Paddling the Chimera: A high-performance wood strip-built kayak

A couple years ago I had this crazy idea to design and build a high-performance kayak that wasn't like anything available on the market. Part surfski, part sea kayak, and part whitewater kayak. Not having any experience with kayak building (but 25-ish years paddling whitewater), I set out to build the kayak using the wood-strip construction method. I have a full video of the build- link below!
At this point I've spent over a year paddling the boat around the Pacific Northwest, and loving it. Here's a short video of some highlights- mainly in the Puget Sound, British Columbia, and the Columbia River Gorge.
Next up- improving on the design and building the next version!
Link to the build video:
• Chimera: Building a wo...
Music by Joakim Karud
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Promoted by: Travel Vlog Background Music
Video Link: • Joakim Karud - Road Tr...
#kayaking #surfski #woodenkayaks

[@christophernoto]

Hi, Jacob! I just watched your video at the Virtual Wooden Boat Festival and followed your invitation over here! I love your spirit, and look forward to checking out your videos here. All the best to you and yours through The Weird Times!

[@christerlundgren3805]

Out in the blue 😄 Saltsoaked bamboo (2 months 3.5-4 % salt) , dried correctly, would give a significant weightreduction. And long-lasting bamboo. Said to last 20ish years on land. Without epoxi... 0.8 gram cm3 is less than carbon fiber I belive. One of these day I will have spare time over. Oddball ideas I have plenty 🤣🤣🤣 Amazing kayak you built, hat off in respect for amazing skills 👌👌👌

[@kristoffer-robinlotze7273]

Awesome! 😀🤙

[@shaunadamryan]

Thinking about building a similar boat for years now. Chimera looks great. It looks like a nice boat to paddle. Hardly interested in sharing/selling drawings?,

[@kayakphd]

Potentially- I made some design changes for version 2 that I'm building now, if those work out I might see about making the plans available!

[@doncarlo5]

@@kayakphd nice to know, sign me in !

[@s3cksy]

Take a look at Bjorn Thomasson's Panthera for another hybrid, combining touring and surfski characteristics in one boat, if you still haven't gotten plans here. I only just stumbled across this video and this channel, so I'm terribly ignorant, but Thomasson has designed wildy successful boats for a long time.

[@sylviemichaud2798]

Hey Jacob, do you have specs for both versions of your design? Do you sell plans? I’ve been looking for a performance kayak to build and the design looks like what I’ve been looking for. Thanks, Dan

[@peterflynn9123]

Hi Jacob. How do you find the x-bow works? Obv u hav gone for speed as your overriding goal - what sort of top speed hav u achieved? What is your waterline length? As I mentioned in a previous comment on ur build video I’m fitting out my second and I’ve designed my own (fairly conventional) hull shape - I’m hoping for a 4/5hr ave 4kn with a hull speed on th flat of double that...

[@kayakphd]

The reverse bow works great for catching weeds that would normally get caught in the rudder! HA, nah, it works quite well. Helps the bow lock in so there's minimal directional control needed, and with the boat at planing speed the steering is quite crisp. Downside of the planing hull- it's a little slower in flatwater than a conventional displacement hull. I can manage about 9-10 km/hr consistently for 30+ km, and sprint around 12-13 km/hr. Fastest so far is ~25 km/hr, but that was downwind on a big swell with winds blowing at 20-25 knots :-)

[@aramis7286]

Impressive! Which is final weight of the boat?

[@rohrertech8882]

Nice looking boat! Looks long and sleek. How does the hard chine work with a boat that slim?

[@kayakphd]

The planing surface of the hull is pretty wide with respect to the boat's overall width- the hard chine gives a really solid point of secondary stability, plus if you edge the boat hard on a wave you feel the chine dig in and lock the boat into a carve. Very similar feel to a whitewater boat.