Early sailors thought the Storm Petrel could walk on water. Named after Saint Peter, petrels are small birds that feed at sea by fluttering just above the swell with their feet tip-toeing across the water. Like its bird namesake, the Petrel kayak is at home at waters where it can dance among the waves. Designed as a responsive, lightweight kayak suitable for day trips in rough water, it is equally at home poking into sheltered estuaries or exploring the shores of isolated coves. This design will carry a large paddler through rough conditions yet it is small enough to be easily handled by petite kayakers. With a form inspired by the ancient Inuit inventors of kayaking, the Petrel will appeal to devoted Greenland-style paddlers without being intimidating to novice sea kayakers.This boat is derived from Nick Schade's Night Heron designs, but it is shorter, has more rocker, and more reserve buoyancy in the ends. The moderately hard chine of the strip-planked Night Heron has been softened forward of the cockpit and transitions into a hard chine behind the cockpit. The result is a lively boat that maneuvers easily and accelerates quickly to catch waves or carve down wave faces.The "transitioning" chine varies from a quite rounded, soft chine forward to a hard chine aft of the cockpit. The forward section provides smooth performance pushing out into waves and reduces the tendency to broach while surfing. The hard chine aft provides some shape that facilitates carving and leaned turns. The deck shape takes its cue from Greenlandic Inuit skin-on-frame designs with a sharp chine-like feature line on either side. This provides height where you need it for knee room, while keeping the deck low overall. The side of the deck slopes in quickly so it is out of the way for close-to-the-hull strokes.This design was developed to carry a 200-pound, six-foot-tall paddler on day trips, but it is small enough in volume that it would also work well for lighter paddlers. It is meant as a day tripping boat for larger paddlers, and would not have the capacity for extended trips, but if you are a smaller paddler there is enough interior volume to carry a fair amount of gear. Nick's book Building Strip Planked Boats contains very detailed instructions on building the Petrel and it is a must-have for anyone contemplating this build. It is included with the complete kit. Our strip-built and hybrid kits ship with 50% Western Red and 50% Alaskan Yellow cedar bead-and-cove strips. Photos on our website and printed materials may show patterns and accent strips with walnut or other materials. Optional walnut strips are available and can be shipped with kit orders. Do you fit in this kayak? Study our kayak fit chart.
