Eliza
Published September 10, 2009 | 
i hope that everybody can find a little flame
me, i say my prayers
then i just light myself on fire
and i walk out on the wire once again
- county crows
“The truth is that longer boats offer little to no advantage at touring speeds, which for the vast majority of sea touring kayakers, rarely exceed 4 knots. In fact drag data among many kayak models illustrates that shorter boats often have less drag at these speeds. Add to this the effect of wind and waves and a small paddler can find themselves struggling with a kayak that is just too much for them to handle. Where’s the fun in that?” – notes from Necky Eliza designer. Read More Here. Thoughts?
Related Posts:
6 Responses to Eliza
I remember organizing a session with a dealer where we put a bunch of boats in the water for potential purchasers to compare. In the “cheaper North American plastic boats” category the Eliza was the only one which had a surprisingly pleasant hull to paddle. Not a bad hull at all. The other ones were rather sluggish / bland. In the end the clients bought 3 plastic Avocets though. Stronger and better construction, and even nicer behavior on the water.
This quote made me smile in the Necky piece: “The stability will reassure the novice, and as skills progress paddlers will appreciate the maneuverability on edge”. This phrase is found in one shape or another in almost all the brochures for “wide distribution” kayaks these days – true edging, marketing-wise…”
For anyone who has tried and liked the Eliza, I’d recommend trying the Zephyr 15.5 by Wilderness Systems – for smaller/lighter people, especially if you tend to be a little shorter in the torso/longer leg, it’s a nice quick responsive boat. And the seat beats the h*** out of the Necky product
I’m not an expert on the subject of kayak design Derrick, but as soon as I read “The truth is that longer boats offer little to no advantage at touring speeds” I felt very skeptical. Seems like clever marketing to me. It’s a phrase that would appeal to a person new to kayaking who is looking for affirmation in choosing a cheaper, shorter plastic boat. It seems if there was “little or no advantage”, longer boats would eventually be extinct.
I’m always skeptical of any commentary meant for consumer consumption.. on the other hand in a male dominated sport I’m sure there will always be a market for bigger and longer no matter the actual advantage.
Behind that rather bawdy remark there is a bit of seriousness there too. To sell products companies are always pushed to sell more than is required. I mean honestly, how many kayakers NEED 17+ ft. expedition kayaks..
Two Words: Mariner Coaster
Isn’t this the same marketing they used to sell the Coaster?
From a KAPER resistance standpoint, the marketers are probably correct. Most of the time at speeds under 4 knots, shorter touring kayaks are more efficient than longer touring kayaks. Usually by 4.5 knots, this advantage is gone or has flipped to the longer kayak.
I found the Eliza to be one of the most efficent boats that I have test paddled at between 3.5 and 4.5 knots. Traditionally, in Greenland, skin boats are custom made for each paddler, and the rule of thumb is that the boat length is three times the height of the paddler. For a smaller paddler of 5′ to 5’3″, this ideal length would be 15′ to 15’9″. I have read on several kayak design web sites that the most efficient kayak length at moderate touring speeds is about 15 feet. Longer kayaks have their uses for extended touring, but I prefer to paddle shorter, narrow, more-efficent boats in most situations.