I recently finished a new double and thought I would share it with those of you that are interested. First a little background on the design. About 5 years ago I asked Hans Friedel to design a fast single that would be good in the windy/choppy waters of San Francisco Bay. He came up with a design that I call The Nordic Arrow. The kayak turned out to far exceed my expectations. I have raced it many times and have never had another sea kayak beat it and it usually beats many of the surf ski racers. It is a great design.
I have been thinking that a double with the same design concepts would be a great boat. This past year I contacted Hans to see if he could work his design magic again. Hans is VERY busy and I feel fortunate that he made the time to design this boat. He sent me a print that I named the Double Arrow. I built the boat over the course of around 3.5 months. I decided to build it without staples (except for a few on the bottom). The hull is primarily Western Red Cedar, with some Sitka Spruce on the deck. There are some Australian Lacewood accents. I used 2 layers of 3.2oz satin glass on the exterior of the deck and hull. The inside was done with one layer with carbon fiber reinforcements. The kayak is 21.5'x23.5" and came out at 55lbs ready to paddle.
As I built this boat I thought of all the little tips that came from this bulletin board . Rob Macks thoughts on building a light kayak, Vaclav Stejskal's carbon cockpit and rudder many of Nick's building ideas, etc. I have built quite a few boats over the years, but really value the great ideas that others have shared. Thanks.
The Double Arrow has turned out well. My wife, Luanne and I got blue ribbons in a race this weekend. It was her first kayak race and we averaged 6.5mph over 7.8 miles. I think our speed will increase with a bit more training.
I think Hans has done well with another excellent design.

Ken
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