For the upcoming finnish coastal paddle, Marko and myself took our new Beauforts for a ‘spin’, or more seriously a trial run. A couple night trip with basic camping loads to figure out how these kayaks work, how they should be loaded, how we perform, how new bits of kit work, what we forgot, what we won’t need and also.. just for the fun of it! 🙂
We logged some 100 km’s total trip. The weather was beautiful! Not so much wind, = very little sailing. The sun and warm more than made up for the lack of the wind.
Overall the kayaks worked VERY well ! Both were pleased. On smooth waters and a semi-full load paddling @ 6.5-7 km/h daily average speed was surprisingly easy for day trips of 36-38 km. We could have improved that average quite easily if we felt like it. But being the first trip of the season, we took it easyish.. Nothing fell off, nothing broke so all in all a VERY good trip!
A more complete or review of the kayak will follow after this summers trip!
Got a couple semi-decent pictures along the way. Trip took place in the Lake Saimaa system, mainly: Yövesi, Liittokivenselkä, Varissaarenselkä, Pajusaarenselkä and Hietasaarenselkä
Enjoy!
Marko next to a local rock.. still with a bit of wind..
and suddenly there was no more wind!
A local inhabitant welcomed us at our westerly beach.
Weather got very calm the first evening
The campsite beach, was sandy, facing west, and this is what we had to look at ! Such a bore! 😉
The actual beach that was facng west.. not too shabby
Next morning, as we were getting ready to push off.. NO wind! But the weather was tolerable! 😉
Another beautiful day!
Small wind helping us along @ Liittokivenselkä
Marko and myself @ Liittokivenselkä, here we still had a bit of wind to help us along with the sails.
Rest break
A short cut between two small isles.. made it across without any new scratches on the bottom.
I’ve never been too excited about live picture/video capturing. Have always considered myself a “still image” type of guy. Looks like that may change…
Marko had recently acquired a GoPro Hero4 Session camera and attached Ram Mount hardpoints where to install the camera on his kayak.
The GoPro Hero4 Session is a camera produces to my uneducated eye actually pretty decent net worthy video! Also it is pretty darn small!! In addition it has only TWO buttons to operate!! This is borderline limit for my feeble mind to comprehend. Sounds like something I may learn to use?
The kit is pretty small. From left to right: GoPro remote, RamMount 6″ Mount, GoPro Hero 4 session camera, Holder for the GoPro Hero 4 session camera with Ram Mount adapter ball for the Go Pro.
Also the Camera can be operated with a separately sold remote control, OR a smart phone app. So if the camera is further away from the operator, one can still start and stop the filming! This can be handy on a kayak!
I have the understanding that these GoPro Devices are reasonably robust and actually may operate successfully in marine conditions.. so this might be working formula!
1″ Ram mount ball on bow of the Beaufort
The 1 inch ram mount B- size balls are reasonably low in profile, yet sturdy for intended use , particularly this small camera and has a large selection of adapters, gadgets etc available and whats best these were all available from Finland without complicated, unsure, expensive “order from abroad and pay taxes” spiel!
1″ Ball on the stern
I acquired the necessary parts from local company nearby with excellent service and which pretty much covers the whole Ram Mount catalog of parts available: Yepnet. Whats best, the whole package was under 100€!! This hardly ever happens in Finland anymore!
Camera installed on the stern hardpoint. The white line is the DIY safety line for the camera. It will be attached onto the deckline.
Installation of the hardpoints was easy/hard. I used SS M4 Hardware + White SikaFlex 291i to attach the Ram Mount balls on the bow and stern. Evereything else was easy apart from holding back the nuts while tightening the screws. Here and additional pair of hands was necessary.
So.. now I have another toy to play around with.. and if all goes well I might actually have some videos to post at a later date.. Ofcourse before that I will have to try to learn the complex world of digtalvideo editing! 😉
I’ve used a couple different set ups for my kayak sail sheet pulleys. First off, the term is a bit misleading as I don’t actually have a ‘pulley’ in any of the installs! On a couple installs the sheet line passes thru a plastic pad-eye on the deck and on the other install the ‘pulley’ is actually a SS thimble knotted. I don’t see any added advantage of having an actual pulley ! Thus far my systems have been adequate.
The first “sheet pulley” I set up on the Beaufort. It works but its a bit.. clunky.The first time I used a thimble as a sheet pulley was and still is on the my Vortex. This was a VERY quick and dirty solution, which has worked just fine for one season. I need to do something about this.. jumble of knots!
However the thimble approach is a bit clunky in my mind. Maybe it’s because I’ve used a knot instead of splicing the thimble eye nicely into the line.. or maybe it’s just too.. Clunky!??
Anyhoo, some while back whilst surfing boatchandlers websites I noticed a very inneresting product. Something made by Antal, a lowfriction ring. Whats more, they have a product called a soft link, which at least looked aesthetically nicer than my self made unspliced thimbles!!!
“Must have” me thinks! That is, until I saw the price! The soft link with the smallest sized (7mm)low friction ring was slightly over 31€ + postage !! Ofcourse Finland is known for generally overpriced everything when it comes to yachting products.. but 31€ is just ridiculous!!
OK.. so time passes by and every time I see the clunky thimble on the deck in front of me, it annoys me ever so slightly.. which with time just gets worse. So then I get to thinking that mayhaps, I’ll buy one of those darn low-friction rings and a bit of 4mm dyneema line and make the rest meself! The ring itself costs 11€ which in my mind still IS highway robbery.. but fortunately I’ll need just the one for now (Imagine the poor yachtie who’ll need 10, 20 or more.. oh wait.. there is no such thing as a POOR yachtie… Haahaa!)
I did contemplate trying to fabricate a ring myself out of several materials.. aluminium coated with epoxy+graphite powder, or laminate something with CarbonFiber+Graphite powder etc etc etc.. And in the end the highway robbery of 11€ seemed quite decent! After all , I’ll just need the one! 🙂
So finally when the mail arrived (well, actually I had to pick the mail from the store 2 km’s from home.. but that’s Finland for ya, and another story) I was a happy and eager new owner of some 4mm dyneema line, a D-Splicer F15 .. splicer thingy, a couple Antal 7mm lowfriction rings. Add to the mix some semi sharpish scissors, splicing yarn , needle, some odds and ends. Finally armed with knowledge gleaned from a confusing dutch language instructional online videos: here, I was ready for the real deal.
Stuffs needed to DIY a dyneema softlink shackle with Antal low friction ring..
First attempt, I cut the total length 35 cm.. which was way too short! Repeat after me.. 35 cm is TOO SHORT!..
Dyneema loop spliced and ready for the sewing and locking the Antal loop in place. Not sure if the 1.4mm polyester line is right for this use.. but its all I had at hand! We shall see..
Second time around.. I cut the initial dyneema line to a length of 45 cm, which at first seemed 5 cm too long but now that the first self made softlink is at hand.. it maybe just right?
“Sheet pulley” just about ready.Overall length is just about 9 cm.. Looks like it’ll be a snug fitThe softlink installed. Not sure what to call this knot? Basically its a Prusik styled knot. It has only two loops around instead of three (which the Prusik has) . Short test would indicate that it will not slide.. but that will yet to be determined!Adjustability is key here. Have the pulley point as close to center as possible.. but keep the sheet line (pink/white) clear of the compass.Sheet pulley point seems to be inline, right below the sheet attachment point on the sail.. Maybe that’s a good thing?
How well will this work? Dunno. A couple questions that will be answered in due time:
Is the polyester line for splicing was proper?
Is is spliced properly?
Is two loops around deck line enough to keep the softlink from sliding and following the sail, left and right across the deck? It might need the three as in a proper Prusik knot…
Time will tell. Needs to be tested in use and go from there.. well hopefully sail from there!
Making a modern dyneema spliced loop was surprisingly easy and quick work with the proper tools! Making the closed loop, on second attempt took less than 10 minutes! Doing the splicing with string took about the same. Overall time was probably approx 30 minutes. I kinda liked it.
If working with Dyneema , good sharp scissors preferably ones meant for the job is a must. Making one or two soft links will go wit a sharpish household scissors.. sort of. but it will nut “cut it” in the long run! 😉
Atleast this version looks nicer than the previous version! 😉
The time had come to make my Beaufort even better than it was ! Time for a sail ! A kayak without a sail is boring.. sorry I had to say it! Now its out there. 😉
I had ordered the SeaDog Commander sail last year with the primary thought of using it on the coastal paddle and since the Beaufort is the chosen kayak for the trip, I needed to modify the Beaufort accordingly!
There are several ways to install a SeaDogstyle sail onto a kayak. Heres a very rough categorization of what I have found online:
3 stays +1 uphaul the most common method: 2 lateral side stays, 1 aft stay and 1 uphaul opposite the backstay. A good set of instructions
4 stays + 1 uphaul : 2 lateral sidestays, 2 diagonal back stays and 1 uphaul : Some excellent advise by Douglas Wilcox
I’m sure there are several variations of the above mentioned set-ups all have their merits and faults, heck I have used a sail set up which differs from all the above mentioned methods.. which works “ok” , I might share it hereabouts at a later date..
Currently my preferred installation method is the last of the three described: 2 lateral side stays and 2 diagonal back stays +uphaul. Ofcourse this adds the amount of itsy-bitsy strings on-deck.. but the fun of sailing over-rides the negatives of them strings..
The installation of the sail can be divided into the following bits:
Mast base plate installation
Sidestay points
Back stay points
Uphaul pulley
Sheet pulley
Sheet cam cleat
Uphaul clamcleat
Basicly the method for sail installation described here will probably work with most kayaks. The biggest difference would be the use/need for the mast baseplate adapter to mate it on the deck, as was done here.
Mast Base plate Installation
Due to the Beauforts peculiar deck profile: a semiround groove running down the lenght of the deck from bow to stern, this adds some challenge to make a sturdy and water proof installation for the mast. I had to prefabricate a mast base plate adaptor. The actual installation was ALOT easier than making the adaptor, thankfully so.
Apply masking tape, mark center-line along the area where mast base plate will be installed..Base plate adapter “dry fitted” I decided to install the mast so that the mast center-line is approx 790mm from the tip of the bow of the kayak.After drilling the first hole, I used the actual adapter as a template to drill the second hole, thus (hopefully) ensuring that the drilled holes will align with adapter plate AND actual baseplate…Voila! Two neat holes thru the deck! Crikey! I’ve just drill two holes thru my kayaks deck!!! what the heck is wrong with me? 😉Next I used window seal, weatherproof EPDM seal with a self adhesive backside. This comes on the bottom of the adapter – against the deck surface. to help seal against water ingress thru the screw holes AND even the pressure against the deck.Here is the whole shebang: mast baseplate (red), mast baseplate adapter(black CF), EPDM seal and 2 Stainless Steel M4 x 33mm flat head screws. EPDM seal has been roughly scissored to the outline of the adapter!Underneath, I used a 2mm thick rubber washers under the SS washers to help seal against potential water ingress.
Side stay points
The sidestay hardpoints needed more drilling thru the hull. One would normally want to use the existing installed “Recessed Deck Fittings” (RDF) .. and that would be fine BUT.. Usually the installed RDFs have not been installed with the pressures/stresses that a sail will put on it in mind. Without extra re-inforcement there have been cases where a RDFs has been pulled off/thu the deck causing a pretty big hole on the deck! Not to mention annoying extra work to fix it! The Sidestays will have considerable load stresses when sailing beam reach or close reach… So its better to install the sidestay hardpoints on the side of the hull rather than “topside”. Also the fact that the Beaufort has nice 50mm Aramid/Kevlar tape running along the hull deck seam on the inside, gives a good (solid) place to install the hardpoints. The hardpoints were drilled approx 792mm aft of the bow tip..
In the two previous kayaks Vixen and Vortex I’ve used this method for side stay hardpoints. 25mm wide nylon webbing folded (approx lentgth of webbing before folding is approx. 100mm). Melt a hole for the M4 screw with a hot solder, use a crown washer outside and an epdm deam washer against the hull. Inside another rubber washer mated with a corresponding SS washer and hatnut..Hardpoint installed, just above the deck/hull seam… (yikes! hope this holds!!) Even though I have used this method previously, successfully I might change the nylon webbing to a kajaksport deckfitting at a later date.. will have to wait and see.The quick snap shackle, even though bigger than the U-shackles I have used previously does make the take-down and set up much faster and easier!The “inside workings” of the sidestay hardpoint. Here additional re-inforcement was /isnt (hopefully) required.. as the hole goes thru the Kevlar tape! Otherwise an additional patch of Glass Fiber or Kevlar Or Carbon Fiber might be a good idea!These quick snap shackles weren’t previously easily available in Finland, now this (52mm) is the smallest size available in Finland, hopefully the next size smaller will become available soon!The quick snap shackle (on left) next to the variety of U-Shackles I have used previously.. size difference is apparent!
Back stay points
Contrary to what I said previously about NOT using the existing RDF’s, for the backstay hardpoints I decided to use the existing RDF’s !!! Woo twisted logic!
The logic here is that the RDFs. are so far back that the pull angle is shallow PLUS I will be using TWO points that hopefully will share the load! This is all theory at this point. However I’m confident that this set up will work – time will tell!
The big plus side of using the existng RDF’s is that I dont need to do any thru-deck drilling. Just add a 2mm dyneema loop thru each RDF for the quick-snap-shackles!
The diagonal backstays (green lines).
Uphaul pulley
The uphaul pulley was another easy installation. Adding a small 16mm SS pulley with a 2mm dyneema line onto the Bow RDF. A small U-shackle for semi-easy removal.
Sheet pulley
On two previous installations I have used a thru-deck pad-eye installed on the deck centrally for the sheet pulley, this usually requires two thru deck holes! I cringe at every extra hole I drill thru the deck. One previous installation I tried a thimble/ pulley, it seems to work so I decided to try it with the Beaufort installation. Another consideration for this choice was the compass installation which pretty much rules out a “central installation! Here pictured I have replaced the pulley with a 4mm SS thimble which has been jury rigged with a Prusik styled knot onto another 4mm dyneemaline (darkblue/white) running across the deck. The idea is to find a working position for the “pulley/thimble” line so that the sheet line (pink/white) will not snag onto the compass.. (yes, it sounds a tad complex complex..)
Sheet cam cleat
To lock the sheet line, I use the smallest cam-cleat available, with a wire gate of sorts. This allows for reasonable fine-tune-control of the sheet line, especially when tightening the line, but it still reasonably easy to loosen as well.
Finding the correct position for the cam-cleat is always a bit tricky. It cannot be too far forward, but cannot be too close either so that it will be in the way of low angle paddle strokes either. Also needs to be reasonably close to center-line of the kayak . ALSO keep in mind that the thru bolts need to have a reasonable flat location so that the washers wont be in the way of any underdeck countours, such as the “mini glove-box hatch” etc etc etc…Same modus operandi for drilling holes here as previously: masking tape, mark,(double check correct location of markings), drill one, use actual component to use as a drilling guide for second hole.since the deck is slightly curved and the cam cleat base is straight AND I was a bit lazy I decided to used some leftover EPDM foam washers.. betwix the two (deck and cam-cleat).Here the cam cleat is prior to tightening.. the EPDM washers stand proud!Screws tightened! A slight gap between the center of the cam-cleat and the deck, yet no wobble on the cam cleat! looks good me-thinks!Cam-Cleat installation as seen under-deck. Note the close proximity of the glove-box! Also Before installation check to feel that the nuts will not be anywhere near where your, knees, thighs etc may be.. during normal paddling modes!
Uphaul clamcleat
Since the uphaul line basicly has two clear positions: Mast DOWN and Mast UP, then a simple clam-cleat would be enough! Another added bonus of using a CLAMcleat compared to a CAM-Cleat (as with the sheetline) is that the CLAMcleat is lower in profile, thus less likely to be on the way of anything: paddle, knuckles, lines otherkayaks etc. !
Clamcleat CL-241 , aluminium seems to work best for me. Feels the sturdiest available. The more common open sided plastic versions work too. The mirror version of the CL241 is CL273Same considerations for the Clamcleat installation applies as with the CAMcleat.. (I wonder when I will mix the two up!??) 🙂Clamcleat installed! Pretty much the same way as the CAMcleat! Only difference that the screws used were SS M4 x20 , instead of M4 x 35
Almost there…
Now most of the big dirty work, ie drilling is over.. hopefully! Some final tweaking of knots and lines.
The deck is tarting to look cluttered. No worries! Lines have been roughly placed. On the bottom of the picture the blue/white line is the mast uphaul line. The loose tail (excess)has been wrapped around the deckrigging ( blackline) for the duration . On the top of the picture, the Pink/White line is the sheet line. Both lines have been pulled thru their respective Cleats.. Also thimble/pulley is visible on the left above the compass. At this stage the thimble/pulley is for testing purposes as is. Once its location has been tested and deemed fit a smarter solution will be applied. On the far left on the green lines are the two quick snap shackles of the diagonal backstays just visible.
Here all is more or less visible.. Mast has been left ever-so-slightly tilted aft. Not sure if it makes any difference or not.. may straighten it later. Lines and knots still need to be adjusted /tightened to their final setting. BLUE= Sidestays, PINK/WHITE=sheet, BLUE/WHITE= Uphaul, GREEN= Diagonal backstays. BLACK= standard deck rigging,
Adjusting the mast tilt/angle
Getting the mast just right will take a couple sessions on the water testing and tweaking.. for this the right type of knot is essential, recently Douglas Wilcox (Again !) has come up with a suitable looking knot the adjustable grip hitch. At the writing of this post I haven’t personally tested the knot in action but I don’t see any reason why it shouldn’t work..? This is the knot I have used on this particular installation! Seems GOOD!
Some final words..
Adding a sail onto a kayak adds to the fun but there is also added risk of things going wrong. Maybe even REALLY wrong! The writer will assume no responsibility if something goes drastically wrong with this set up! Common sense “laws” should and will apply here. Each does as each sees fit with each own responsibility!
That said, after I started kayak sailing a paddling/emergency knife became a permanent fixture on my PFD! For those extra lines…
One of the most obvious features on the Beaufort made by Skimkayaks is the some 80mm wide, semi-circular groove running centrally fore-to-aft on the deck. Its purpose is to stiffen the kayak all the while keeping the amount of fiber and resin used to a reasonable minimum and thus keeping weight down. Makes sense!
As an added bonus this groove feature also provides a nifty place to stow, items such as a waterpump, water bottle, gps, etc. A nice one!
However there is a little minus from this groove. Not a big one, but there it is: It adds extra challenge in the installation of a deck compass and mast base plate. Like I said, it isn’t really a big minus. If you don’t kayak sail, then the mast base installation point is moot. Also if you don’t use/need a deck compass, other than the bungee cord quick installation type (Silva 58 Kayak or Suunto Orca ), then these “minus” points will not affect you! Win-Win! 😀
Here the Suunto Orca, hanging.. not very functional. Some people use this compass along one side or the other of the groove, but on my kayak those spaces are already reserved fro spare paddle and mast.. More about those later.
Personally I prefer to have a permanently installed deck compass on all of my “long haul” expedition kayaks. Up til now I have predominantly used the Silva 70P (Whisper and Willow). However the groove would require some form of a baseplate/cup, installation set up-custom-modification-geegaag-thing-ama-jiggie to make the installation of the 70P sit nicely , work well and look good. Since I’m unaware of any ready made solution on the markets for said purpose, all this would require some form of extra spurt in my imagination aka brain synapses ! In other words I would have to come up with some DIY solution and then make it. At this time I’m not THAT motivated!
While pondering my conundrum, I remembered another Silva compass model, the 70UNE, (and its non-illuminated version 70 UN). This is more expensive than the previous two models mentioned. It does have an extra bonus that it can be easily removed from its holder (and stolen!) and used as an hand-compass on land. Uptil now the high cost, easy removability (without tools) characteristics have been reason why I have shied away from this model. Also the deck holder of the compass feels a tad “flimsy” in my mind. A careless, tired whack in cold weather with a paddle onto the holder may be enough to break it?.. maybe? Plausible..?
Anyhoo.. at this stage the only available quality option for a semi-permanent deck compass installation for the Skim Kayaks Beaufort would appear to be the Silva 70 UNE. One big nice plus for this model is that it has a red led light for night illumination.. which can be really nice on night paddles! This adds to the “COOL” factor nicely!
After doling out the required amount of cash for a Silva 70 UNE. I went home to see if the compass would actually fit the deck groove? I was lucky I hadn’t paid for nothing. The compass actually fit quite snugly in the groove! As a nice extra extra bonus, the compass holder sat within the groove and thus would be protected from random whacks by paddles,other kayaks or hostile objects ! Nice!!!
Then it was just a matter of some DIY magic. Hopefully the following picture show is self-explanatory. 🙂
Due to the mast installation fore of the forward hatch the only place left for compass installation was just aft of the forward hatch. One should take in consideration the space needed to remove and close the hatch cover!Once the location of the compass was decided, the required holes were marked and drilled. BEFORE marking and drilling cover the area involved with masking tape, keeps the area clean, scratch free and also keeps the drilled holes neat!Due to the concave surface the compass holder needs a baseplate for it to work. here I used a scrap piece of 2mm carbon fiber “plate”. One cannot deny the “cool” factorHere the compass holder setting on top of the CF-plate. Don’t worry, the compass holder comes with the compass! Also here is the glaring challenge evident. The gap between the concave and flat surfaces, The problematic area is basicly where the thru deck screws go!Under the deck, the same problem exists. If there nuts were to be tightened taut against the bottom of the deck “as is” the washers would probably do some drastic “cracking” accompanied damage..Topside, I decided to use Sugru to make a seal/gasket/semi hard point between the CF-plate and deck. Lucky I had white Sugru! At this stage it is good to point out that all metal fasteners used are stainless steel (SS) and as an precautionary measure, BEFORE installation I put all of them in a plastic bag which I waved / moved about near the compass to see if they gave any interference.. this time none did!
Fittings used were Stainless steel M4 x 25 sized bolts, flat head
I rolled small “snakes” of the Sugru and wrapped them around the pre-installed screws. Making sure to pack some “extra” stuff on the inside.After the Sugru wrapping, I pressed the whole assembly in its place. Gently pressing it down evenly. Noting that the Sugru blobs spread more or less evenly. After this I waited 24 hours BEFORE doing ANYTHING ELSE! To let the Sugru harden.After waiting for 24 hours, I did the final tightening. The idea behind the waiti was that the once hardened Sugru ‘seals’ would atleast be tight. Under the deck I used 3mm rubber gasket washers under the stainless stell washers. Incase the topside gaskets seep/leak then this should be a secondary backup against water ingress! IF this fails I’ll just go to the good ole faithful Sika-Flex polyuretahne sealant blob solution! Also note that I use the “hat” nuts, hopefully they minimize the cutting/damaging fabrics, stuff sack, etc that are being packed/unpacked. Sloppily cut bolt ends have been known to cause similar damage…Compass installed!Compass installed on the deck of the Beaufort. Fit is snug. The installation hardly interferes with deck bungee fittings. Actually the bungees ensure that the compass will not become dislodged by “accident”
At the writing of this article, I have installed SeaDog sails on three different kayaks. Each installation has been different due to differing circumstances. Each installation, while requiring some extra work, has been reasonably easy and straight forward. In this article I will concentrate on making an adapter for the mast baseplate on a Skimkayaks Beaufort.
Vortex and Whisper installed with SeaDog sailsThe deck of “Whisper”, a Guillemot expedition single has a very large radii curve. So I screwed the mast base-plate “as is”, with only a thin 4mm EPDM foam strip between the deck and base-plate. Thus far it has been enough. deck is strong and no water ingress has been observed.
The deck of the Tiderace Vortex has a slight ridge, which more or less requires an adapter, if the base-plate is to be installed on the centerline of the deck. Here I fashioned a clunky looking adapter from a scrap piece of white HDPE. A quick and dirty solution which has worked thus far. To ensure against water ingress I put a blob of (Black )SikaFlex polyurethane based sealant/adhesive between the adapter and deck when installing the whole set. The purpose of the sikaflex sealant is to seal, rather than attach The two m4 SS thru-bolts do the job of attaching. Also under the deck I made the opposite shape from a similar sized HDPE block. Thus hoping that mast pressure will be spread out on an larger area.. somewhat anyways.. SO far All seems to be working nicely.
The Beaufort however, with its negative groove (or gutter) running down the center of the deck is the most demanding installation thus far. The negative groove will require an adapter for the mast base plate. The flat bottom of the plate needs to be mated with the bottom of the groove. Otherwise this may cause pressure ridges onto the deck groove which may later cause cracking. Also the mast base plate needs to be slightly higher to allow enough counterclockwise rotation of the mast attachment piece!
Mast base-plate sitting at the intended location on the deck of the Beaufort… See the problem? mating a flat bottom against a concave surface..
I had some balsa/Western Red Cedar scrap blocks leftover, which I decided to use in this project. Initially I made two test prototypes which are in their very rough form here. Orange mast base plate to give idea of shape.After a rough pencilled in outline, some imagination, the actual shaping of the balsa/WRC pieces was fairly easy and quick work with a carving knife and a sanding block.After rough shaping the topside of the adapter block I still needed to shape the mating surface, ie. bottom surface of the adapter.In order to get te best fit with minimal effort, I used the deck groove/gutter as a shaping form , by putting 150 grit sandpaper on it and sanding the adapter block bottom to the corresponding shape.After sanding, the block sits nicely in the groove.While I was at it, I made prototype #3, more of a teardrop shape. No practical purpose, more aesthetic if anything.After the final shaping of the balsa/WRC plugs, I vacuum bagged them. 1 layer CarbonFiber + 1 layer of carbon/glassfiber combo in epoxy. Being prototype work the workmanship is a bit rough. Operative term being here “quick and dirty… Later several layers of varnish, to close the pinholes visible in this picture.The undersides of prototype #1 and #3. The grooves purpose is to let water run pass under the adapter down the deckgroove and not cause a “dam” onto the deck.. yes..I know it might be splitting hairs… 😉Prototype#1 setting on deck prior to installation.. Looks ok.Prototype #3 looks good on the deck. I think this is the one I will go with!
More about the actual installation process of the mast will follow…
The Beaufort is a very nicely shaped overall balanced looking kayak
So… Long story short. I was helping a friend pick a kayak for his upcoming expedition along the Finnish coast summer 2016. He got his kayak.. and so did I! I really had no real need for a new kayak.. seriously! 😉 But it is a NICE kayak! So what the hell, there went my retirement emergency funds! My fleet had space for a shortish sea kayak that had a very nice speed-to-agility ratio…
Side view
Skim kayaks is a Finnish base company that has several seakayak models to offer. The Beaufort doesnt have very much visibility on the web, probably due to the smallish manufacturing numbers..? Who knows? A couple German paddlers, Eike Köhler and his friend Basti have used the Beaufort on long sea expeditions; Gothenburg to Helsinki and more recently a trip along the Norwegian Coast. So the Beaufort cannot be all that bad?
The Beaufort has some rocker. just enuff to be reasonably agile, while edging, yet tracks straight
At the writing of this, I have logged less that 50 kms with it, so I will not dwell too much about how it goes on the water, suffice to say; If I’m confident that enough to paddle the finnish coast in one, it can’t be bad? For now I will do a short review on the initial impressions.
Deck layout on the Beaufort is very functional. large oval deck hatches. Extra bonuses are the paddle attachment and the towline cam-cleat.
These are the spec’s , as copied off the manufacturers website:
"Length: 513 cm
Width: 53.1 cm
Hullshape: Shallow/medium V, Strong chines
Cockpit depth front: (inner) 32 cm
Seat depth: 20,5 cm
Volume:
Forward: 88 liters
Cockpit: 147 liters
Day hatch aft: 71 liters
Day hatch bow: 5.2 liters
Aft: 47 liters
Total: 358,2 liters
Optimal paddler weight: 70-100 kilos
Material:
TR: glass fiber/diolen/polyester
RH: Hull: vacuum infused Kevlar, directional glass and Carbon sandwich/vinylester Deck: Kelar reinforced glass/vinylester
CL: hull: infused carbon fiber sandwich/ vinylester, deck: vacuum infused carbon fiber sandwich/vinylester
Hatches: 44/26 cm
Dayhatch aft: 20 cm
Dayhatch bow: 15 cm
Manufactured in: Finland"
We ordered our kayaks thru North-West Import, located in Espoo, Finland. The service was top-notch. The icing on the cake was that we were able request certain modifications made for our kayaks! This was something new and pretty darn cool to boot! I requested that my Rockhopper version would have a Kevlar rubstrip installed along the keel. This is serviced offered at an extra fee of 150€. Also I really liked the KajakSport Flexjoint-footpads on the footrests. I Don’t recall how much they cost.. but they are quite nice! Time will tell how long lasting they will be. Initially I thought these were .. umm yuppy posh extra luxury items that no real seakayaker would use !… but after trying them out.. oh well, I guess I’m getting old or sumthing.
underneath. A layer of extra carbon to give the kevlar some Oomph! Nice Kajaksport footrests- WITH the REALLY nice Flex-Joint pads.
Being a short Hobbit sized paddler I wanted the forward bulkhead moved back some – to minimize extra space in the cockpit and maximize “dry space” up front.
The aft edge of the seat has slots for straps in case …I want to have my thermos/whatever strapped down.
Normally the cockpit aft bulkhead is installed slanted and right up-to the lip of the cockpit. This is to facilitate easyish emptying of kayak in case of wet exit, rescue situations. Personally I prefer to have some extra space behind the seat for an anorak, waterbag, thermos etc. So I requested that the aft bulkhead was to be installed vertical and approx. 40mm more aft of its standard located.
Since it is my intention to use a sail on the Beaufort whenever possible, my last request was to add an reinforcing layer of Fiberglass under the deck for about 350mm just forward of the fore-hatch.
Initially my intention was to buy the “Traditional” layup version but I envisioned that I may wander off to more rockier waters in the future, so I ordered the Kevlar re-inforced “Rockhopper” (RH) version.
Finishing quality was good-to-excellent. It is comparable with more expensive british made kayaks. finishing of the interior was smooth and clean. The only minor flaw that I found was a tiny blob of dried adhesive along the cockpit rim, under the lip. A small annoyance that would probably caused the spray deck edge to wear thru on the long run. However a couple gentle swipes on the offending blob with 320 grit sandpaper smoothed things out.
All hatch lips were installed smoothly flush to the deck. Kayaksport hard rings with the soft/hard variety of hatch lids. No fault there! All installations were neat and clean.
Among the immediately visible peculiarities on the Beaufort are: The reverse slanted stern, a largish semi-circle groove along the center-line of the deck, a paddle attachment, and the cam-cleat attachment point for possible tow-line.
A standard KajakSport skeg.
My immediate guess for the reasoning of the stern shape would be to increase waterline length and thus possibly increase speed? I cannot say whether this actually works but for a kayak thats overall length is a modest 513 cms , she does paddle very easily at a rates 7.5-8.5 km/h even with a load of 20 kgs! So there might be something to it? I will get back to this later when I have more experience on the matter.
The kajaksport KS-selfrescue grips for paddle, test fitting for my spare GP paddle. It fits!
The paddle “park” , or attachment point (not sure what its called?) was another quirky looking standard option. At first I was going to go without it, but then I decided it may be useful on extra uber long crossings. If need be I could use it to make an out-rigger, for a lunch break or sumthing. Not sure if the manufacturer had that in mind when designing it or how they feel about my idea of its possible use.. but thats what I thought.
One possible way of having the rescue towline installed on the aft deck/towline cam-cleat. hitch thingy.
Being a short hobbit sized paddler I quickly found that having a belt towline on while paddling got to be a little stuffy. There really isnt much space between the lower edge of my PFD and the spray skirt. Wearing a belt pack-towline would very quickly wear a hole thru my neoprene spray skirt.. which is a no-no to my budget. The installed cam-cleat with re-inforcing bar on the aft deck were features that I’m hoping would ease matters a tad.
The final immediately visible oddity on the Beaufort is the half-circle groove along the center of the deck running front-to-back.
Testing out a possible location for a deck compass. The odd looking “groove” on the deck serves to make the hull more rigid, but also gives a possibilty to install a compass or stow a water bottle to offer a low profile.
The grooves purpose is to make the deck more rigid. as an extra bonus it offers a nice spot to stow stuff like water bottle, water pump etc. Also it makes the installation of a compass and kayak sail slightly more challenging, but more about those at a later post.
my 204 cm spare GP paddle fits just on the fore deck! I might have to come up with a different design for my spare paddle, when used in conjunction with a sail.
SO initial impression on the Beaufort is that it is a very well made kayak, that has several promising features that I eagerly await to test out properly on a long, very loooong trip! Sofar, Very good!
More to follow…
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