing is accessible below deck while underway

The frame was built from found/salvaged materials: the scantlings are redwood, resawn from a 5′ long 6×6 beam, scarfed together to make up the lengths needed; the plywood frames are a mixture of various types and thicknesses; the deck stringers are left-over redwood; stems are scrap cedar; the coaming was made from scrap red oak.  The only materials purchased were epoxy (for scarfing and assembling the frame), skin cloth, and skin coating.  The original skin – varnished linen – wrinkled up after coating and was easily damaged due to the coating remaining very soft.  The current skin is polyester coated with polyurethane.  It also wrinkled up, but not as badly; the polyurethane coating has proven to be much more durable.

It is not perfect, however – it could use a seat or some kind of floor, deck lines, and a better skin without wrinkles – but those are pretty minor problems to have.  Otherwise, it really needs more time on the water to determine if the hull needs any revisions.  Stay tuned!

Additional photos available here