Training in our boats is proving a bit of a grind, so I thought I’d share one of the key bits of hope that we’re holding out and try to work out whether this is realistic. We’re both really praying that the boat we’ve rented in Canada will be significantly faster than that we’ve got to train with in the UK. The stats (for those of you playing Tandem Kayak Top Trumps) are below:
Necky Amaruk (UK boat, bought second hand off the organisers of the world adventure race championships):
| MATERIAL | Polymer |
|---|---|
| LENGTH | 17′ 10″ / 5.4 m |
| WIDTH | 28.5″ / 72.4 cm |
| WEIGHT | 91 lbs / 41.3 kg |
| COCKPIT | 31″ x 17″ / 78.7 x 43.2 cm |
| BOW HATCH | 10″ x 7″ / 25.4 x 17.8 cm |
| STERN HATCH | 14″ x 10.5″ / 35.6 x 26.7 cm |
I’d just like to point out that you can feel every single one of those 91lbs…
Canadian boat (rented for just the race period):
Riot Delta Tandem:
A superior tandem, the Delta is spacious and designed for extended coastal cruises. Its shallow V hull provides tracking and predictability, while its tumblehome hull shape allows it to be paddled fully loaded, even in the roughest seas. The large hatch situated between the cockpits allows a child to come along for the ride.
Features:
• Ultralight composite contoured seats
• Padded double strapped back bands
• Adjustable footbraces
• Flush deck, neoprene sealed, front, center & rear hatches
• Fore, center, & aft composite sealed bulkheads
• Lifeline, bow, center & stern shockcord storage
• Optional child seat
• Pilot Rudder™ System
• Color shown: Carbon
Specs:
Stern hatch: 21″ x 12″ / 53 x 31 cm
Bow volume : 25 US gal / 95 L
Rec. max. cap.: 700 lbs / 318 kg
Bow hatch: 16″ x 9″ / 41 x 23 cm
Stern volume: 39 US gal / 148 L
So the headlines are:
1) Only marginally lighter - goodness!!!!
2) Around 4′ longer 
3) Around 3cm thinner
So we’ll be doing a better stroke in a more hydrodynamic boat, but lugging the same ammount of weight, which is a real downer. Looking at the lines, I think it should be a lot faster, and once we get it going the weight shouldn’t altogether be an issue. WHy do I think so? See the maths below
Hull speed is frequently defined as:
Hull speed (knots) = 1.34 times the square root of the waterline length (in feet)
Hulls mostly cruise at around 70-90% of hull speed so this should mean our new boat is faster than the one we have been training with.
No sharp turns or manouvres allowed (obviously a tall order with me on the rudder….)
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