Dear Paddling Gals (and Interested Guys):
Have you ever (not) been in a kayak that did not fit well? One or more of the following may sound familiar: your cockpit is up to your armpits, your hips and thighs are crammed in and the back strap is behind your shoulder blades, or the adjustments don’t quite go far enough.
Help change a paradigm!
Nearly all kayaks today are designed by men. Not surprisingly, most models also perform better for men than for women, due to several physiological differences. While some paddling schools report equal or greater numbers of women in beginner classes, the male/female ratio among those who stick with it is 3 or more to 1. There are many reasons for this attrition, but I believe one relates to the design of today’s kayaks.
Newer models have reduced this gender inequity tremendously – produced in several sizes, and outfitted to accommodate multiple body shapes. However, one fundamental difference in the anatomy of men and women has not been addressed in kayak designs – the difference in their respective center of gravity (CG). Kayaks that do not take this difference into account contribute to the perception of many women that they are less able to learn basic skills, have fun as a recreational enthusiast and excel as an elite athlete than men.
A kayak design concept for women that takes advantage of a woman’s structural attributes could reduce the gap between potential performance and mastery between men and women, and expand the paddling market in a new way. Addressing this CG-related challenge involves an investigation of ergonomic, volume/ displacement, and manufacturing materials.
After approaching several well-known university design departments for their agreement to put this quandary to the capabilities of future engineering product designers, Carnegie Mellon University has offered an opportunity to ask students this Fall (2011) to explore this design challenge and recommend a solution that could be applied to various genres of kayaks.
There is no guarantee that students will find a solution, and an unconventional solution might be impractical to manufacture. However, they might just come up with an elegant and practical concept! Either way, we will have advanced the pea so that another research project might get closer, and a kayak company might be encouraged to develop a great kayak for ladies (don’t hold your breath).
Here’s the crazy part of this project: class materials and students’ lab fees will cost $7,000 for the semester. I do not have the resources to implement the Carnegie Mellon project, and am asking for donations. You are not donating to a non-profit charity, and you are not purchasing a discount on a boat ‘if it comes out.’ You won’t see the $ again, though you will be part of a movement, whether the specific project succeeds or simply creates awesome awareness about the issue.
If the students develop intellectual property worthy of protection, they will be the owners of its patent. However, a non-profit organization tbd would own the licensing rights and could use licensing fees to encourage and reward women kayakers who want to contribute to the future of the sport. I will not benefit financially from the license.
Funds are due to Carnegie Mellon August 1st. We are limiting each person’s contribution to $25 or $26.30 online (the extra covers the PayPal processing fee) at www.theshimodagroup.com/blog. Checks can be sent payable to “Carnegie Mellon University” to Risa at 601 Hudson Ave. #102, Takoma Park, MD 20912. If we can get 280 people to donate $25, we are there! If we raise more than $7,000, I’ll keep the balance in PayPal for use as a startup fund for the non-profit, return it to those donors who put us over the top, or take a booth at the 2011 Gauley Festival to further the discussion. Thank you for your support of this groundbreaking project!
I’m also seeking volunteers from Washington, DC area to help with an intro clinic for CM Students at the Potomac (late September or early October), and Pittsburgh to meet with them during the semester. If we can leverage Skype or webinar technology, we will include as many interested parties as possible in the project presentations. Email risa@theshimodagroup.com if you are interested in helping show the students how kayaks fit women, currently (or not!). ?
[Thank you Anna, for your input on this shout out!]
Risa – can you add a FB Like or Share button on your blog – I’ll be happy to spread this to my other chick ‘yakers out here!
Lynne
Great idea!!! I will send in my contribution and rally others.
My worry with this would be that these women’s specific kayaks will go the way of women’s specific bikes… Women’s specific bikes are made for women with long legs and a short torso… And a lot of women don’t have that body type and are steered into buying women’s bikes that don’t fit them, as men’s bikes have a better geometry for them. How do you decide what a normal woman is? Bike manufacturers also tend to “shrink it & pink it”, make things smaller & make ‘em pink to make them women’s specific. We don’t need more pastel or pink kayaks.
The lower center of gravity of women actually tends to make them far more stable in a kayak, use their body/hips for balance… THey also tend to be more limber, so rolling, etc. comes more naturally. A low volume boat generally works pretty well for that. There aren’t huge numbers of boat types made for smaller paddlers, but there are a fair number. I would say that this is more a problem with the kayaking lessons/rentals/classes having appropriate low volume boats for small people (many small men require low volume boats) than there not being boats designed for small people… There is the problem that most manufacturers only have 1-2 low volume boats – because making a range of them doesn’t always make financial sense given that it’s a limited markets – so there may not be a beginner low volume boat & an advanced low volume boat…
If you want to look at good female boats – look at the p&h vela, nigel foster sihlouette, wilderness systems tempest 165, ndk pilgrim, ndk romany lv, ndk explorer lv, valley avocet lv, impex cat force 3, perception avatar 15.5
Lynne, with the time tight and us below the needed level, I guess I should suck it up and figure out how to do this…:)
Perhaps, but those early bikes stirred changes in the design parameters of standard bikes….still a contribution. I feel like if we worry about what might not work out, we’ll never know…this all might be really ridiculous, but we won’t know until we try.
Hi Risa, Chuck Thornton passed along your info. Wow, thank you for taking this on!
I’d like to help. Will paypal $.
I’m also originally from Pgh, spent time at CMU (rowed on their first crew team), and get back to the city with regularity (still have property). If I may be of assistance geographically, please let me know.
Also happy to help w demos here and in Pgh (I’m a new kayaker this season and have finally got my roll down. It took a while. In the meantime other women paddlers lamenting the male-sized boats we learn in offered me a more pared down design: the Dagger RPM, but in the meantime I was able to futz around with the Liquid Logic Remix and get a consistent roll. NOTE: I’m 5’10″ and pretty athletic)
I will fwd this to other women I kayak with.
Feel free to contact me if you’d like to discuss further.
Elisa
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Hey, thanks. iIt’s out there but comes from a lonnnnng period of experience with (me) a product designer stymied to date by a stubborn norm.
Thanks Jason. There’s no downside to sharing it, and if anyone kicks something to the cause, it will help me reduce the debt I’ve incurred to fund it!
Cool. Have her ask any questions!