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Folding kayak
A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin made of a tough fabric with a waterproof coating. Many have integral air chambers inside the hull, making them virtually unsinkable.
The first workable folding kayak was built by Alfred Heurich in 1905, a German architectural student. Heurich paddled his creation on the Isar River near Munich and took out a patent on the design, called the Delphin (German: dolphin), the following year. The Delphin had a bamboo frame with a sailcloth hull stretched over it. It could be folded up and carried in three bags, each weighing less than 4.5 kg (9.9 lb).
The folding kayak was made commercially successful by Johann Klepper, whose factory was at Rosenheim, Germany. Klepper kayaks were very popular for their compact size and ease of transport. Klepper's Faltboot was introduced in 1906, many years before hardshell boats were commercially produced. Oskar Speck undertook his seven-year journey from Germany to Australia in the 1930s using folding kayaks made and sponsored by another manufacturer, Pionier-Faltboot-Werft.
During the Second World War the British and Commonwealth special forces employed kayaks in the Mediterranean, European, and South-east Asian theatres. The special forces of the day (COPPS, Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment, etc.) had developed for them about a dozen state of the art kayaks which were given the codename Cockle. These Cockles ranged from the Mk 1 early frame-and fabric 'folbot' type to the four man boats made of aluminum alloy; most were 'collapsible' rather than being boats that could be completely disassembled, as with modern-day folding boats. The Mk 2 could be collapsed along its 15 ft length to just approximately 7 inches.[page needed] This Mk 2 and its three-man Mk 2** were all of the same design and were designed by the same man—a Mr Fred Goatley.[page needed][page needed] The Cockle Mk II was used by the RMBPD in Operation Frankton, the attack on Bordeaux in late 1942. There is plenty of documentation showing delivery of British canoes Mk 3's and Mk 6's for British Military in Australia and beyond. For the British-led Operation Jaywick the British Mark 1 type kayaks were used.
Walter Höhn (English; Hoehn) developed and built the first Swiss folding kayaks, which were tested in white water conditions, in 1924. Hoehn emigrated to Australia in 1928, bringing two examples of his boat designs with him: A 1-man and a 2-man design. His boats were patented (Aust. Patent 117,779) and initially produced for sport use. During the Pacific war, Hoehn and Hedley's P.L. built a total of 1024 folding kayaks, called 'folboats', for the Australian military from the Hoehn design. Hoehn supplied the first 2 folboats for the highly secret 'Operation Jaywick' training at Camp-X near Sydney in 1942. Then Hoehn supplied his folboats for Cairns, Fraser Island and Mount Martha training camps. Hoehn's first military model designated 'Folboat Kayak Type' was succeeded by the 3-seater MKIII. The MKIII was successfully used in many raids during the Pacific War.
Hoehn's first army folboats were tested at the ZES commando base in Cairns, Queensland by commandos under the direction of Major Ivan Lyon for preparation of the Operation Jaywick raid. They included Capt. Sam Carey, Robert Page and Albert Sargent. They were also used for training and actual use in Operation Rimau. At least 34 raids, reconnaissance patrols and rescue missions in the Pacific Islands, notably RIMAU, COPPER, PYTHON, PLATYPUS and SUNCHARLIE used these folboats.
The Klepper Aerius II model was introduced in 1951 and is still in production. In 1956, Dr. Hannes Lindemann crossed the Atlantic Ocean in an Aerius II, proof of the folding kayak's integrity and seaworthiness. Their light weight and non-metallic construction has made them the choice of many military special forces. Nautiraid of France produces a special model for military use, as do Klepper and Long Haul, who supply German and US Special Forces, respectively. The newest design innovation has come from Canada's TRAK Kayaks, who in 2007 have come out with a polyurethane skin over aluminum frame design with hydraulics in the cockpit to make the skin extremely taut and also to change the shape of the hull for varying paddling conditions.[citation needed] Armed Forces of Poland use Hermes Sport Company custom equipment.
There are about five major folding kayak manufacturers today, and a handful of small, one-off makers. In addition to Klepper the best-known modern brands have been Feathercraft and Folbot (both of which closed and ended production in 2016 due to slipping sales), also Triton Advanced, Long Haul Folding Kayaks, Nautiraid, Hermes Sport Company (successor to Wayland), Pakboats (who also produce folding canoes that are popular with fly-in wilderness fishing guides and researchers who use them for remote expeditions), Pouch and TRAK.[citation needed] Long Haul double kayak hulls are identical in form to Kleppers (as well as a good many older boats), so a Klepper Aerius II frame can be used with a Long Haul MK-II skin, and vice versa. Several Asian and Eastern European makers have been producing designs similar to those of the Folbot and Feathercraft. [citation needed].
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Folding kayak
A folding kayak is a direct descendant of the original Inuit kayak made of animal skins stretched over frames made from wood and bones. A modern folder has a collapsible frame made of some combination of wood, aluminium and plastic, and a skin made of a tough fabric with a waterproof coating. Many have integral air chambers inside the hull, making them virtually unsinkable.
The first workable folding kayak was built by Alfred Heurich in 1905, a German architectural student. Heurich paddled his creation on the Isar River near Munich and took out a patent on the design, called the Delphin (German: dolphin), the following year. The Delphin had a bamboo frame with a sailcloth hull stretched over it. It could be folded up and carried in three bags, each weighing less than 4.5 kg (9.9 lb).
The folding kayak was made commercially successful by Johann Klepper, whose factory was at Rosenheim, Germany. Klepper kayaks were very popular for their compact size and ease of transport. Klepper's Faltboot was introduced in 1906, many years before hardshell boats were commercially produced. Oskar Speck undertook his seven-year journey from Germany to Australia in the 1930s using folding kayaks made and sponsored by another manufacturer, Pionier-Faltboot-Werft.
During the Second World War the British and Commonwealth special forces employed kayaks in the Mediterranean, European, and South-east Asian theatres. The special forces of the day (COPPS, Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment, etc.) had developed for them about a dozen state of the art kayaks which were given the codename Cockle. These Cockles ranged from the Mk 1 early frame-and fabric 'folbot' type to the four man boats made of aluminum alloy; most were 'collapsible' rather than being boats that could be completely disassembled, as with modern-day folding boats. The Mk 2 could be collapsed along its 15 ft length to just approximately 7 inches.[page needed] This Mk 2 and its three-man Mk 2** were all of the same design and were designed by the same man—a Mr Fred Goatley.[page needed][page needed] The Cockle Mk II was used by the RMBPD in Operation Frankton, the attack on Bordeaux in late 1942. There is plenty of documentation showing delivery of British canoes Mk 3's and Mk 6's for British Military in Australia and beyond. For the British-led Operation Jaywick the British Mark 1 type kayaks were used.
Walter Höhn (English; Hoehn) developed and built the first Swiss folding kayaks, which were tested in white water conditions, in 1924. Hoehn emigrated to Australia in 1928, bringing two examples of his boat designs with him: A 1-man and a 2-man design. His boats were patented (Aust. Patent 117,779) and initially produced for sport use. During the Pacific war, Hoehn and Hedley's P.L. built a total of 1024 folding kayaks, called 'folboats', for the Australian military from the Hoehn design. Hoehn supplied the first 2 folboats for the highly secret 'Operation Jaywick' training at Camp-X near Sydney in 1942. Then Hoehn supplied his folboats for Cairns, Fraser Island and Mount Martha training camps. Hoehn's first military model designated 'Folboat Kayak Type' was succeeded by the 3-seater MKIII. The MKIII was successfully used in many raids during the Pacific War.
Hoehn's first army folboats were tested at the ZES commando base in Cairns, Queensland by commandos under the direction of Major Ivan Lyon for preparation of the Operation Jaywick raid. They included Capt. Sam Carey, Robert Page and Albert Sargent. They were also used for training and actual use in Operation Rimau. At least 34 raids, reconnaissance patrols and rescue missions in the Pacific Islands, notably RIMAU, COPPER, PYTHON, PLATYPUS and SUNCHARLIE used these folboats.
The Klepper Aerius II model was introduced in 1951 and is still in production. In 1956, Dr. Hannes Lindemann crossed the Atlantic Ocean in an Aerius II, proof of the folding kayak's integrity and seaworthiness. Their light weight and non-metallic construction has made them the choice of many military special forces. Nautiraid of France produces a special model for military use, as do Klepper and Long Haul, who supply German and US Special Forces, respectively. The newest design innovation has come from Canada's TRAK Kayaks, who in 2007 have come out with a polyurethane skin over aluminum frame design with hydraulics in the cockpit to make the skin extremely taut and also to change the shape of the hull for varying paddling conditions.[citation needed] Armed Forces of Poland use Hermes Sport Company custom equipment.
There are about five major folding kayak manufacturers today, and a handful of small, one-off makers. In addition to Klepper the best-known modern brands have been Feathercraft and Folbot (both of which closed and ended production in 2016 due to slipping sales), also Triton Advanced, Long Haul Folding Kayaks, Nautiraid, Hermes Sport Company (successor to Wayland), Pakboats (who also produce folding canoes that are popular with fly-in wilderness fishing guides and researchers who use them for remote expeditions), Pouch and TRAK.[citation needed] Long Haul double kayak hulls are identical in form to Kleppers (as well as a good many older boats), so a Klepper Aerius II frame can be used with a Long Haul MK-II skin, and vice versa. Several Asian and Eastern European makers have been producing designs similar to those of the Folbot and Feathercraft. [citation needed].