The Shrike kayaks

Inspired by the kayaks of west Greenland. The kayak designs are derived from the kayaks of West Greenland, and, in particular, the Disko Bay kayak preserved in the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa. We offer free plans and Build Manuals to enable you to build lightweight kayaks to suit your weight, size, preferred cockpit shape and height of decks.  Visit the Photo Gallery to see some of the kayaks completed world-wide. Look at the four versions below to see some of your options when planning your ideal kayak. We hope you enjoy and share our passion for these beautiful kayaks.

Shrike (Keyhole cockpit)

The hull lines are traditional West Greenland. These classic and beautiful lines, the result of centuries of development, produce a hull that is maneuverable, and suited to rough water. The Greenland hull is here combined with the best of modern sea kayak construction developments, e.g. bulkheads, hatches, skeg, and a keyhole cockpit. Paddlers have differing requirements for the length and beam of a sea kayak, and for the shape, size and height of the cockpit. The Shrike plans can be printed at various scalings to permit these dimensions to be varied. For example, a 90% scaled Shrike is illustrated in the Build Gallery. See Shrike Too below for an ocean cockpit and a forehatch. Plans may be downloaded at no cost and printed locally, or by commercial printers, some of which are listed later.

Dimensions

Shrike-Too (Ocean Cockpit)

The Shrike Too is a derivation of the original Shrike design. Developed by Christopher. It replaces the original higher foredeck with a lower profile deck, the keyhole cockpit was replaced with an ocean style cockpit and a hatch was added to the fore deck. The kayak was developed to fit two functions, the first was to act as a good Greenland rolling training kayak, and the second was to be a weekend tripping kayak. The deck-lines and cockpit style change harkens back to the original Disko Bay qajaq which had a near circular cockpit. The Ocean style of cockpit puts the paddler’s thighs under the masik and provides continuous contact points between the paddler and the kayak, which is very helpful when rolling. The disadvantage is obviously a reduction in the ease of entry and exit from the kayak. By reducing the foredeck height the tortured ply foredeck buckles closer to the cockpit, and this allows a far greater area of the foredeck to be flat than was possible in the original Shrike design. The extended flat area provides ample space to include a very usable foredeck hatch which makes the kayak more practical for loading and unloading camping gear etc. The Shrike Too maintains the original Shrike’s aft deck height (9″) to facilitate the carrying of equipment. The Shrike Too is built using the same hull panels and bulkheads as the Shrike. The variations come in the positioning and shape of the masik, the shape of the top of the forward bulkhead and the shape of the cockpit. These variations are now included as options in the Shrike template plans. The plans, build manual and modifications for Shrike Too can be downloaded here .

Dimensions

Shrike-R (Rolling Hybrid)

The Shrike-R (AKA Shriker or Rotator) is a further development by Christopher from the Shrike Too design. It has two significant enhancements: a substantially lowered deck level (60mm lower than the original Shrike design) and a wider cockpit. Both changes enhance the ease of rolling. The wider cockpit enables the center of gravity of the paddler’s body to be lower during rolls and the lower deck facilitates layback recoveries. This kayak was developed specifically for rolling training and competition and is impractical as a tripping kayak due to its low deck level. With 190lb load it floats with 20mm of freeboard behind the paddler. Due to the reduction in topside height, the length of the kayak is reduced from the original design. However, the underwater shape is identical and so the water line length remains the same, as does the rocker. This results in the kayak performing similarly to the original Shrike and Shrike Too, with the exception of the lower back deck making the kayak more affected by waves on the stern quarters, which tend to grab hold of the kayak due to the lower edge of the gunwale. This can make this a more challenging and lively kayak in big waters. When Christopher constructed this version he did so without hatches or a skeg as this kayak is just for rolling training. Hatches and a skeg could be added if desired. However the extremely low back deck would make it a challenge to fit a large skeg so it would be necessary to scale down the skeg design in the plans.

Dimensions

The Shrike-R is an amazing rolling machine. Due to the low foredeck, wide cockpit and low back deck the kayak feels as if it finishes the rolls for you. She balance braces like a dream with enough stability to read a newspaper if you wanted to. Her ultra-lightweight hull provides little or no resistance to rotation, making rolls effortless. The Shrike-R is built using a variant of the Shrike Too hull panels and bulkheads. The variations come in the height of the topsides and bulkheads, and the shape of the cockpit. These variations are now included as options in the Shrike template plans. The plans, build manual and modifications for Shrike-R can be downloaded here .

Shrike-LV (Low Volume)

The Shrike-LV is a 90% version of the original Shrike design. Designed for lighter paddlers in the 140lb range. The dimensions were calculated by applying a 90% factor to all the standard Shrike dimensions, with the cockpit slightly lengthened beyond 90% at the owner’s request. The % factor is obtained from the graph shown in the build manual. The paper plans were printed to 90% scale, and used throughout the construction.

Dimensions

The LV is a blast to paddle. Her ultra-light weight and rockered keel make her ultra-reponsive to every movement of paddle and paddler. Both these features could lead to excessive weather-cocking, the bane of many kayak designs. However, throughout the Shrike model range, the high aspect ratio skeg is more than adequate to deal with any weather-cocking we have experienced. The highest wind speed during testing has been 20 mph on the beam. About one third skeg kept the kayak on the desired course. Occasionally, when a stronger gust came from slightly forward, the tops of the waves were blown across the foredeck, and it was uncanny to watch the behaviour of the kayak. The bow would blow downwind for a few inches, and then come back onto course. Very reassuring. The natural edging angle for sharp turns is when the water level is just at the top of the gunwale, and then you can truly make the LV perform. Build the the LV to enjoy the paddling, not as a fishing platform! It is important to understand that you can choose to vary the basic Shrike design to accord with your own preferences for length, cockpit design and size and knee height, freeboard etc. This can be achieved by varying the % output of the plotter to suit your planned total load, as desribed in the FAQ section at question 1. We are not just planning to offer the four current examples of the full-size Shrike, Shrike Too, Rotator Shrike and Shrike LV (Low Volume). We are offering a design system where you can build your ideal bespoke lightweight kayak, if the current four models don’t exactly suit you. The Shrike-LV is built using the same hull panels and bulkheads as the Shrike. The size reduction comes by plotting the plan templates at 90% scale. The Shrike plans, build manual and modifications for Shrike-LV can be downloaded here.