Product review of the Peter Lynn Kite Boat
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Peter has truly outdone himself this time. I had the pleasure of using the new kite boat recently for several hours. Wind speeds were variable light to high, which didn't seem to matter to the boat. Even in very low winds I was able to go upwind very well. In fact the upwind capabilities are startling. This is more like a kite buggy than a watercraft.The boat is 2m wide by 4m long in a catamaran style with high volume hulls. Made in a two-part mold, the hulls are glued and fiberglased together, then painted. While still having a bit of a one off look to the boat we saw, its overall finish is good, particularly the metal work. The super structure if you will, is all stainless. The boat steers via four counter-rotating skegs or rudders, these, also made of stainless, protrude under the flat-bottomed vessel by about 21cm.
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The boat is designed to be carried on a car-top carrier and handled by one person, though we found it took three to get it off. You could probably rig a way to do it by your self if you had to because the boat is light enough to carry by your self weighing in at 32 kilos. In fact that's the beauty of the boat, it's very simple to self launch. You just fly your kite, walk over to the boat, pick it up and take it out to deep enough water to clear the skegs and away you go. The skegs are more than strong enough to take your weight, and can run into some pretty hard stuff without damage. When I used the boat, I carried it down to the water, launched my kite, got in, and was gone. Just like that. Very short learning curve. My only difficult point of sail was down wind. Didn't want to put the kite in the water. Water relaunch was difficult, but not impossible, but it's not like you're kite surfing, as you can't hold yourself upwind, which makes relaunching a water relaunchable difficult.
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Still, all in all, a most enjoyable experience and one I wish to repeat, but mostly I can't wait to get a pair together and race them. The acceleration is phenomenal and the way it steers is just as though it was on rails.
It would be possible to carry an auxiliary motor of some type, and Peter has said, he has an outboard on his. We recommend a paddle, and life vest.
This boat is the real deal. You can launch, sail all day and come home all under kite power. An amazing achievement. Try one if you get the chance or better yet, buy one and let me know where you live!
aoxomoxoa
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