A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to paddle some wooden, cedar strip kayaks compliments of Joey Schott at Turning Point Boatworks.
These were some amazing boats.
They included the Great Auk, Night Heron High Deck, and Petrel, all Nick Schade designs from Guillemot Kayaks.
Joey knows I’m working on my own design so I think he wanted to get me into some cedar strip kayaks to see what is possible.
My favorite was the Night Heron High Deck since it had (duh!) a higher deck, most like the fitness boats I’m used to. I was shocked at just how fast and responsive these boats are.
The Petrel was the most beautifully crafted of the lot, but the deck was a little too low for my liking as I found I needed to splay my legs too far apart and not get the right leg drive.
Thank you Joey and Nick Schade for making this demo possible!
I’m sure I’m going to be building one of more of Nick’s designs in the future.
I’m already starting to assemble the needed supplies.
Go check out Turning Point Boatworks for a great boat or for boat repairs and be sure to buy one of Nick’s designs if you are thinking about building your own kayak.
Dave The Kayaker | The new home of West Side Boat Shop kayaks 