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Lapstrake Open Canoes No longer in production
Our Lapstrake canoes are made with overlapping elite marine ply planking, providing strength and rigidity which is further increased though the use of epoxy resin fillets along all seams and a fibreglass cloth layer on the hull bottom. The result is a beautiful lightweight boat.
As a standard build in 5mm marine ply the Kestrel is lightweight, particularly suitable for situations where solo portaging is required either on a trip or from the car to the water, as it is easy to carry solo using the central yoke. As an alternative 4mm ply can be used to reduce the over all weight, but with associated reduction in the boats over all strength.
Key Features
Kestrel 16 (15ft 7 in)
With its shallow ‘V’ shaped hull and lateral strakes this boat provides excellent tracking. Coupled with a slight rocker and low stem profiles it also displays reliable manoeuvrability making it an excellent general purpose boat, both for solo and tandem paddling.
The Kestrel is lightweight making it easy to portage solo using the central yoke thwart.
The shape has been modified to improve the bow profile to increase maneuverability reducing the over all length to 4.8m.
General Statistics:
- Total length: 4.8m / 15ft 7in
- Beam at Yoke: 90cm / 35in
- Depth at Yoke: 35cm / 14in
- Total weight built with Ash fittings: 32kg / 70.5 lbs.
Ketrel 14
The Kestrel 14 is an outstanding solo boat. Its shallow ‘V’ shaped hull and lateral strakes provide excellent tracking character. Coupled with a slight rocker and low stem profiles it also displays reliable manoeuvrability making it an excellent general purpose boat for the solo paddler.
Materials:
Timber: 5mm Lloyds registered elite marine plywood planking. Gunnels, decks and seats are usually American white ash or mahogany. Decks and carry handles can be a range of other hardwoods depending on availability and customer choice.
Fixings: All screws are stainless steel and are used in gunnels and deck fitting. Other fastenings are either brass or bronze. The boats are fitted with bow and stern brass stem bands.
Hull: The exterior lower hull is covered in epoxy resin and fibreglass cloth. The outer surface is then painted with high quality marine gloss, the colour choice only limited by the TEMAC or International colour ranges. The inner lower strakes are covered with fibreglass and the entire inner surface is coated in clear special coating epoxy resin to provide a clear view of the timber whilst having a semi-filled cloth finish to provide maximum grip. All bare wooden surfaces are treated with Deks Olje saturator.
Seats: As standard, seats are woven webbing. For an additional cost they can be hand woven synthetic cane (£75 per seat).
Tender Lines: The boats come with bow and stern tender lines of floating rope.
Reviews:
- The canoe is simply wonderful and as you would’ve seen on the SotP [Song of the Paddle] blogg, we
had a great time. Alan’s pictures are superb and I’m flattered you’re using them – I’ve got one as my desktop background. I will post a review both on SotP and your site with pictures. You deserve all the publicity you can get for your wonderful canoes. - She is an absolute beauty and we have been out in her most weekends since she arrived. She gets many favourable looks and we have found we regularly have to stop to talk to interested people on the banks and on the water about her. I would have no reservations at all in recommending valkyriecraft or to act as a reference should you need it! The paddles and the canoe are without a doubt of the finest quality, they are a joy to use.
- (Kestrel 14) Kestrel has landed. Delivered safe and sound and straight out onto the canal. It’s a dream. Holds her line without effort, turns beautifully when healed over and she’s no effort to get on and off the water and onto the car. Brilliant.
- After hunting around for awhile looking for a reasonabley priced canoe, we came across valkyriecraft.com. John was incredibly helpful and after we discussed what our exact requirements were, we quickly agreed to purchase a 16″ Kestrel, finished in ash. The boat has been fantastic in every way, it handles brilliantly in the water and its light weight makes it easy to carry out of the water. Every time it goes out, we get allot of attention from people who have been admiring the canoe and want to know everything about it. When we tell them what it cost us to buy, they can’t believe it. My only regret is that we didn’t find Valkyrie Craft sooner.
- (Kestrel 14) This is the perfect boat for me. I still can’t get over how light it is. John recommended it to me on my budget as a beautiful boat easily managed by a solo canoeist. I had to sell my old town because it had just got too much for me to lug around and my paddling had all but stopped but I’ve been out constantly since I picked it up. My only complaint is how long I spend talking to people admiring it on the river bank.