In search for The Holy Grail

I confess, I’m a roller. Not the kind who do one or two rolls for safety to keep the skill alive. No, the passionate kind. How hard can it be? - kind of roller. 

This story is about the question if the right kayak can make you a better roller.

I tried rolling the first time I took an introduction course in kayaking. The instructor asked me if I could be the first one to do a wet exit. When I didn’t surface immediately, he saw that I like to get wet and asked if I wanted to try. YES please! No success that time so I bought a bathtub of a kayak and taught myself. Lovely feeling! 

Then I got a much better kayak, an Anas Acuta, later a Rebel Ilaga.  I discovered that there is more than the standard Greenland roll. I found friends who shared my passion. More rolls to the repertoire and an instructions DVD, things are starting to take off. In the Ilaga with my limited technique I got as far as the elbow roll back then. When I studied the instructions of Cheri Perry and Turner Wilson they stressed that for the straight jacket roll you needed a kayak that really fit you. That kicked off my kayak building passion. I got a book and went to work. The first one was ok, so I went on trying, the fifth hit the spot! I didn’t know what I had done right but it worked really well. But no straight jacket roll. 

So, I thought, “I know this”!  Not true… Here is where my Skin on Frame qajaq designs got a terrible blow. I started experimenting, not really knowing but trying out ideas. Can a straight keelson be the answer? No! Can a narrower kayak be the answer to the elusive SJ? No! What about secondary stability, a very distinct “flip over” point? Yes, this works better! All the time focusing on the bottom half of the kayak in my search for a tool to solve my straight jacket goal. 

Did I find it, the Holy Rolling Grail? Well yes and no. 

Yes, I finally managed to do the SJ roll but was it because of my imagined design skills? To some extent but I have also been practicing like a madman for some years and that probably helped my progress a lot more. So why no? Well the kayak wasn’t the whole answer. The key to me was the combination of a good kayak, an extremely good roller who could give me instructions and the mentality of Don Quijote, attack the windmills! 

Back to the skin on frame trials and errors… Was the Holy Rolling Grail the kayak that I built. No! Number ten was close… Now I got the Staight Jacket roll with some ease but to the cost of almost all forward finishing rolls. What have I missed out on? As you may understand now my aim has been very limited. Only the SJ and a kayak that allowed me to do it. I had neglected the qualities in a kayak that makes the forward finishing rolls easy. During the years I have had the opportunity to try a variety of my friends kayaks, a lot of kayaks since they also were on a quest of their own. Some kayaks like the Waterfield Qaanaaq 512 are superb in forward finishing rolls but very difficult to do a SJ in. The designs of my homebuilt number 11 and the Waterfield are almost totally opposite. Narrow bottom to wide, no V in the bottom to a distinct V shape, and so on. How can these two designs marry to make the Holy Rolling Grail? I started designing all over again… What do they have in common? Very low volume! How does my body position aid in expressing the characteristics of each kayak? Well since the volume is very low, a great deal I discovered. So lets make a number 11 aft of my seating position and a Waterfield in front of it. That is how my number 12 was built, and it worked! Can it work for everyone, I have no idea. It worked for me and I am so thrilled! 

Conclusion #1

Is the Holy Rolling Grail possible? Yes! Is it reachable for anyone? Yes! What you say, I don’t have the skills and the time to build 12 kayaks and experiment what is right for me? Now the twist, this kayak number 12 has only slightly less volume and is only slightly more tweaked than a kayak in serial production: the Rebel Ilaga. What I found out during 5+ years in building and rolling my skin on frames is only an adapted version of the Ilaga. Should I have simply kept the Ilaga I had those years ago? Well I have one again, or to be specific I have the old Johan Wirsén design in the Tahe Greenland and I do all the rolls in that one as well. What I have learned in building and experimenting a Designer Master has done many years ago and given it to us in the shape of the Rebel Ilaga. So, was it all for nothing? Absolutely not! I can truly say that I can build a very good rolling kayak, and the fun I’ve had is beyond measure. I have got to meet with Johan and we have something to talk about, albeit it is usually a nice conversation about sailing. I guess that Johan will never put a roller kayak as mine on the market, who wants to buy a kayak that doesn't paddle well. 

Conclusion #2

What kind of kayak should I get if I want to be great at rolling? A dedicated rolling kayak! If it’s a Naja, Ilaga, Waterfield or Skin on Frame doesn’t matter! But get one that helps you develop as a roller. Good equipment helps you develop your skills. I have had a very exciting journey and I’m very grateful to the rolling community. Skills comes when you practice in a correct way with equipment that suits you. Remember that when you fail that storm roll for the 50:th time: “Practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent!” – Niel Adams (Judo).  You need to succeed for the body to learn the correct motions, in any sport. Get help, or at least assistance. Keep a positive mindset, number 11 or 12 may be the Holy Rolling Grail! 

• David