As is evident in my original text (below in grey) I was trepiditious at first about releasing the LPB. My fear was that everyone would want one, when in fact most people would be much happier with an F1. 90% of paddlers travel at less than 4.5 mph most of the time, for these people the F1 will be more manuverable, more stable, and more surfy and just plain more fun. For those of you who really are cranking around at 5-6mph, I give you the new LPB, (which seriously needs a new name). For someone with a general disdain for longer boats, I've been really impressed with new versions of the L.P.B. The extremely efficient core hull shape is essentially unchanged from last year, this year I experimented with the look and improved the ergonomics as well. Slightly higher knees, slightly more foot room, and a little bit narrower catch make this a much cleaner fitness boat than the ubiquitous 17 foot british-style kayaks, while retaining strong rough water performance and plenty of room for fast touring. I'm still waffling on the aesthetic and currently I'm thinking the most attractive bow will be one like my Tyak, but the boat itself is performing admirably. At only 16 feet, the LPB can easily go head to head with longer sea kayaks. I'm very proud of this design, and if you've got the horsepower to push it, the LPB won't dissapoint. Here are a few views of the new boat as well as a critique by a couple of owners:
Hey Brian!
That LPB that I built during the June 6-12 class continues to
amaze me with its incredible abilities! I have now logged
about 300 nautical miles in it, including a trip from Long
Beach, CA to Two Harbors on Catalina Island and back, and about
5 hours of surfing at Sunset Beach in Hunting Beach, CA during a
2 week stay down there at the end of september. 20 knot winds and the
resultant chop, along with 3-5 foot swells coming in on the
starboard front quarter during the last two hours of the trip to
Catalina had no effect on this boat's tracking! It tracks like
it's on rails, yet a lean and a paddle stroke and it turns
extremely fast for a 16 foot boat! I was able to maintain a
Velocity made good of 4 knots on the way out (against the
swells), and on the return trip the next day it was 4.5 knots!
The surfing abilities of this boat are amazing when you consider
that :
1. It's a sea kayak.
2. it's a 16 foot long sea kayak w/o a rudder.
This is the first sea kayak I've ever paddled that didn't
immediately broach and start side surfing. Once you get on the
wave, you can pretty much sit back and it will track along the
wave face. Once the wave closes out and you do find yourself
side surfing, lean back and the bow gets pushed around and
you're surfing the soup with the bow pointed at the shore! Not
once did I have to muscle the boat to stay where I wanted to on
the wave. The only downside to surfing this kayak is turning it
around once you decide which wave you want, so I have to line
the boat up so that I am looking over my shoulder a bit. Then
it's just a lean turn and an extended paddle stroke and I'm
ready to go. It punches out through the surf w/o getting knocked
sideways, too.Once again, thanks for designing such an amazing
boat!
Dan
The LPB has
been out on the Hudson close to 10 times so far.
Here's a little feedback.
- Very comfortable
- most stable boat I own
- does not weathercock standing still or cruising at any angle
- lightest boat by a long shot
- despite 20 yet unsealed holes in the gunwale, it it the driest
boat I
own!
- handles waves from any angle with
- Quiet ... barely makes a ripple of a wake
- Quick... I calling it's top cruising speed 6mph.. this is not
sprinting!
+ twice I've done a 6 miler ( 3 out, 3 back)
in a
1mph tidal
current in 61 minutes
.... here's the math 3miles / (6 -1 mph) + 3
miles /
(6+1
mph) = 36 + 25.7 minutes = 61.7 minutes
+ I have also done 12 miles out and back with
similar tidal
current + wind in 2h5m
The LPB is like an 18' boat in front of the cockpit and a 14'
boat
behind the
cockpit
Everyone who has seen the LPB loves it.
I keep noticing people (mostly college coeds) taking pictures of
my
while I
paddle by with the sunset shining through my boat.
BTW, the color has deepened to tawny pumpkin color (quite in
season)...
aka
dark honey (I love it).
I'll keep you posted,
John
Testing the L.P.B.
Sixteen and a half feet long, around twenty-two inches wide, about eight inches deep at the backrest, 30 lbs.
It is with reluctance that I announce the newest member of the Cape Falcon Kayak family, the L.P.B. (long pointy boat). Even though I've had this design finished in my head for three years, I've avoided bringing it to life as long as I could. Why? because you don't need it. Well, maybe not you personally, perhaps you are one of the powerful few who travels at 5 mph everywhere you go, but for the rest of us mortals who honestly have never finished a twenty mile day faster than 4 mph, we'd be so much happier in a 14ft kayak that cruises EASIER at our TARGET SPEEDS, and is MORE STABLE, MORE MANUVERABLE, and MORE FUN. Despite this irrefutable scientific truth, there are simply too many kayakers that think they need a 17ft boat, and well.... I'm gettin old and I'm tired of arguing. So here it is, my 17 footer. Stable, manuverable, fun, room for camping gear. It balances in the wind without a rudder or skeg, it surfs pretty good, and yes, it's fast, a little faster even than it's fiberglass brit boat competitors, assuming you've got the arms to push it.
This LPB was custom built by Marvin in one of my classes. A dedicated fitness paddler, Marvins first priority is flatwater speed but without the tippieness of true racing kayak. We decided he would be a good candidate for the very first L.P.B. Despite Marvins better judgement, he agreed to loan it to me for an afternoon of testing. I hauled it down to the ocean with the wind blowing a boat snatching 25 knots, gusting to 30. I decided to bring my surf boat with me so I wouldn't have to walk all the way back to the truck when I was done testing the first boat.
The moment I let go of the surf boat it blew away, thank you Lisa for being fast on your feet and tackling the flying yak AND not damaging my camera! (and thanks for taking these photos)
So here's what it looks like. On the next one I'll probably give it a sexy upward swoop at the bow. Not for any functional reason, just to make it prettier. It is a fact that sea kayaks with swoopy bows sell better, so for the remainder of this documentary I ask you to add a mental swoop to the bow.
I need a V8! the wind howled so hard I needed to lean to keep my balance!
I took it offshore and put it through the paces. It edge turned reasonably, and didn't weathercock. Living at the beach, surf is an unavoidable occurance if you want to sea kayak, so I design every kayak to punch out and surf in well.
Paddling back up the beach sucked! I've always said if you are paddling into the wind you are going the wrong direction!
Satisfied, I crawl out...
...and try to hang onto the boat this time.
A familiar face wanders by "...I figured it had to be you out here," he says. It's a real treat to carry my boat up the beach with Robert Livingston. Back when I was about six years old, Bob was paddling his own design, the Ursa Micro, which inspired Cam Broze to divert from long sea kayaks and design the legendary Mariner Coaster, a design which I've spent the last three years tweaking into a my skin-on-frame F1. My trial and error with the F1 cemented my general design knowledge and prototyping methods, so much so that after it I now feel comfortable designing as I teach in classes. We all stand on the shoulders of our predecessors, and here Bob is again, helping me out.
So there you have it, the L.P.B. A long boat that does everything the F1 does, and is a little faster. Now where was I, the surf boat, ah yes....
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