by Jim Kakuk and Nancy Soares
Nancy: It was a celebratory weekend. I drove down to Guerneville on Friday to help with the setup. Capt. Jim and his lovely gal Patti were having a party, and what a bash it was! Jim and Patti had recently returned from an epic trip to Oaxaca only to find the Russian River in flood phase. Although their home is on high ground and consequently unscathed the floodwaters made it impossible for them to get to the house and they had to stay one night with friends before taking the back roads in. Once reunited with their dwelling, they decided what was needed was a PAR-TAY! So in true Tsunami/Sonoma County fashion, they put together a Zapotec party, the Zapotecs being a major local Oaxacan tribe. Mezcal, the smoky Oaxacan answer to tequila, mole, two kinds of flan, tres leche, chile rellenos stuffed with chicken… it was fantastic.
But wait, there’s more! Capt. Jim has had a new kayak in the works for some time, and the pieces were coming together. The day after the party the plan was to take the new boat out on an inaugural paddle on Bodega Bay. The weather gods cooperated and it was a beautiful day. Having learned some self-restraint over the years, we weren’t too hung over and the water was flat as a board, so it was perfect. We hit Doran Beach before lunch and paddled out around the jetty to some little rock gardens below the bluffs.
Capt. Kuk: The spirit in the boat comes from the passion of the builder.
Small boat building predates written history. It is our connection to the sea and is an extension of the human experience. It also allows you to get to the best places on the water planet and is the purveyor of many adventures. A small boat can take you and your stuff to far away places. There are plenty of quotes about boats and the sea in literature and song. My favorite is “flotation is groovy” by Jimi Hendrix.
A boat builder is a multi-dimensional artist. From the aboriginal carving a dugout canoe to the traditional Greenland skin on frame, not much has changed even with computer-aided design and fiberglass-reinforced plastics. Designs keep evolving but small boats are still mostly done by hand and trued with the eye. Like chefs discussing a fine dinner menu I never get tired of talking about the subtleties of boat design. Some of the people I have worked with and learned from include Tsunami Rangers Glenn Gilchrist, John Dixon and Don Kiesling.
My first flotation experience was an inner tube “groove’n down the river”. My first boat building experience was a wood frame covered with thin plywood when I was in grade school. Since then I have spent about ten thousand hours (I am guessing) on shaping river and sea kayaks, way more time than I have spent paddling them. On a beautiful spring day the perfect place for me is in the shop tooling out a new boat design, shaping and molding curves that will meet the water with the least resistance, in the end producing something that is functional and pleasing to the eye and touch is very satisfying.
The hull displaces water by weight, the deck is effected by wind and waves, and ergonomics is the interaction with the paddler who also provides the horsepower. In my building experience I have had more failures than success. It takes at least three times to get it right and then more changes. The only limit to perfection is time.
My last quote is a perversion of a line from the Freak Brothers: “Designing boats will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of not designing boats”.
Nancy: We’re calling the new boat the X-Caliber. It’s a great Tsunami name, calling up the legend of King Arthur and Merlin (we’re all about myths and legends) and continuing the tradition of naming the boats after legendary aircraft but also suggesting a certain quality, or caliber of performance. The lineage for Capt. Jim’s Tsunami boats is as follows: X-1, X-15, X-2, X-O Crossover, X-3 Trident and now the X-C aka X-Caliber.
The X-15 is the boat most of the Rangers paddle on a regular basis, although we all mess around with other types of kayaks. The X-15 is a great all-around kayak: suitable for surfing and rock gardens but with enough space and speed for expeditions. I have an X-15, an X-O, and an X-3. The X-O is a little rock garden kayak that turns on a dime and is quite fast as little boats go. The X-3 is a design that could include 3 cockpits for 3 paddlers but mine is for two paddlers with space to load gear on top as well as inside for long expeditions. I’m proud to say that I’ve actually surfed the X-3 successfully and done some nice surf landings with it as well. The X-3 Trident was the boat I paddled in the Sea Gypsy Extreme Sea Kayak Race with a buddy. One of the coolest things about the X-3 is that you can pierce through a truly massive wave if necessary as long as you’ve got up speed.
The X-C is an ocean white water kayak. Capt. Jim built this model as a follow up to the X-15. It is both narrower and faster. Welcome to the Water World, little X-C!
Please note that all the earlier models are no longer built. Only the X-C is currently available for a limited time. For questions or comments, please click below. Thanks for reading about our boats!
What are the specs of the X-C? Recommended weight range? Load capacity?
Thanks
Hi Jim,
Once a year I do a 40-mile paddle, non-stop (except once, to retrieve new cold drinks out of the hatch). Over the years, I have used many different kayaks to accomplish this, but until last year, I had never used one of my X-15’s, figuring they were for rock-gardens and surfing, but not long enough for long trips. Well, last year, I gave it a shot for the first time, and it was fabulous, my easiest 40-mile trip ever…it took little effort to keep it cruising at 4.5 mph. And when I ran into rough stuff (I always do part of the trip on open water), what better boat to have? The only modification I did was to equip it with a high-back, very comfortable seat (my back is the weak link on a trip this long). Yesterday, I did my 40-mile trip for this year, and again, it was great. The X-15 is now my official kayak for this annual event of mine.
Wow, Tony, that is so great! I don’t know that anyone has ever paddled an X-15 so far! How long did it take you?
It’s good to know that the X-15 performs so well on distance runs compared with other kayaks. The prototype was designed by an actual naval architect (TR Glenn Gilchrist) to specifications supplied by Eric and Jim. They wanted an all-around boat that could get them to remote locations where they could live the Hedonistic Epicurean Libertine Lifestyle (aka HELL). This required an expedition quality kayak. But once at the destination, they wanted to unpack, explore, and go caving, surfing and rock gardening. Thus the X-1 was born, which eventually morphed into the X-15.
Thanks so much for your comment! Glad you’re out there doing the long hauls. Impressive!
Hi Nancy!
The time I was actually paddling was a bit under 10 hours (average speed 4.1 mph). But I only landed once, to get more cold drinks out of the front hatch, and this stop was only for a few minutes. All of my other “breaks” were on-the-water”, to drink or eat something stored in the small middle hatch…these breaks were for only for a minute or two. I like to allow 12 hours for this trip, but rarely need that long…the trip naturally lengthens with unexpected winds, or if a repair is needed on the run. Last year (my first year using the X-15) was my best time ever, paddling for 9.5 hours for an average speed of 4.5 mph. It’s an endurance thing, probably as much mental as physical. Except for the one landing, it is really out of necessity that it is non-stop…I do it at a time of the year when it’s not too hot so I don’t overheat, but this time of year has less daylight, so I can’t be taking long breaks. The first year I did this annual trip, it was a hot day in August, and I’ll never do that again…when I finished, I felt like I had the flu with alternating chills and hot bouts. Gladly, there was a frozen lemonade truck nearby, and after consuming their largest size, I was O.K.!
Mistake! Last year I was paddling for NINE hours (not 9.5) for an average speed of 4.5 mph
Tony,
Glad to hear that you are still using the X-15. It was designed as a sea kayak that had a river kayak hull for larger rivers and ocean slalom rock gardening. Also carries gear for extended trips. The low back is for laying back when rolling, on long paddles I will sometimes use a foam pad for support.
Hi Jim,
I’ve never used a foam pad for support, but I usually use a small back band that I install on the X-15 and X-2 (age-related, I guess…it’s just more comfortable, and I need the support, and the back band is such that it doesn’t prevent me from being able to lie down on the back deck.). But for this 40-mile trip, I install a very-high back sit-on-top seat that I compare to a living room chair…wonderful support, which I need for such a long trip, since my back seems to be the weak link.
I have an X 1 I’ve been enjoying for 10 years now. Bought it on Long Island on Craig’s list. Would love to know more about the history of it
Hey there, good to hear from you! Just out of curiosity, who’d you buy it from?
The X-1 was designed by naval architect TR Glenn Gilchrist (reference the above comments). I would have to confirm this with TR Captain Jim Kakuk, the boat builder, but I imagine the X-1 was really a play boat for surf and rock gardens. When the Rangers wanted a kayak for distance, they developed the X-15 which is what most of us now paddle. I will let Jim know you’re interested in the history and see if I can put you in touch for more info.
Thanks for reading and thanks for your comment!
Tony,
The X-1 was first built in 1984. It was intended as a sea kayak crossover design that had river slalom characteristics built into the hull for maneuvering in rock gardens and surf. This evolved into the X-15 which was shorter with a slightly wider beam and larger hatches for bulky gear.