Description

Little Auk 10 lines

Little Auk 10

This delightful little boat is designed for someone who wants a light, easy to handle recreational kayak of distinctive character. Its small size makes it easy to put on the roof of a car or on the deck of a yacht and transport it to your favorite lake or harbor. Once there, you will be able to gunkhole into places inaccessible by any other boat. Its stability assures that staying upright will not be an adventure. The 10 foot long version is best suited to people who need a truly compact boat.

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Little Auk 11 lines

Little Auk 11

The 11-foot Little Auk is identical to the 10-footer, but the longer version will carry a larger paddler and track more strongly.

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Great Auk 14 lines

Great Auk 14

This kayak is a shortened version of the standard Great Auk. It is a recreational kayak well suited to sheltered lakes and harbors where you may occasionally encounter moderate winds and modest waves. The relatively short length allows it to maneuver easily in tight streams and estuaries.

This is the ideal boat for exploring sheltered lakes and ponds, and for poking around sheltered bays. It is short enough to be easy to handle on and off the water while having enough length for efficient handling over distances. While not intended for rough water, it has enough stability to handle waves and enough length that it can still move if the wind picks up. While not a requirement, this design is well suited for mounting a rudder.

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Great Auk

Great Auk lines

The Great Auk is a roomy, fast and stable kayak and tracks very straight. The long water line and clean entry permits it to cut through the water with a barely visible wake. The flared bow gives a very dry ride, lifting over most waves with little effort. This is one of Nick Schade's more stable single sea kayaks. It is one of the easier designs to build, with a fairly simple shape. This is a good all-around boat for someone wanting a stable, efficient kayak. This boat is designed to accept a rudder but it is not required.

Beginner kayakers will find this design to be comfortable and reliable. While not a stiff tracker, it is well balanced and with a little practice novice kayakers will be able to take this boat a long way. It will not be a design you outgrow immediately. Larger paddlers will find this design roomy and capable. It can easily carry quite a substantial load so heavier paddlers will still find it usable for multi day trips.

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Great Auk "High Capacity" lines

Great Auk "Haute Capacité"

If you are going on a months-long tour up the Inside Passage you might want to carry a lot of supplies. This is the kayak to do it. It has the capacity to carry a large load efficiently. It is stable enough to be rigged with a small sail.

This boat may not be appropriate if you feel you just need a little bit more capacity than normal, it is best suited for situations where you need a total capacity over 350 lbs. and will still perform well with over 600 lbs on board.

If you're a big paddler, you will find this design efficient and comfortable while still able to carry a lot of gear.

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Razor Billed Auk

Razor Billed Auk lines

The Razor Billed Auk is a fast boat suitable for long distance touring or recreational racing. It has enough volume to carry gear for an extended tour and has the long waterline and low wetted surface area to move efficiently through the water at speed. This boat is less stable than others in the Great Auk family, but will still be quite comfortable for skilled paddlers in rough water. Due to its length it can bog down a little in steep chop, but it will still be faster than most sea kayaks.

This design was originally created with recreational racing in events like the Blackburn Challenge in mind, and it has proved quite successful at that purpose, but it was not intended to be a flat-out racing machine with the inherent compromises required in such a design. It is intended to function well as a capable touring sea kayak for those people who want to go places quickly and efficiently.

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Great Auk Double

Great Auk Double lines

By stretching out the Great Auk, Nick has created a tandem sea kayak that will be comfortable for occasional paddlers while providing an efficient and capable boat for a pair of skilled kayakers. The long waterline allows a couple of strong paddlers to really step out and go fast, while the respectable volume provides enough capacity to carry gear for multi-day trips.

The Great Auk Double is a modified version of the Great Auk. It is longer and a little wider to carry the heavier load of two people plus their gear. Taking the sleek lines of the Great Auk to make a fast and comfortable tandem for intermediate paddlers. This is not just a simple stretch of the Great Auk. I have adjusted the shape to add more volume near the ends. This combined with a higher bow will help the boat rise easily over waves.

This boat fits in between the Guillemot Double and Guillemot Fast Double in terms of performance. It will be faster than the Guillemot Double because it is a little longer and narrower. This makes it a little less stable. But it is not as long or as narrow as the Fast Double.

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