Making the World's Fastest Kayak 129
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.'"
Not the fastest with me in it (Score:5, Funny)
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).
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:5, Interesting)
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.
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:1)
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:1, Informative)
Considering the "Brit boat" mystique in the kayaking community, I hardly think this is the case. Builders like P&H [phseakayaks.com], Valley [valleyseakayaks.com], and NDK [seakayakinguk.com] are making outstanding kayaks in your part of the world which are perfectly capable of high performance while carrying big paddlers.
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
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.
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:3, Interesting)
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 wou
Re: Inuit (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
Heh, well as a whitewater kayaker as well, I would foster that ability on the whitewater guys. After all, you use your roll a GREAT deal while on whitewater.
But then again, I have also taught about 150 people or so how to roll a kayak too...
But yes, I have heard that the roll came from Greenland, but most of the greenland kayaks I have seen (original, seal skin) would be VERY ha
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
True - in fact when our club had a speed-rolling contest I consistently came in last. However, on the river, out of the beginners (before I became an instructor) I swam the least out of the group (45 people). In white
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
I agree that you should have both a good high and low brace, and be able to avoid rolling in the first place, but it is sometimes unavoidable. True, you should never
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
Further, check this article on Inuit Kayaks out. [athropolis.com] out.
In case it gets /.'d (this comment is buried down enough that maybe it won't but just in case... that said, there is a very old photo on the site of actual Inuit kayaks as well):
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:5, Funny)
That's why the Goatse Class kayaks never really caught on.
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:1)
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
At the drag strip, I heard an obese guy talking about how dipping body parts of his car had shaved 20 pounds off the cars weight. I almost pointed out that dexitrim could have shaved even more off the cars weight.
Same thing with biking. I know a bunch of overweight people that spend thousands of dollars on components to shave a few pounds off the weight of their bike. Serously, not to be gross, but rather than spending thousands on carbon forks and stems and w
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
Many people summarily criticize those who have light bikes/cars/skis/whatever because they could have more easily lost those 3 pounds by losing weight or taking a monster dump or whatever. But some of us already did that (the dump was excellent btw) and are still looking for more optimization.
I am one of those guys
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
But surely! (Score:2)
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not the fastest with me in it (Score:2)
Nice pun, intended or not.
The key to the speed besides the secret 10hp motor (Score:2, Funny)
Add carbon fiber to ANYTHING and it will be faster!
Re:The key to the speed besides the secret 10hp mo (Score:2, Funny)
Re:The key to the speed besides the secret 10hp mo (Score:1)
Re:The key to the speed besides the secret 10hp mo (Score:1)
Add carbon fiber to ANYTHING and it will be faster!
This explains a lot about Chinese takeaway.
Re:The key to the speed besides the secret 10hp mo (Score:1)
I am a little fuzzy on that word now that it is misapplied to almost any modification of anything that moves or not.
But can it go... (Score:1)
Re:But can it go... (Score:3, Informative)
It's an ocean kayak, not a white water kayak. Perhaps you were not aware, but kayaks are not all created equal. White water kayaks are shorter, and more maneuverable. Ocean kayaks are longer, more stable, and with more pronounced keels for better tracking in the wind. This kayak was not designed for waterfalls and rapids.
Re:But can it go... (Score:1)
Re:But can it go... (Score:5, Funny)
That is the real question.
Re:But can it go... (Score:3, Funny)
However, I can guarantee they won't float. They might make good boat anchors though... they are built like tanks!
Re:But can it go... (Score:2)
That is the real question.
Heh, I have had this helmet/sticker combo since 1997, here is my first chance to use it on slashdot!:
Any kayak can run linux! [walford.ca]
You just need the right stuff from thinkgeek!
(On a side note, I had that helmet on while paddling the Chilliwack river once, and another paddler got really mad at me because he came up to paddle from the States. And apparently he was an employee of Microsoft. I thought it was funny that the tux logo on my helmet bothered him...)
Beware Sleestak! (Score:2, Funny)
Still looking for a way to return to the Land of the Lost, Rick Marshall?
Re:But can it go... (Score:2)
i am sure it can.. would i want to be in it? don't think so
Missing information? (Score:2, Insightful)
I RTFA, and I don't see them say anything about speed.
Re:Missing information? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Missing information? (Score:2)
The current water speed record is over 317 MPH (511 KPH). The pilot's compartment seems to have no protection against the elements. Sprays of water hitting your face that fast is like trying to face down a sandblaster - it'll even chip away at your skull pretty quickly
Aftermarket enhancements for the kayak (Score:5, Funny)
Not even close to the world's fastest (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Not even close to the world's fastest (Score:1)
Re:Not even close to the world's fastest (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not even close to the world's fastest (Score:2)
Not only is this not the fastest kayak in the world, it's not even remotely close -- but I'd like to see the hull design advantages explained in the terms from the link I posted above, maybe even with some mathematical analysis.
Re:Not even close to the world's fastest (Score:1)
Excellent point, but (Score:3, Informative)
Now, if the question is whether or not this is the fastest kayak you can get for under $5k, maybe you're onto something.
Note that max speed increases as hull length increases, though this depends on the seas as well. And I'm also
Re:Excellent point, but (Score:2)
According my admittedly limited nautical knowledge, this rule (of thumb) relates to he hull speed, whereby the top-speed increases with the square-root of the waterline of the hull. This rule, however, applies only for swimming, single hull boats. This kayak is supposed to "floats over the water", so it has practically no drag, and hence, the rule does not apply.
Re:Not even close to the world's fastest (Score:1)
The Flyak [foilkayak.com] on the other hand, is purely a flat water racing craft. So comparing the two doesn't make sense at all!
Remarkably, neither lists any speed records on their websites.
Re:Not even close to the world's fastest (Score:1)
Re:Not even close to the world's fastest (Score:2)
Control (Score:1)
Re:Control (Score:1)
Nice, but I'd rather have a hydrofoil kayak (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Nice, but I'd rather have a hydrofoil kayak (Score:2)
I am a certified ACA Whitewater/Sea Kayak instructor, and I have recently started racing K1's for use in adventure racing, where any craft that uses paddles (and non-locked oars) is allowed to compete in the water section. I thought that the Tieken Stealth K1 (flatwater K1, 5.2 meters long) I paddled was a fast boat, or the Carbon Fibre Necky Lookshaw II 20 feet by 20 inch beam (now no longer in production) were fast boats, but a foil....
Jeebus.
I have my doubts about the little win
Re:Nice, but I'd rather have a hydrofoil kayak (Score:2)
Re:Nice, but I'd rather have a hydrofoil kayak (Score:2)
The World's Fastest Kayak... (Score:1, Funny)
With the current global warming trend... (Score:1, Flamebait)
Flamebait! - WTF? (Score:1)
But don't worry, at that point, humanity will adapt, considering our ancestors were very good swimmers.
Re:Flamebait! - WTF? (Score:2)
What? (Score:5, Informative)
Huh? Not remotely -- this is not a hovercraft. This is simply an ultra-light kayak with a differently shaped hull based on racing boat designs.
Nor is it the world's fastest kayak, at least not according to TFA. The best it's finished in a competitive race is 6 seconds out of 1st place.
OK, it's pretty cool, and I'd like to take it on the Hudson sometime. But don't overhype it, please.
Re:What? (Score:1)
Re:What? (Score:2)
As it turns out, most kayak molds were hand made from the shells of older kayaks... meaning that they were never particularly perfect to begin with and that over the years, consecutive molds were getting further and further distorted.
So, even though you're thinking "gee whiz, this isn't anything special," it really may represent an innovation in the field. Advances in materials science
Re:What? (Score:2)
Re:What? (Score:3, Informative)
BusinessWeek looks at the world's fastest kayak, which floats over the water rather than nosing through waves like more typical boats.
Huh? Not remotely -- this is not a hovercraft. This is simply an ultra-light kayak with a differently shaped hull based on racing boat designs.
The blurb makes it sound like he added hydrofoils, so it would actually "fly", rasiing the hull (mostly?) out of the water.
I was excited by this, thinking that maybe somebody had figured out a way to do man-powered hydrofoils simpl
fastest? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:fastest? (Score:2)
Re:fastest? (Score:2)
nope (Score:1)
Overhyped article - a planing hull kayak (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Overhyped article - a planing hull kayak (Score:1)
Re:Overhyped article - a planing hull kayak (Score:4, Informative)
The article was light on details but it's not possible for a human kayaker to generate enough power to get the hull up "on plane". For purely human powered kayaks (not surfing waves) the fastest hulls are displacement hulls that minimize the wetted surface area of the hull cross section. That is, fast kayaks are very long and the hull cross section is a semi-circle (very hard to turn and very unstable).
Re:Overhyped article - a planing hull kayak (Score:1)
The designer's computer said so. You wouldn't question the designer's computer, would you?
KFG
Re:Overhyped article - a planing hull kayak (Score:2)
The only "they" that claimed it was the world's fastest was the submitter, bart_scriv, and I'm guessing the criteria was what would most likely get it accepted on slashdot. The article only mentions "one of the fastest in its class", a much more plausible and defensible statement.
But.... (Score:1, Funny)
Not really about the boat (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not really about the boat (Score:2)
Re:Not really about the boat (Score:1)
No Snow Crash reference yet? (Score:2)
Re:No Snow Crash reference yet? (Score:1)
Are you suggesting high speed kayaks as a substitute for trans-Atlantic air travel, or making weapons from glass in order to more easily get them on a plane?
Or maybe the former as a result of the later.
Re:No Snow Crash reference yet? (Score:1)
It's been done, more than once.
. . . or making weapons from glass in order to more easily get them on a plane?
When England first started talking about the possibility of a pointy knife ban I pointed out that all anyone who was bent on harm needed to craft a knife on the spot was a broken window and a roll of duct tape.
I wonder if I'll be getting a visit from men in black suits any time soon.
KFG
Wow (Score:4, Funny)
Not quite... (Score:1)
Re:Not quite... (Score:1)
It sure can (Score:2)
Fastest human-powered actually (Score:1)
On the British TV-show Top Gear, probably one of the most famous [wikipedia.org] television shows about cars on Earth, a jetski-style powered Kayak was shown last year (Season 8, Episode 2 - 2006.05.14 to be precise). That thing was _really_ fast!
Video fragment can be found at YouTube [youtube.com].
actually (Score:2)
So if it was jet powered, it would go faster then oterh ones useing the same power.
These lil' babies (Score:1)
--
Automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
motherfvcking... (Score:1, Funny)
Build your own kayak (Score:2)
http://www.unicornkayaks.com/ [unicornkayaks.com]
As Dave Chapelle would say (Score:2)
My only hope... (Score:2)
Speed and water resistance (Score:5, Informative)
The expression 'world fastest kayak' is somewhat like 'world fastest running shoes'. Race kayaking is all about the motor and to a much lesser degree about the kayak.
It makes much more sense to speak about the water resistance of various kayak designs. For some given athlete(balance skills, strength and technique) racing some given distance in some given conditions one could even speak of an optimal design. As a general example - the kayaks used for sprint racing are different from the kayaks used for marathon racing.
On a related note genetic algorithms have been applied to the problem of finding an optimal hull given a number of constraints: http://www.cyberiad.net/library/kayaks/racing/raci ng.htm [cyberiad.net]
Nothing revolutionary turned out though.
I still prefer the MIT's (Score:2)
Re:I still prefer the MIT's (Score:1)
Less than an hour ago I was staring at it thinking "I really should try to make one of those." Of course that train of thought is always followed by... I think I like Daedelus [wikipedia.org] more. Which is then followed by an image of me crashing into a mountain and I decide I should probably just get back to work.
I know Ted (Score:2)
I've done a bit of sailing on the Warren 35 that is based in Beverly. Quite a trick boat, 35 foot trimiran that is trailerable. Another awesome one is Tiny Dancer I and II, both proas (think two hulled trimaran...) We kidded him with Tiny Dancer II did make the weight goal of 100lbs.
Nice to see him in the news. Check out his we
What makes this the worlds fastest kayak? (Score:2, Insightful)
1. The builder goes to MIT
2. The journalist thinks it is fast.
You start to wonder what kind of people goes to MIT. If you, dear
Would you not have some data to support your claim? A radar gun readout? A win in some competition? Anything?
Re:What makes this the worlds fastest kayak? (Score:2)
Article: "the carbon-fiber craft is one of the lightest and fastest in its class"
Story: "BusinessWeek looks at the world's fastest kayak"
Neither the MIT-educated engineer or the BusinessWeek writer said it was the fastest; the story submitter (who presumably did not go to MIT) did. So you shouldn't wonder about what kind of people go to MIT, but instead should wonder about those who submit (and edit) Slashdot stories.
Article Is Self Promotion (Score:3, Insightful)
Before you mod troll, read article and you will see it is completely devoid of any technical or scientific interest. Slashdot's slogan is "stuff that matters". This stuff does not.
viking longboat? (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
A(nother) kayakers perspective (Score:2, Informative)
1. Yes paddling on flat water is different to paddling on ocean/sea conditions. Generally it is harder and slower paddling in choppy water, however if you are experienced you will know how to best make use of the wind and weather conditions in order to increase your speed. Depending on the swell and wind direction you can quite often get equal speed compared to flat water and sometimes much greater speeds if assisted
Re:Floats... (Score:2)
That's impressive; most other boats float on the water.
Re:Floats... (Score:1)