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Pygmy Freya Kayak

Philip Jarrett

Paddler
Joined
Sep 28, 2017
Messages
23
Location
Carlisle, Ontario, Canaada
Hello,
I am brand new today and hope that there is a kayaker out there who has either paddled or built the freya kayak.
I have an attic tern 14 , I built it last winter , great kayak for my camping trips etc. I love to roll and the freya boat intrigues me , it's lighter , longer and in my eyes beautiful.
I google it all day and nothing written comes up , only info available is from Pygmy company.
I am 5 feet 5 , weigh 150 lbs , hoping somebody has this boat and give me an honest review. Pygmy has a sale on , ends September 30 th so hoping to order something tonight
Thanks
Phil
 
Haven't paddled or built one, but:
If you've built a tern 14, you'll be well aware of the parts, steps, and description of how to put any of the pygmy boats together. As you've got the experience of one build under your belt, you'll be much more technically able to build as well as build well [and lightly].

As far as performance, you fit the specs of a smaller paddler [as stated for the freya] and it obviously will not hinder you in achieving rolls. There will less space for your legs and feet, but this will only be a downside for comfort or packing; for boat connection, it likely will help.

So my take is that you have a short, wide boat that actually works for camping for you. . . so why not try a slightly longer and narrow boat that is more aligned for your interest in rolling. Your eyes are totally open on how easy/hard it is to build and you're not backing down from the build notion. So it makes some great sense to just go for it.

However, there are 2 other things to consider: if you like greenland rolling, why the heck don't you take the much cheaper and easier route and build a greenland boat to the same approx dimensions that you like? That way you get the aesthetics as well as the ergonomics and authenticity - and way quicker, too.

Or if you like rolling and playing around, why not get a plastic WW playboat and fool around with all the rolls as well as the other 2d and 3d stuff you can do in one of those that cannot be done in any long boat? [I just saw a small EZ on craigslist for $125!!]

Essentially there are options, and there's nothing better than having options.
 
Thanks for your reply.
I already have an 15.5 Zephr by wilderness plastic kayak, my wife spends most of her time in it, we both enjoy rolling it.
I love the look of the stitch and glue boat, I may build an frame on skin for boat 3, its on the list.

Cheers
Phil
 

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Phill,
Just "reading between the lines" of the Pygmy web site: that boat was designed for one person (Freya) to win a completion. It is not a general purpose boat!
If you got the time and money, build it! It might be a lot of fun to have!
If nothing else, you can use it to teach others to roll!

Roy
 
I finished a Freya for a person who ended up with reaction to epoxy. I never paddled it but she loves it. She is small and uses it to teach rolling and to play in only.
 
Hello

After much talking ,, to myself, LOL , I ordered the boat kit , it will be at least 2 weeks before I get it. Very excited about building this , my first boat was a very enjoyable experience. I will update this thread as I build and hopefully inspire a few others to venture into boat building. Look forward to reading replies from others that have freya kayak experience
Thanks
Phil
 
Hey, Phil:
How far along are you with the build, any photos to post?
The warm weather is going to hold for at least 10 more days - light frost last night -
Is there any chance that new boat will see water this fall?
Rondeau might stay open long enough! maybe?

Roy
 
Needed to build a shed to hold my boats, 18 by 12, so now I am ready to get started on my boat build, the shed was actually a huge job,I worked on it every minute i was not working, its unpainted but otherwise finished, note to self, scratch building a shed by yourself is to much work...lol

the other pictures are tonight, the kit was perfectly packed and lIke my first Pygmy build every peice looks perfect. Will be a slow build as work and other hobbies get in the way, hope to have it in the water by April next year.

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At 5'-5" and 150 pounds you you're going to love this kayak if you're looking for a rolling/play sea- kayak. Several of us bugged John Lockwood for several years to design this kayak. This kayak is very easy to roll. One of the first things we did with the first prototype was what we called side to side where you hand roll to a static brace, then hand roll the kayak to the other side to a static brace. For paddler weight it was designed for between 110-160 pounds and you could still add gear to go camping. The Freya is almost the equivalent of a stitch-n-glue Greenlandic skin-on-frame kayak. This kayak will do leaned turns very nicely.

Sorry I didn't answer your question sooner. I had a stroke back in April and am working on recovery. I still don't have enough strength to get back into the kayak in the event of a wet exit so I haven't done any paddling this year.
 
I know it's an oblique view and I sure don't know the kayak well, but the middle panels [from g/w to ctr] of the rear deck look to be back to front - so just double check to be sure.
 
So far 26 hours into build , joining panel 3 tonight
 

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So far 26 hours into build , joining panel 3 tonight
Looking more boat-ish now!

Are there patterns for any other 'sections' of the kayak available? Doing everything you can to get the shape right and avoid twists in the hull is really important - I find that the trickiest part of S&G construction.
 
Are there patterns for any other 'sections' of the kayak available? Doing everything you can to get the shape right and avoid twists in the hull is really important - I find that the trickiest part of S&G construction.[/QUOTE]
No patterns, most of the wood is cnc cut , lots of fitting , beautiful kit , the next photo shows how to keep it all straight
 
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Took me 30 hours to get to hull outer seam gluing. The straps keep the kayak perfectly flat on the saw horses , the temporary forms are made to rest on the saw horses and keep everything at the correct height, brilliant Pygmy design, so simple.
 

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I built a Freya 2 years ago and have many wonderful hours paddling and rolling it. It does not roll as well as my skin on frame. It us a fine day and kayak ksyak. Definitely perfect for a smaller person. At 5'4" and 130 pounds I find the fit nicely tight.
 
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