People come in all shapes and sizes and physical abilities. Just because someone isn’t young and a training athlete doesn’t mean they should not be able to enjoy the outdoors. Getting outdoors is the best way become more fit and able and in today’s world, is one of the few safe havens left.
There are several factors that prevent many people wanting to enjoy kayaking from being comfortable actually doing it.
- Most Kayaks are super heavy and difficult to load, unload, and get to and from the water. Trailers and boat ramps have become necessary to go kayaking due to the extreme weight of today’s fishing kayaks in particular.
- Ease of getting into and out of kayaks- Getting from the shore onto, or into a kayak without tipping it over is easier said than done if your knees are not flexible, and you can’t balance and do low squats easily. It is a challenge, embarrassing, and not very feasible for many people to even try to get into most boats without help.
- Stability when on the water- The lightweight kayaks available on the market are too tippy for anyone who doesn’t have enough physical prowess. Boats that are not providing confidence to those carrying extra weight, or are older or less athletic are a deterrent.
Here is how we solved these challenges to provide a base of people that was aging out of kayaking, or never was comfortable with it in the first place, a boat to get them on the water.
Creating an ultra- lightweight kayak:
We decided to utilize the most advanced materials and processes to manufacturer our kayaks as lightweight as humanly possible. We use a combination of carbon fiber, innegra, foam core, infused with high impact epoxy, with one of the top advanced composites gurus in the world in charge of producing them.
Designing a boat that is easy to get into and out of
Starting with a super stable and flat hull, we need our kayak to be stable when touching or on the ground or in the water. Most kayaks have a keel that engages the ground that makes it wobbly when on the showroom floor or at the waters edge if not positioned properly. The flat, planing hull at 36” wide provides more stability than the widest fishing kayaks at 38” wide.
Our swivel seat is a major improvement in the ease of loading into and out of the kayak. With the kayak parallel to the shore, you can swivel the seat, turn and sit easily, and then swing your legs into the kayak and push off. The elevated sides of the seat provide an easy place to place your hands and lower yourself into the seat even if you are not strong or flexible. Getting out of the kayak is the same process. Pull to shore, swivel your legs out and step off onto the shore. Because your feet go below the hull of the kayak to the ground, standing up is much easier from that position then standing up once in the kayak. This is a major breakthrough for older, heavier, and less flexible paddlers.
Stability on the water
The maximum width of a kayak is important, however, it isn’t the only factor that determines stability. How can the Apex Watercraft Tyr be more stable than a Big Rig at 38” wide? The width is carried over a longer distance, and the width of the hull itself is wider from chine to chine providing a lower draft into the water and more stability for confident paddling. Standing up in the Apex Tyr is much easier than you would imagine. This particular SUP style hull is a well proven for stand up paddling and is exactly what this kayak needed to achieve the goal of being able to focus on the fishing not on being stable.
To finish this kayak off we kept it as simple as possible and used elegant sweeping lines that have purpose as well as aesthetics.
The side view is a “double S” shape that allows the bow to pierce waves cleanly and the water to shed off of it before it gets into the cockpit. The gunnels have a low point where your hands are for forward paddling and landing fish as well. The open stern allows water to run straight out the back if you are in serious chop or waves. Magnets provide a way to keep your tools, hooks, etc.. locked in place and out of the way.
The Apex Watercraft Tyr will help many people who were unable to kayak before, get on the water and having fun, getting fit, and catching fish.
If you know somebody who could benefit from it, please share our website with them to check out!
🙂
EJ