: Hi Greg,
: I have been reading Robert Morris's new book and was left uncertain on the
: "hips + 2 fists" measurement. Page 69 says it is to the outside
: and instructs you to subtract the thickness of the gunwales, page 70 shows
: a picture with a caption stating it is the inside. Chris Cunningham's
: article on building a Greenland kayak clearly shows it to outside of the
: gunwales.
: Also,I'm just curious, do you prefer paddling commercial or skin on frame
: kayaks?

Richard,

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, you are correct. Most folks who use the 2 fists measurement usually take the measurement on the outside. This measurement is actually for a larger hunting kayak (which is still narrower than most commercial kayaks). My error resulted because I use a different method, the hips plus the flat of the hand on each side of the hip, which is measured on the inside. According to Maligiaq Padilla, this method of calculating width is fairly common in SW Greenland for "sport" kayaks built for rolling and speed. Some of these kayaks can be as narrow as 17", and quite unstable, so they won't be for everyone (the average SW Greenland kayak is about 19.5" wide).

Another approach to calculating the beam, presented by H.C. Petersen, in "Instruction in Kayak Building", is to use the formula of the width of the kayaker's hips + (the thickness of the cockpit coaming * 2) + 2 cm + 10 cm. The 2 cm value is for 1 cm of clearance between your body and each side of the coaming (cockpit hoop), and the 10 cm value ensures that the kayak deck will be 5cm wider than the cockpit coaming on each side.

I prefer commercial kayaks for kayak-camping and kayak surfing and skinboats for daytrips and rolling practice. Eventually I would like to make an Aleut kayak, designed for extended trips. I love the Greenland kayak, but it is simply not designed to carry a mountain of gear.

Greg Stamer