Panthera.2

Latest updated Friday, October 25, 2024, 26 comments

Plans, Panthera.2 - 180 EUR Purchase

Panthera.2

Panthera.2 is a new double surfski-sea kayak hybrid – simply put a surfski with a kayak deck. But that would be an over-simplification. There is a small portion of sea kayak added to the mix, giving Panthera.2 slightly calmer movements in waves than an all-out competitive surfski. I expect the performance to be a tad less extreme than that of a thoroughbred surfski, but yet manageable should the paddler develop an acute desire to surf diagonally in high speed on large waves. I also expect a pair of competent paddlers to be able to keep Panthera.2 at speeds above hull speed á la surfskis off following seas.

Basically, Panthera.2 is so close to a genuine surfski that a rudder is needed to meet the potential (more about the difference here). An under-the-hull rudder with a surfski type of pedals is, of course, the best, but for fast touring, a rudder on the stern will do fine – preferably with one of the larger blades. With a full touring load, the kayak settles down to more directional stability for relaxed long-distance paddling.

The plans show the original Panthera.2 at 680 cm LOA, but two shorter options are indicated on the lines drawing; 646 cm and 629 cm.

Images

Particulars

Length¹	680/672 cm (overall/WL)
Beam	59/55 cm (overall/WL)
Draft	12 cm
Cockpit¹	80x40 cm
Height¹	29.5/21 cm (in front of/behind the cockpit)
Weight²	20-25 kg
Displacement/volume⁶	255 kg/600 litre
Speed³	9.1/13.1 km/h
Prismatic coefficient	0.57
Wetted surface	3.1 m²
Drag⁴	1.91/3.18 kp
Stability⁵	3/4 (initial/secondary stability)
Intended use	Fast touring, surfing, sea kayak racing

* These dimensions can be adapted to suit personal needs or wishes.
** Depending on type of wood, equipment, care with epoxy usage, sanding etc. etc.
*** The speed numbers are based on mathematical standard formulas (175 lb paddler + 30 lb carco weight) and corrected from the kayaks actual performance om trials, on tours and in races.
⁴ Calculated resistance in 4 and 5 knots (at nominal load capacity).
⁵ Initial stability and secondary stability on a subjective scale, where 1 is very tippy and 5 is very stable.
⁶ Displacement is kayak + paddler + load. Count off the kayak weight to get the load capacity.

Alterations Kayak stability Kayak data table

Plans

The plan sheets contain the information needed to build the kayak/canoe. Station molds, stems and construction details are full scale. Recommended cockpit size is shown full size. The plans show 680 cm LOA, but two shorter options (646 and 629 cm) are indicated. Lines and construction drawings are in metric scale 1:10. Building manual available on the website.

The illustrated step-by-step building manual is in Swedish only, but it is available online in English: it covers all steps in detail and will guide first-time builders through the project.

Plans, Panthera.2 - 180 EUR Purchase

Comments

1 Braňo Vasilovčík
8/13/2019 4:47 PM

Have a nice day, I have to commend your work on the web and, obviously, on the designs of your vessels. Very interesant and inspiring. I built Auk 14 from Guilemont kayaks and this year two Chessapeek 17. Until a month ago I discovered your kayak designs. I want to build a Phanter 2 double-oak. In your speed table, you have a low travel and max speed compared to kayaks like Thule 2, Nomad 2, Alert 2. I think Panther 2 should be faster.Sorry, my English, but translated by Google.

2 Björn Thomasson
8/15/2019 5:12 PM

You are quite right. The figures given are not Panthera's. They ended up there by mistake. I have corrected them now, from the latest hydrodynamical set of data: speed 9,9/14,9.

Then, of course, these kayaks are different and they perform better or worse in different conditions. Panthera.2 has an edge at surfing big waves and would leave a Nomad/2 far behind. But on more calm conditions the difference is small since Pantera.2 has more load capacity than Nomad/2 and thus increased drag.

This data is an indication of the potential, but can never be taken to exactly express the true performance of a kayak.

3 François Marti
9/25/2019 10:47 AM

Hi Bjorn, where there is a Panthera 2 that I could paddle for a try ?

4 Björn Thomasson
9/25/2019 8:33 PM

Hi François. Panthera.2 is a new addition to my catalog, and just a handful is yet ordered. I do not know if there is a finished Panthera.2 yet, but two of the builders accept contact with other builders: one in Sachsen, Germany, the other in Kiev, Ukraine.

5 François Marti
9/27/2019 7:28 AM

Thanks for this informations. Can you message me the email for the builder in Germany. I plan to go in Sachsen some day as my son is living in Dresden, it 'd be nice if I can see a Panthera 2 there.

6 Björn Thomasson
9/27/2019 8:16 AM

Send an email to me. I'll reply with the contact info.

The plans were purchased just three weeks ago, so I doubt you can see more than an initiated project.

7 Kent Overmyer
10/6/2019 6:48 PM

Hi Bjorn,

I am getting my wife's Frej close to completion and planning my next project. We still paddle our Nomad/2 weekly but have need for a surfski double. I think a devolution of the Panthera/2 back to a surfski would be just the ticket. Specifically making a double surfski "cockpit" with the rudder being controlled by the larger paddler in the bow position.

I would like your thoughts and any help in placement and design of the paddlers seats, bow 6 ft and 220 lbs, stern 5' 4'' and 140 lbs.

Thanks for all your designs and support,

Kent

8 Björn Thomasson
10/7/2019 7:23 PM

Hi Kent,

Your idea is quite right. Panthera.2 is, in essence, a stretched Spindrift, with two differences:

1. it is wider than Spindrift to provide a little more initial stability, which is often, but not always, needed (it is easier to handle low stability on your own than when exposed to another paddlers movements to stay upright), and

2. the deck is higher, very little in front of the cockpit, but approx 4 cm in the aft part (to provide more room for the touring duffel).

So, a surfski version of Panthera.2 would make a fine touring surfski double, but perhaps unnecessary wide for competitive use (fx 2 cm wider than an Epic V8 double and 10 cm wider than the V10 double).

I'll be happy to calculate the cockpit position for your given weights, Just give me your intended LOA (three options on the plans).

9 Kent Overmyer
10/8/2019 1:28 AM

You have deduced our plans exactly. We will be competing in the Recreational Tandem Class (K2Rec) which is >22.1 inch and unlimited length. The Epic V8 Double 22.4in x 22ft is our closest competition. It is often found to be the best compromise between stablity and speed. A Race class double causing wasted energy staying upright which interferes with concentration on all power going to the stroke. This is especially true for rough conditions. Our Nomad/2 has been a wonderful boat at 750cm and 59.7cm as built. Our only stability issue is when having following seas which plant the bow and lift the stern rudder. Just the conditions for which the surfski was designed.

We will be building the 680 length boat with 220# paddler in the bow and 140 # stoker at the stern. This allows me to draft in competition without "looking through" the bow paddler or having to estimate the closing distance from 5 meters astern. Please let me know if this arrangement would be problematic.

Plans are purchased and no hurry.

Thanks

10 gabriel nogueira
10/28/2020 7:26 PM

hi Björn, can the construction plans be sent by email in pdf or dwg format?

11 Björn Thomasson
10/30/2020 3:58 PM

Yes

12 Mark C Nye
11/26/2020 4:06 PM

Hello Bjorn, I hope that all is well. I am getting a good start on my kayak decked Spindrift so it is time to start planning the next project. We currently have a wonderful touring double (Shearwater Double, 564cm x 63 cm) but are looking for something lighter/faster for day touring and recreational racing. The Panthera.2 looks like a good candidate, but I was wondering what the cockpit spacing is for the 646 cm boat? (Can't build the full length version because it will not fit in my garage.) I ask because one of the things that we love about the Shearwater is that the cockpits are spaced almost 200 cm apart allowing the two of us to paddle at our own cadence without fear of hitting paddles. Thanks

13 Björn Thomasson
11/27/2020 5:34 PM

Hello Mark, The cockpits on the 646 cm version are 147 cm C/C apart, which I chose as a reasonable compromise between keeping weight as far as possible from the ends (sea-worthiness) and far enough apart to minimize paddle clashes.

But it is easy to adjust the distance as needed – symmetrically if you keep the cockpits positioned for approx the same weight in both, or asymmetrically if you balance that hull for different weights (in which case I'll be happy to assist with the calculations if needed).

I once built a too long boat in my short garage by nailing plywood on top of the opened doors and covering the extension with a tarp ;-)

14 Mark C Nye
12/8/2020 4:53 PM

Excellent, thanks Bjorn. I'll be ordering the plans in a couple of months. I'll touch base then for help with the cockpit placement.

15 Olivier Leroy
2/28/2021 8:47 PM

Bonjour Björn,

Je suis à la recherche de plans de Surfski double.

C'est essentiellement pour naviguer lors de course en France comme " la Dordogne intégrale".

Est il possible d'adapter 2 cockpit de spindrift dans un Panthera. 2?

Je mesure 176 cm et 85 kg et le second pagayeur 170 cm et 60 kg.

Merci

16 Björn Thomasson
2/28/2021 9:39 PM

Hello Olivier,

Yes, there are no problems putting two spindrift cockpits on the Panthera.2. But the Panthera is a more stable craft than Spindrift, more of a standard sea kayak than a competitive surfski, and it is intended for touring. Used for competition without the extra 25-35 kg touring load it will float a bit high and be more sensitive to the wind.

But I have an almost finished surfski double on the computer, which I hope to be able to publish within a week or two. A preliminary sketch was shown here (scroll down).

It will be an intermediate surfski double at 680x54 cm, compared to the Panthera.2:s 680x59 cm. There will be a significant speed advantage of the Spindrift double, but of course, also sacrificing some stability (but within reach for intermedia paddlers).

17 Olivier Leroy
3/1/2021 5:31 AM

Merci Björn pour ces informations. J'ai essayé le Epic v10 double et le v8 double. Le spindrift double se situerait à mi-chemin ( stabilité...).

Je suis impatient que les plans soient disponibles.

À bientôt

Olivier

18 Björn Thomasson
3/1/2021 9:23 AM

Yes, somewhere in between V10 and V8, and with slightly more stability than Nordic Kayaks 670 Double –and more stable than Fenn and Carbonology skis.

19 Olivier Leroy
10/22/2021 6:56 PM

hello Björn

I want to take advantage of the winter to build the two-seater kayak that will allow me to participate in the race "la dordogne integrale" with my daughter.

Are the plans of your Surfski finished? If not, can you provide the plans of the Panthera 2 with the plans of a cockpit of Surfski?

Thank you for your answer.

Sincerely

20 Björn Thomasson
10/22/2021 9:41 PM

Hello Olivier, Nothing much has happened to the surfski double plans during the last year. I redrew the hull for better performance and am happy with the result – the hull, lines, stations, hydrodynamic data, etc are all done, but the deck around the cockpits caused me some concerns. If I had more time I would have built a prototype and solved the problems hands-on in the workshop, which I think would have been fairly straightforward. But other projects and assignments got in the way, and the surfski development slowed down – and the Covid-19 pandemic increased the number of kayak builders and thus increased my workload with emails and phone calls from first-time builders. I hope I can finish the last details of the surfski plans during the fall/winter, but I still have commercial assignments taking a lot of my time, so no promise of a date.

But as I said, everything is finished and checked, but for some details on the deck/cockpit connections, so if you feel confident to build from a set of plans, where a few deck details are a bit sketchy, I can ship the plans to you free of charge, and you can customize the deck to your needs and send a photo or two of the result.

Or, if you prefer, I can ship the Panthera.2 plans with the surfski cockpit suggested lines...

21 Olivier Leroy
10/23/2021 7:24 AM

Hello Björn,

I have no problem with building from not quite finished deck plans. I will even be happy to look for a technical solution for the cockpit/deck junction.

I will regularly send you pictures of the progress of the project and the technical solutions chosen. I am not a professional, but the idea of working on a prototype is extremely motivating.

would you be able to send me the plans by email, so that I can get to work quickly?

"La Dordogne intégrale" takes place mid-April;-)

have a nice day

22 Björn Thomasson
10/25/2021 9:07 PM

Yes, I will ship pdf:s. But I don't have your email address – mail me...

23 Olivier Leroy
10/26/2021 6:06 PM

I sent you an email on your address

good evening

24 Olivier Leroy
10/29/2021 3:11 PM

Hello Björn, did you receive my email address on your personal mailbox?

25 Jan Johansson
7/17/2023 8:51 AM

Hej!

Tack för en bra hemsida med mycket bra intressant läsning.

Försöker välja bland dina kajaker för att bygga en 2:a i höst/vinter.

Nu till min fråga!

I txt skriver du,

(Panthera.2 är en ny hybrid-kajak – enkelt uttryckt en surfski med kajakdäck. Men riktigt så enkelt är det såklart inte. Även om skrovformen i grunden är en surfski (Spindrift) finns en inte obetydligt influens från Njord/2.)

Finns Njord som 2:a?

Mvh.

/Janne

26 Björn Thomasson
7/17/2023 10:08 AM

Det finns ingen Njord/2. Det var på gång för några år sedan, men dels kom annat emellan och dels var jag lite tveksam om njordkonceptet skulle vara en bra startpunkt för en 2:a. Njord är en utpräglad skäddakajak, medan 2:or fungerar näst med roder. Därför blev Panthera den logiska kandidaten för de egenskaper jag hade tänkt mig med Njord/2.

Och du är faktiskt den förste som frågat ;-)

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