Dances With Waves
A strip-built Night Heron from Guillemot Kayaks

		Overall view. Woods are Alaskan Yellow Cedar on the cheater strips in the sides. All the rest is Western Red Cedar. Much of the deck is made of leftover paddle material.
Credit goes to Sasha Van Roy for graciously allowing me to use her artwork again. Sasha likes to draw women's faces, and I've always thought of boats as 'She', so it seems fitting. On the Walrus, I used a scroll saw to put the pattern in. Here, I've used a burning pen. This duplicates the artwork a lot better. This is Wave Woman. She Dances with Waves. Many thanks once again, Sasha.
		Fitting out is very straightforward, and very comfortable. The Skwoosh pad gets top ratings for tail comfort.
Credit also goes to Nick Schade, for such a wonderful design.
		I've made carry handles into the stems. If I decide later that I'd like to add toggles for the surf, I'll make them removable.
Launch Day in Silverton. Champagne and sunshine.
		After the christening, ready for the water.
Static Brace. Much easier than in the Walrus.
		The Heron passes the trial run.

My first impression of the Night Heron was that she tracks better than I expected. And then I found that I can turn her quickly on a dime without edging at all - using sweep strokes only. And that she responds crisply to a bow rudder - much more maneuverable than I am accustomed to. And yet she stays on track when I point, in all wind angles. The design is a fascinating blend of good tracking and crisp maneuverability. This is a boat Ill be paddling for a long time. And rolls, and static braces, so very much easier than any other boat I have used. No hard spot - smooth all the way around. As if it has no secondary stability - yet it feels stable while paddling. My lasting impressions of the boat have only improved. She is very predictable - goes straight when I want her to, goes fast when I want. In the surf, the low volume does tend to bury her nose a little, but does not dig in and dive. Very predictable.

All images and text are copyright by Don Beale unless otherwise noted and may not be used without the prior written approval of the copyright holder.