: Hi,

: I know this isn't the 'design' forum, but it doesn't seem to get visited much
: so thought I'd post my question here.

: I haven't used any of the ship/kayak/boat design software out there, and am a
: long way off designing my own kayak, but wanted to seek advice on what may
: be the best (and ideally free/shareware) to modify a kayak with.

: I have a design for a TK1 which is a class of racing kayak, and am about
: finished building it (will post some pics when done). But it seems a bit
: higher volume than I need,a nd to reduce weight and/or increase speed I'd
: be interested in modifying it a bit (will have the designer's blessing).

: So, is something like BearBoat good for this, or are there other programs I
: can plug in the measurements and then play around with it, and see how
: changes will affect it?

: I'd appreciate any guidance.

: Thanks,
: Darren
: Melbourne, Australia

I just looked up the TK1, if you're planning on racing it, I'd be careful about changing the design, you might alter the boat to the point it doesn't meet the class rules. The volume on these boats is aft of the cockpit and the width is gained up high (to keep the wetted surface low) but that width is required by the class, so if you lower the deck you'll also make the boat narrower and it won't be class legal anymore.

I paddled one like this a number of years back (test paddled it, wasn't mine) and as I remember it's pretty skinny and the secondary stability comes from that extra width above the water. Unless you've got a whole lot better balance than I do (not all that uncommon ) I'm not sure I'd want it any narrower, these things are wildly tippy.

Bill H.