Celeste Sea Kayak.

Designed, built and reviewed by Renton Hunger

The Choice.

It all started at a time when I was considering getting a sea kayak. Various visits to shops and inspections of hose kayaks available did not produce quite what I was looking for. I also had some interest in building my own kayak, and so inspections were made of plans available on the internet, but these also were not quite right for me. The strip plank method of construction did appeal however.

A visit to some friends, who were also looking for good fast kayaks for paddling at sea, resulted some further discussion, and the result was design for the Celeste.

Our requirements were:-

Sea Kayak A good fast seaworthy sea kayak
Classic Lines Good looking with smooth lines for easy laying of the strips
Speed Long waterline length to be close to the overall length of the kayak Length 5.8 metres
Narrow beam ( not too much ) Beam 54cm. Stability to be considered as well. Not too much rocker ( But enough ) Considerations here were:- flat for speed, rocker for lift in waves & manoeuverability
Speed achieved > 10km/hr
Stability Achieved by beam and hull cross sections
Comfort Comfortable seat & plenty of room for legs
Manoeuvrability Hull shape. Rocker, & adequate rudder.
Steering Our choice was a tiller bar system which gives stable positioning of the rudder. Particularly in cross winds.
Dryness Good lift & buoyancy in the bow section. Volume above the waterline for lift when burying in a wave.
Volume To allow plenty of room for gear
Deck shape Round deck with steep sides to shed water easily from the deck. Also enables good paddling technique.
Cockpit Recessed. No water splashing off coaming.
Hatches To continue the smooth lines of the kayak - i.e to be part of the deck. For looks and good water flow.

With the knowledge of kayak shapes over many years, I built up the design of the Celeste.
As our intention was to build at least four kayaks, we proceeded first to build a plug, to ensure that what we would be building would be a nice looking kayak. With the plug we would not have to set up the frames after each kayak.

Construction with the cedar strips proved an easy method of construction, and with a variety of colours of cedar, I was able to incorporate some patterns in the deck.

Launching
At the launch we found that all the above requirements were achieved, with the added bonus of considerable turning ability even considering it's length.

First Major outing
Test run for the Coromandel to Auckland section of Mizone endurance race

Newsletter #12
We paddled (I mean that in the royal “we”) from Coromandel town to Waiheke Island and on to Mission Bay in Auckland.

8 hours – 2 metre breaking waves – dolphins – sea sickness – THE WORKS! The word on the street is wood is the new wonder material for kayaks. Forget the JKK supernova, Kevin Mallon had a carved out tree for a sea kayak. What a work of art. Beautifully made, fast and stable, proving that carbon and Kevlar, much like computers, are a fad who’s time is limited.

Phone call from another participant - - The roughest conditions I have ever been in. You are to be congratulated on your kayak

Comments

- A delight to paddle.

Comments from experienced paddlers :

- It does everything I told it to.
- It runs well
- Nice boat - Quick too.
- It doesn't hit the wall - paddle faster it goes faster.
- I've done a few miles now - I like it better each time I paddle it.
Good in the rough too.

Performance Results

We have participated in several sea & multisport kayak races and in all have found the Celeste is competitive with the other fast sea kayaks and equal to many multisport kayaks.

Cambridge to Hamilton Race ( Sea kayak section )
2nd place ( by 3 seconds ) & 6th out of 35
Coromandel Classic Multisport Event Kayak section
In among the multisport kayaks.

More information on the Celeste can be found here

If you have any questions about this design e-mail Renton here:- Renton Hunger