What you’re looking at here is a pretty novel outdoor sporting concept called the Kahuna – a lightweight composite-bodied outrigger kayak that’s ready at a moment’s to put you up for the night when you’re way, way off the grid.
The Kahuna was a Hobie Kayaks design project with industrial designer Mario Weiss, and was nominated for aJames Dysoninnovation award back in 2009, so there was obviously some brainpower behind the design. For his part, Weiss was inspired old Polynesian outrigger canoes, and developed the Kahuna “camping kayak” concept for use in a number environments and climates, with an eye on marketing the Kahuna to rental agencies and serious outdoor/camping/fishing enthusiasts.
You can check out some of Mario’s design and fabrication process in these photos …
… and get a sense of the finished prototype at the bottom of this page.
As far as the Kahuna kayak’s specifications are go, the main drive of the Kahuna is Hobie’s Mirage Drive, a highly efficient pedal/crank mechanism that allows kayakers to gain forward momentum by pedaling the boat forward and “steering” with the paddle. According to Hobie, even inexperienced kayakers tend to adapt to the system quickly enough, and set-up for camping is equally straight-forward: a screen cloth is mounted between the outriggers to serve as base for the tent, and the easy-to-use frame tubes go into the fabric and into their posts. Done!
除了功能性、人力资源和让用户出去看自然之外,Kahuna的设计师还进一步让野营皮艇的概念更加绿色:皮艇的船体由天然纤维材料制成,比传统的玻璃纤维更轻,用合适的树脂固化后,甚至可以生物降解。一点也不坏,那么-太糟糕的霍比不卖东西(目前!)。
Sources | Photos:Hobie Kayaks, viaLike CoolandYanko Design.
Marksays
Very novel indeed! Potentially kayak camping is made a whole easier…
Randy Liossays
That’s really informative. Never heard of a kayak kahuna before. I agree with mark, Kayak camping literally got easier.