Guillemot Fast Double

Product Description

The Guillemot Fast Double is a tandem kayak based on the Guillemot Expedition Single, stretched to make a fast, fun boat for two paddlers. This is not intended as a racing boat, it is a high performance touring kayak suitable for intermediate to skilled paddlers. Beginners looking for a double should look at the Guillemot Double.

This is a boat for a pair of experienced paddlers who want to paddle together but don't want the compromises of a shorter and wider double. It gains enough stability from its length to compensate for its narrow beam.

It is a little hard to get on and off the car, but once in the water it moves easily and really is fast. Its length means it is not a quick turner, but it is quick on the straight. It consistently does very well in races such as the Blackburn Challenge.

The two cockpits are far enough apart that the paddlers do not interfere with each other at all, even if they paddle at different cadences or if one paddler stops. The boat also rolls very easily.

The kit includes:

• Pre-cut forms and strongback
• A mixture of red cedar strips and paulownia strips with bead-and-cove joints
• Waterproof glue for the wooden strips
• Epoxy resin and activator
• Epoxy fillers
• Woven glass fabric
• Fabric covered foam seats and backbands
• Adjustable footbraces
• Foam knee pads
• Deck hold-down lines (bolt-on)
• Plans and building notes
• The Strip-Built Sea Kayak (book) by Nick Schade
• Free technical support from a competent builder

We supply roughly one-third red cedar strips and two-thirds Paulownia strips as standard but if you have a particular pattern in mind, we can provide a different ratio if you contact us before ordering. We can also supply yellow cedar strips.

What else do I need?

Plans (not required by kit purchasers)

The plans contain sufficient information to make it possible to build the boat from scratch rather than a kit. They include full size drawings for all the forms. We recommend Nick Schade's book, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, which covers the techniques that are used to build strip-planked kayaks.

Forms and Strongback

For those wanting to obtain the other materials needed to build the boat from other sources, this option contains the pre-cut forms and strongback and the necessary plans to build the boat. The wooden strips are not included (see below).

Wooden Strips

As well as the plans, forms and strongback, 540 m of bead-and-cove cedar strips and/or paulownia strips will be needed to build the Guillemot Fast Double from plans.

Compare this kayak with others.