Photo's and info supplied by Nick Schade of Guillemot Kayaks

Night Heron Double

Night Heron: This boat is based on my other designs, but I took a look back at Greenland Inuit boats for some of my hull shaping inspiration. This boat brings the volume of the hull out towards the ends more for a higher prismatic coefficient. This will give it better efficiency at faster speeds. It has fairly hard chines with no concave sections. The low back deck permits the paddler to easily lean back so their head touches the back deck. The standard foredeck is high enough that I can easily get my legs in and out. For people who want a lower volume boat with less windage and an even lower back deck, the drawings include a "low" version. The low version lowers both the front and back deck.

At 20" wide this is a narrow boat, however it is not scary to paddle. Even novice paddlers quickly get comfortable. The boat tracks well with good balance and is quite fast. It is very easy to roll and perform various braces.

For those wanting a super low-decked rolling machine suitable for all the lay-back style rolls I have drawn up a "Greenland Styled Deck" for the Night Heron.