The Maiden Voyage of the Arctic Tern

On what was quite possibly the coldest day of the year, I finally launched the Artic Tern for her maiden voyage. The Arctic Tern is a sea kayak project 1 1/2 years in the making. I started building her in May of 2004 and got about 90% of her done in about 3 months. Due to many factors, mostly laziness, I hadn't done much to move it along until after Christmas. Anyway, I've finally completed the hatch project (well, completed enough to paddle anyway) the other night and hadn't yet had time to get out. So, before the sun went down and the wind picked up too much, I threw on the paddling jacket and PFD, got the boat out of the workshop/kids play room, and headed down to the dock. With little fanfare, I put the boat in the water and was only a little surprised to see that it actually floats. I climbed in, pushed off and took a few strokes with the paddle, headed in to a chilly North wind. She tracks nicely into the wind and has a great glide--especially in contrast to the Perception 3D (my whitewater kayak) that I use for surfing and river trips. She's also much lighter than my 16 foot Royalex Mad River Canoe. I know it’s not fair to compare the Tern with a river boat, but I spend a lot of time in the 3D, so it’s my own point of reference. Since I'm used to spinning the 3D around pretty easy, the Tern took a little bit more to turn, but with a solid lean to the outside and a nice little sweep stroke, she comes about nicely. Some would say to add a rudder, but I want to keep it simple and I think I’ll become a better paddler for not having one. She ran pretty straight down wind too, but the waves weren't big enough to see how she'll handle a following swell. The lake water is freezing--literally--and I lent Ed my sprayskirt, so I didn't attempt a roll. I'll wait until I spend some more time in the boat and I'm in warmer water.

All-in-all, I love this boat and look forward to taking her for a weekend kayak camping trip once the weather gets a little nicer. Sometimes I wish I had decided to build the 17 foot version instead of the 14 footer, but realistically, the 14 will suit my current needs (mostly day trips and the occasional weekender) a little better.

After a few trips up and down the lake, I headed back in as it was getting dark. I lifted her out of the water with one hand (she only weighs about 30 LBS), and set her on the dock. I took a few steps back and finally got a look at her in her natural state. In that setting, I couldn't help but admire her lines. And, there's nothing so beautiful as the bright shiny expanse of wood that makes up this boat. I have a lot to do to outfit her, but she's finally a boat. I’m going to paddle her for a couple weeks, then take her down to my friend Steve’s shop and varnish her in his paint booth. I have a few paddles that I want to make, a few home improvement projects, then it’s on to the next boat—a wood strip solo canoe. Let’s hope it’s not another year and a half in the making.