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| Eagle Seajett |
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| Stip Yaks Seajett |
This is my Eagle Seajett:
Monday 10 February 2020
Eagle Seajett
There is a kayak design that I have always admired: the Seajett. Firstly made by Stip Yaks and later by Eagle. The design is special because it has a rounded stern, not pointed:
The theory is that this shape will help prevent squatting, and so reducing wavemaking resistance. This shape is actually quite common on sailing yachts and other bigger boats. The experience of some Seajett paddlers seem to confirm it's speed. But also that it needs a lot of skeg to prevent weathercocking which is explainable as the stern is rounded below the waterline and does not have much lateral resistance. For this reason I think the Seajett could be a good candidate for a rudder.
So when I encountered a cheap Seajett on the internet I decided to buy it. It is an Eagle, almost new, or better: not used very much. Eagle kayaks are considered to be good value for the money but the build quality is not outstanding. I hope it will be sufficient for my intended use: making day trips on the lake at the kayak club. I will not use it on sea or with lots of luggage. At home it appeared that both original VCP rubber lids had been teared during the car trip. They looked nice before but were probably dried out too much. The second setback was that the skeg appeared to be not fully retractable. Even after modifying the operating mechanism the undeep skegbox prevents the skeg to disappear fully into the hull. On the water this will probably not be a real problem as the boat needs a lot of skeg but it makes it more vulnerable during landing and onshore. I know that the Stip Yaks version does not have this 'problem' so I am a bit disappointed in the Eagle then. May be I had better searched for a Stip Yaks Seajett. The sprayskirt is also not very good and the backrest needs to be changed also... But I am curious to paddle it and to test it's behaviour and speed.
This is my Eagle Seajett:
This is my Eagle Seajett:
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Hi Jeroen,
ReplyDeleteYou are right with the conclusion that the seajet needs a rudder. The same problem with the kajet. Because the seajet is based on the kajet. At the kayakclub Zwetplassers I know that about 5 kajakkers added a rudder themselves. May be can get some information from them. Personaly I regard the Seajet not as a good seakayak because it weathercocks a lot. Even with a rudder you have to rely on it. In case of problems with the rudder you can get into trouble with the Seajet in heavy weather. But probably you know I am not happy with rudders on a seakayak. In my opinion a seakayakdesign should be in a way that it does not need a rudder.