Launching in Denmark

Wednesday, May 23, 2007, 2 comments

From Peter Madsen:

Hello Björn.

This sunday was official launching day in the kayak club "Malik" in Faaborg on Fyn. A beautiful day in perfect weather. Some 40 kayaks appeared, 18 of them new after a winter of building efforts. Most were SOF:s. One had a glass plate in the bottom.

In the tradition of the club all kayaks were christened and given a "Good luck on the coming journeys", before sea trials, together with drinks and barbeque in the beautiful surroundings.

I brought two kayaks to the event - my Nomad from last year and the new Black Pearl.

The Nomad is a marvellous kayak, incredibly stable and able. I am very fond of it. A splendid touring kayak, capable of a very high touring pace. In rough weather and for long distances it is unsurpassed.

I do not have that much experience of my new Pearl, but there have been a few trips. It is surpricingly stable, in spite of the beam (43 cm), and I have no problems with it, even in rough conditions. Of course you must react quickly - the kayak does! But it is more stable than some of my SOF:s, even those with more beam. It is almost a submarine, with no more than 1.5 cm freeboard in calm water. And that is exactly how I want it - it couldn´t have been any smaller. I expect a lot of fun in this!

I have made a lot of changes on the plans. The Nomad (”Islom” = White Billed Diver) is just 48 cm wide and lowered some 20%. It is 6,08 m long wich works fine for me on long distances. It tips the scale at 15 kg. The Pearl (”Nigra”) have slightly lower stem and stern, as some of the east greenland types. The beam is 43 cm and the length 6,25 m (hehe, Yes, I really like long and narrow kayaks…). The weight is 12 kg, which I am quite satisfied with.

Best regards
Peter Madsen