17' Fire Star Cedar Strip Kayak Kit
The Following courtesy of Rob Macks, Designer,
Fire Star© is a smaller version of my very popular North Star design.
Fire Star is 17 feet long and 21 inches wide. Finished weight approximately. 35 lbs.
It shares all the great features and speed of the North Star in a smaller size suited to the paddler in the 120 to 220 pound weight range
The unique features of the baidarka are: The split or bifurcated bow. The lower half is a cutwater, parting the waves for a smooth flow of water over the hull. This lower vertical edge also improves tracking as it slices into waves keeping the bow from being deflected by winds. The upper half of the bow flares outward. Waves hitting this surface create lift and coupled with the great volume of the forward hull, lift the kayak over waves. The bow makes a smooth transition into a highly rocker keel accounting for 1/3 of the fore hull. This rocker coupled with the design of the bow make the baidarka style an incredibly great kayak for surfing waves.
The volume of the stern is carried backward and is truncated, then sweeps into a fixed rudder. The rudder makes tracking excellent. The swept sides of the rudder create a surface that is an asset in surfing. One of the hardest parts of surfing is catching the wave. The surfaces of the rudder get a push from braking waves to help you catch the wave.
As a kayaker paddles faster hulls with a fine or pointed stern will squat in the depression created by the stern waves. The high volume of the baidarka style stern, keeps it high in the water increasing speed . Also this truncated stern sends hull waves farther back as speed increases, forcing the waves to act as they would on a boat with a longer water line, increasing speed.
The baidarka hull is "fish form" (the widest part of the hull is forward of center) said to be the most efficient design for speed. Fire Star has moderate primary stability. The high volume of the hull produces incredibly high secondary stability. The features of the bow and stern combine with the shape of the hull, to produce very fast (easy to paddle) kayak, designed to handle rough seas with ease. The Fire Star has high volume making this an outstanding kayak with roomy cockpit and storage capacity for extended camping trips.
The difference between the Fire Star and the Shooting Star is that the Fire Star is a reduced scale North Star, so it has a fairly high volume, where the Shooting Star is not a reduced scale North star but a different hull with lower volume.
So if you are 150 to 220 pounds the Fire Star will give you leg room and storage for week- trips.
If you are 100 to 200 pounds the Shooting Star will be a good all round kayak for someone at the lower weight range or a good day boat for someone at the the higher end of that weight range.
Design Specs:
Length: 17’
Beam: 21”
Hull Weight: 35 lbs
Max Payload: 275 lbs
Paddler Weight: 120 - 220 lbs