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Marine

Folding kayak is made to go flat-out

By Ben Coxworth
March 08, 2017
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The HYPAR has a look that's all its own
HYPAR
The Hypar folds out into seaworthy form within a claimed three minutes
HYPAR
The HYPAR can be carried like a backpack when in transit
HYPAR
While the HYPAR's bow is like that of other kayaks, its wide flattened stern meets the surface horizontally
HYPAR
The HYPAR weighs approximately 8 kg (18 lb)
HYPAR
The HYPAR has a look that's all its own
HYPAR
The HYPAR can be stored more easily than a non-folding kayak
HYPAR
View gallery - 6 images

If an upcoming Indiegogo campaign goes as planned, there will soon be yet another folding boat on the market. Already we've got the Oru folding kayak, along with the Onak and MyCanoe folding canoes. The makers of the HYPAR kayak are hoping for similar success, with a boat that sports a unique design.

The HYPAR is made from pre-folded sheets of a honeycomb-structured corrugated polypropylene, which can reportedly stand up to at least 20,000 folding cycles without leaking. It can be carried (via included straps) like a backpack when in transit, and folds out into seaworthy form within a claimed three minutes.

The boat weighs approximately 8 kg (18 lb).

The HYPAR weighs approximately 8 kg (18 lb)
HYPAR

While its bow is like that of other kayaks, in that it slices into the water vertically, its wide flattened stern meets the surface horizontally. This gives the kayak a shape consisting of two counterpoised hyperbolic paraboloids, hence the name HYPAR. According to its designers, "The angle and shape of HYPAR was matched with water wake patterns, thereby reducing distortion and drag." Increased stability is said to be another advantage.

Although the boat is being promoted primarily as a kayak, it can also be reconfigured as a rowboat or sailboat, plus it can be paddled like a canoe. If you're interested in getting one, the Indiegogo project is scheduled to start on April 11th. The planned retail price is US$750.

In the meantime, you can see the HYPAR kayak in action, in the following video.

Source: HYPAR

View gallery - 6 images

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MarineFoldingWatercraftKayakingIndiegogo
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Ben Coxworth
Based out of Edmonton, Canada, Ben Coxworth has been writing for New Atlas since 2009 and is presently Managing Editor for North America. An experienced freelance writer, he previously obtained an English BA from the University of Saskatchewan, then spent over 20 years working in various markets as a television reporter, producer and news videographer. Ben is particularly interested in scientific innovation, human-powered transportation, and the marine environment.
9 comments
Milton
seems like a very fast deployment time, and very stable. Perhaps not the fastest Kayak, but speed probably isn't the priority.
sk8dad
Quoted: "The angle and shape of HYPAR was matched with water wake patterns, thereby reducing distortion and drag." I'm not convinced. If that were the case, then the designer would stand to make a huge fortune licensing the hull design to military and commercial ship builders and not bother with a measly folding kayak. The video is further evidence disproving the designer's questionable theory in hydrodynamics. Notice, at time 0:52-0:54, the traditional sea kayaks are scooting by faster then the folder and leaving much smaller wakes. Wake is a telltale indicator of turbulence, which in turn, is a major contributor to drag. This is why you don't see wedge-shaped fish.
sk8dad
Despite my earlier objections to the designers' claims, one could see potential that the hull shape could be conducive to kayak-borne rescues by lifeguards--non-folding of course.
SviatoslavGerasimchuk
Hi Frank This is Sviat, the Inventor and founder of HYPAR kayak. Thank for a your points! You're absolutely right on most of them. 1 The shape is Patented by multiple international Patents in the US and EU and other countries. And you are right - the craft can be designed at any size. And yes, we're hoping for fortune ;) 2 HYPAR's co-founder, PhD Dr. Louis Mittoni Fluid Dynamics. He is my partner, the mentor of the HYPAR project and guide of the Patenting documentation. 3 Compared to fish shape: it's not 100% relevant, as HYPAR deals with water Surface. However Manta Ray can be quite fast ) 4 The HYPAR is extremely fast but with better stability and more benefits from spacey aft deck.
Regards, Sviat
MQ
Some sailing ginghy's and yachts have a similar planform...
Knife edge prow for slicing through waves with little "rise" and flat WIDE Aft end for distributing wake across a large area... seeing how there are lots of "triangular" boats, it is hard to see how this general concept can be patented. (Including a large aft tunnel, or even a double tunnel, has been done in surf boards for decades.)
Acting kind of like a (rear) diffuser in race cars.
Bob Flint
The flat rear end will also limit any vigorous back padding to a slow careful reverse...
sk8dad
@SviatoslavGerasimchuk, my comparison to fish is based on the displacement hull model. Since human power density isn't high enough to achieve meaningful planing and is far from continuous, a displacement hull for a sea kayak make much more sense. Furthermore, the manta ray does not plane and is streamlined longitudinally (i.e. fish on its side), so the fish analogy continues. Plus, I see direct evidence of turbulence from your promotion video. Additionally, for a kayak to be useful in anything but the most calm waters, a narrower hull will provide the most stable ride in anything from quatering to broadside waves. A flat planing hull will rock with the wave profile, but a narrower displacement hull will have reduced rocking amplitude due to it's smaller static stability which allows it to partially submerge on the side to the incoming wave. Given some basic skills, a human (as a dynamic control element) will be able to stabilize a displacement hull much more than a planing hull. This is counter-intuitive to non paddlers. I guess I'm still not convinced that such a hull is conducive to paddling efficiency.
SviatoslavGerasimchuk
Hi Frank Huang Thank you! I did share your worrying at conception stage. But Life tests prove extremely good seaworthiness. The true ruling surface does make big change. Look at this test of early prototype. HYPAR takes waves hit really well, from any direction. No rocking at all. I need not to counterbalance at all. And this is really short and sharp waves! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMKIuWVPKQE&t=8s
Tom Lee Mullins
I like how small and lightweight it is. Perhaps the flatten back design would be more stable?
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