Hi Ken,
Great job. Glad to see your still building. I am nearing completion of my Nordic Arrow that I started 3 years ago. My layup is almost identical to yours, except I used lots of staples. My hull is 5/32" strips and my deck is 1/8" strips,before sanding, same glass and schedule you used. Hans really has some superb designs. BTW/ congratulations to you and Luanne on Blue Ribbons. You better be careful, she may want a 24# 17' "Nordic Arrow" single for her new racing career.

Larry C.

: 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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