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Naming it a "first" impression is kind of exaggerated as this kayak is designed (by Derek Hutchinson) somewhere between 1986 and 1990. So this kayak is a real classic.
Derek designed it especially for the Norwegian market because the Norwegians were fond of the Icefloe but did not like her behaviour in wind. So they demanded Derek to use the body of the Icefloe, but without the integral skeg, giving her an upswept stern and equiped with a variable skeg.
Willem Molengraaff who bought one of these Fjords shortly after the Fjord entered the market, made by Harrie Tieken, mentioned to me that he asked Derek once for his opinion about the Fjord. It was clear that Derek did not like this kayak, but Willem got the impression this was the result of being forced to alter a favourite design.
However Willem used the Fjord for years and was very happy with it. As Willem does not use it anymore I may use her now.

As some of the readers might know, I have a few other kayaks and after subscribing for a trip, next september, to Anglesey with the kayakclub, I was wondering which kayak to bring along.
Looking to my fleet I choose the Fjord because she is very strong built (which is a plus for the rocky coast over there) and she has a lot of volume (which might be of use in rough conditions).
About her characteristics I can not say I have any experience with her apart from paddling the Weser with her once, but it seems a challenge to take her along.

It seems wise to me to start now with tailorfitting the kayak and getting used to her.
So last saterday I spent a midday adding foam for hips, feet, knees and thighs.
Just in time as I joined the next day a trip around Noorderhaaks: a trip in an area with sandbanks, and fast tidal streams.
The first 5 minutes were kind of disappointing as the knee grips, I glued in with montagekit, came loose the moment I applied some force. Using this kit was an experiment (it is so easy to work with): It´s clear I will reject this for future use and I will "stick" to the "2 component epoxy glue" from now on.

Now to business: As I will use the Fjord the next month more often it seems logical to me, always describing kayaks' behaviour, to write a testreport on the Umnak Icefloe Fjord.
First I will collect and describe my experiences of each trip with her. Afterwards I will shape these notes into one final, report.




Last sunday, 4th of august, I went with 4 fellow clubmates to huisduinen for a trip around Noorderhaaks.
Circumstances were a SW wind of 4 Bft, later increasing to almost 6Bft. Temperature of air and sea about 20°C.

The wave conditions we met, were:

• A disdurbed sea with waves up to 1-1,5m, on the first crossing of the Breewijd.
  
• Having reached the Noorderhaaks we choose a corridor between an outer bank with much surf and the sandbank. Inside the corridor we discovered a tidal rapid with waves up to 1,5m and could not resist to play in it. It´s a fine experience to surf against the tidal stream and in fact moving into it.
  
• Rounding the north corner we met a disturbed area with waves from several directions zipping into each other.
  
• Last but not least, crossing the Breewijd, back to huisduinen, we got a heavy rainshower carrying a lot of wind. As the tidal stream was opposite the winddirection, this is a fine recipe for big, steep waves. And big they were: In the middle of the Breewijd, the waves were 2m on average, but on a certain moment I dropped into a real hole, a very deep, steep trough wherein, once on the bottom, I faced a wall of water towering approximately 4 meters over me.
  A sailingyacht, approaching us on about 100m, was completely hidden for me. Not the tiniest part of the masttop was visible anymore.

Well these are fine conditions to get used to a "new" (for me) seakayak. Aren't they?

Underneath I will summarise my thougths about the Fjord.
Starting at the stability. As the Fjord is quite big, tailorfitting is a must for me because I am not that big nor heavy myself. As my kneegrips were not available anymore as I described above, I did not feel too happy on the first crossing. The lack of it make it less easy to control the kayak for 100%; nevertheless the stability of this kayak is so outstanding that I never had an instable experience.
Also the waves, which I encountered the rest of the day, did not change my conclusion that the stability is perfect.

About her behaviour in wind it is very clear that the Fjord weathercocks more than avarage and she really needs her variable skeg, she is equiped with standardly. When using the skeg the Fjord can be trimmed perfectly. You have to stay alert though because the Fjord needs to be fine-tuned often; she reacts to every change in windforce or direction and you have to carry out slight readjustments. I can live with that though; you must however take care not to damage the skeg or get it blocked because than you will have to work hard if the seaconditions are demanding.

Watching the Fjord riding waves I am confident she has a dry ride gliding easily over them.
Today I just had the feeling that the Fjord reacted a little bit nervous on a disturbed sea. This can not be a final conclusion as the contact with my knees, hips and thighs was not optimal. When I just slipped in a few pieces of foam during the crossing, I noticed a remarkable improvement on this. So I will just have to wait with my conclusion until the tailorfitting of the cockpit is finished. But I am confident it will be fine. Keep you informed later.

Surfing waves was promising when applying full skeg dropping it completely. I would like a bit more control but I will judge this later after having finished the cockpit improvements.

The manoeuvrability is pretty good on flat water. When I had to make a quick turn at the moment one of my companions exited the kayak and I started an X-rescue, it took more time to turn then expected. But this is also an issue that will improve once I have proper knee-contact.

Giving a temporarily conclusion for the moment would be that, given the sea- and weather conditions, I am impressed with the ease I paddled this kayak with a non-optimal fit while never having any stabilityproblems. It seems she has a high safetymargin. Unless: the skeg is working properly!

So this is it for the moment. As I did not perform any rolling or other techniques, just awaiting the tailorfitting, I will describe more about the Fjord later on this website. You are welcome to return whenever you like.

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5 Comments

by hans @ 18 Aug 2008 10:14 pm

Hi René,
Enjoyed reading your impressions. Sounds like a great circumnavigation of Noorderhaaks - and a good preparation for Anglesey. That's going to be a classic seakayakadventure with the legendary Icefloe/Fjord!
greetings,
Hans

by Arnold @ 05 Sep 2008 09:19 pm

Hello Rene,
One small remark. You misspelled the name of this seakayak legend: it's Derek Hutchinson.http://dashpointpirate.typepad.com/the_dash_point_pirate_woo/2007/10/a-conversation-.html?cid=85882164#comment-85
882164

Best regards,
Arnold

by Rene @ 06 Sep 2008 09:11 pm

Thx Arnold,
I corrected it immediately.
Regards
René

by J M Dewey @ 17 Sep 2009 05:33 am

I have another Derek Hutchinson designed kayak called the Reiver, built in Florida, by Southern Exposure. It has the integral skeg feature, but no skeg. It has a very strong tendency to weathercock. I figured it was because the boat was meant for expeditions and did not handle well empty because it was not meant to. A solution I came up with was duct taping three steel pins about together, about 5 x 25 cm each, wrapping them in rubberized fabric, and adding more tape. I got a full piece of the gray foam that is used for making inside the cockpit padding, and fut it to fit inside the boat to the aft of the rear hatch. I then cut a notch in the bottom of it to accommodate the three pins. I would hold the top edge of the foam piece where it belonged, and held the bottom edge forward of its intended final resting place. I would slide the pins along the floor, and back and under the foam until the foam was centered on the pins. Then I would push the foam with the pins until the foam ended up perpendicular. The foam is pretty thick, so once it is in place and tight, it will not move, even when the boat is set on end. The rubberized stuff that you can get at a marine supply store to keep stuff from sliding on shelves, sticks to the bottom of the boat and it is all you can do to get it out when you are ready to go home.
The point is, to find out how your boat will behave in an expedition situation you have to seriously weight it down, What I found out is this boat that weathercocks like crazy, empty, is very neutral when heavily loaded in the rear.

by steve @ 07 Oct 2009 04:27 pm

I came across an Icefloe Fiord for sale in Marine Bazaar, Plymouth UK. At £700 it's a bit "over the top". I enjoyed reading the review though, and if it were a bit cheaper...