General Description
Frej (size S) designed by Bjorn Thomasson. Plans purchased at (
https://www.thomassondesign.com/en/catalog/my-kayaks/frej)
Length – 15’ 9” overall, 15’ 3” waterline
Beam – 20”
Weight – 43 lbs. About 3 pounds more than estimated by Bjorn Thomasson, but I have a keyhole cockpit and other fiberglass work that added weight.
Miscellaneous Details:
Built using ¾” by ¼” strips ripped from clear (no knots) western red cedar planks.
Hull exterior and interior covered by 2 layers of “4 oz.” fiberglass cloth, with additional “6 oz.” layer over interior cockpit area and reinforcing exterior bow and stern.
Deck exterior and interior covered by single layer of “4 oz.” fiberglass cloth.
Hull painted with Interlux Mediterranean White.
Deck and hull varnished with Halcyon clear gloss water-based varnish.
Sheer line covered by black vinyl boat striping tape buried under varnish.
Hatch recesses and rear cockpit recess are hand layup fiberglass over sacrificial molds made of rigid foam insulation. Spray-painted black under varnish.
Cockpit rim of hand layup fiberglass over cedar strip section uprights and sacrificial foam mold for lip. Spray-painted black under varnish.
3d printed Maroske deck fittings (
https://www.printables.com/model/621666-maroske-flush-kayak-deck-fitting).
Deck perimeter lines are dyneema cord inside black irrigation tubing. Grab handles and paddle loops made of braided 5mm black nylon cord.
Greenland paddle holders on both front and rear deck – Front for temporary placement of paddle during launch and landing, rear for holding spare paddle when conditions warrant.
Kajak Sport System 4 Rope Skeg
Sealect Hatch Rings and Covers – 10” round (F & R), 8” round day hatch
Redfish closed cell foam kayak seat
Slidelock XL Footbraces with extended footpads made of some plexiglass I had in my leftover materials pile.
Review:
Kayak is a tight fit. Feet splayed/toes pointed with my size 11 feet. Larger foot pads on the braces helped with comfort. Should have placed rails higher on the side of the kayak.
Hull design is much different than my Romany, particularly at the stern where the Frej has a much more rounded profile with no concave curves. I think this design makes the Frej quite skeg dependent. It takes a lot of concentration to keep it in line when paddling straight with no skeg deployed. However, it's also skeg sensitive. 1/4 deployment is enough to make it track, and it will still turn very sharply when edged, sliding the tail of the boat sideways across the surface of the water.
I feel like the longer waterline than Romany is noticeable. The Frej feels like it has more glide. It also seems to accelerate more quickly, maybe a function of both being significantly lighter and having a different hull design.
After years of paddling a Romany and a Nordkap, the front deck without an upswept bow made me feel like I was paddling downhill.
The Frej is an easy kayak to roll. The super low rear deck makes any layback roll simple, and makes doing a static brace easier than in any kayak I've tried.
Finding placement for skeg control box is tricky. Few flat areas suitable for mounting. The spot I selected is marginal due to contact with left quad/thigh during left-side rolls.
Storage space is significantly less than my Romany (and much less than the Nordkapp), mostly due to the low rear deck. Using more, smaller dry bags would maximize the usefulness of the space.
This is how I get to the launch for my standard day-paddle.
