| Producer: | Nordic Kayaks |
| Design: | Björn Thomasson & Fredrik Lindström |
| Manufacture: | Marström Composite AB in Sweden |
| Length: | 625 cm |
| Width: | 43 cm |
| Rudder: | Hydrodynamic ocean rudder or/and kick up rudder |
| Steering: | New innovative pedal steering, one piece prepreg carbon plate with flexible pedals |
| Hatches: | Back deck, cockpit and front deck. |
| Draining system: | Dinghy self bailer, lightest on the market |
| Material: | Prepreg carbon in different layup options |
| Displacement: | 70-110 kg |
| Weight: | 9-13 kg |
Fusion is designed and developed for the colder Nordic water and the weather conditions that are most common here. We wanted to have the benefit of a surfski, where you easily could climb back but also the possibility to be dry when the water temperatures are below "comfort”. In the fall ’08 we contacted the Swedish kayak designer Björn Thomasson, who has a lot of experience from designing kayaks for ocean use, and asked him for help with the hull design and the hydrodynamic calculations. We started trying different surfskis on the market and came up with some parameters that we wanted to focus on for our Nordic surfski:
After a couple of month’s computer calculations we built the first prototype hull that was tested during beginning of 2009. With some more hydrodynamic tweaking in Björn’s computer we were very satisfied with the combination of stability and surprisingly high speed. At the same time we were thinking of how to solve every other parameter and in particular the possibility to use a spray skirt or a splash hood and also make it smart and easy enough for a serial production.
During this process we got in contact with the well known Swedish boat builder Marström Composite that we quickly reached an agreement regarding building the Fusion. If Marström could manufacture masts for the Volvo ocean race boats, we thought that they would be skilled enough to build a surfski.
We hope you will find our Fusion interesting, we believe it is a great boat with some smart and innovative solutions that will make you a better and safer kayaker!
The foot plate and steering system is developed for Fusion and is one of the features that has impressed reviewers most. The hole foot plate is a one-piece brace/pedals/steering section made in carbon laminate, that flexes just enough to give you full steering potential, but is stiff enough to allow full pressure without any unintentional turning. We believe it is the most comfortable system available.
...a couple of pics:
One-piece prepreg epoxy/carbon footbrace-pedal system for superior comfort and efficiency with minimum weight and complexity, and a low adjustable strap for stability and powerful paddling.
High friction peelply surface for a secure grip, regardless of footwear.
Depending on how you going to use your ski, you can chose between three layups. Note: all options are in 100% prepreg carbon, the layups give you variations in sensibility, stiffness, durability and weight.
Prepreg carbon layers with the right mix of twill weave and unidirected fibers to achieve great overall stiffness but also point flexibility with minimal carbon without any core material. This layup is extremely strong and is the perfect choice if you handle your kayak a little bit rougher and want to have the possibility to land rocky beaches. Weight 13 kg.
Price: 34.850 SEK
Unidirected prepreg carbon layers in right directions to achieve stiffness at the right places with minimal weight. Core material of divinycell makes it possible to use less carbon and still get an extremely stiff hull that does not flex a millimeter. This is a solid and strong construction made for punching trough big waves but should be handled with care and not hit hard sharp objects. Weight 10 kg or less.
Price: 39.500 SEK
Mixed layup of Elite at the deck and Performance at the hull to save some weight but still have a super strong hull. Weight 12 kg.
Price: 37500 SEK
NOTE: all weight figures includes standard components
Standard components:
Extra components:
Marström Composite in Västervik Sweden, the builder of our Fusion ski, is the world leader of developing prepreg carbon hulls and spare parts to the sailing and flight industry using autoclave technique. An autoclave is a big own that heats up the prepreg carbon fibers to an optimal temperature, in this case around 125 degrees under 6 bars vacuum pressure, making the material harder and stronger than normal procedures.
Prepreg carbon means that the carbon fiber is pre filled with epoxy to ensure the optimal mix of epoxy and carbon fiber- about 30 % epoxy and 70 % fibers. These makes the laminate extremely light and very strong compared with hand layed up or vacuum infused carbon where the mix of fibers and epoxy at the best is 60 % epoxy and 40 % fibers which is the most common in kayaks. It is comparable with building a house ground with less reinforcement and more concrete- you don’t get the full potential of the material.
Marström is using female moulds that are perfectly matched together allowing them to join the hull and deck together with a very special method that ensures the joiner is as strong as the rest of the kayak.
Read more about prepreg carbon.