Whirld

Welcome to a new Whirld! A design from Jim Snyder that represents a high standard in mystery performance, the Whirld features such innovations as “flow-formed” rails, redistributed cockpit volume and the proven “JimiRim I” cockpit rim. This new rim is designed to work in conjunction with a specific sprayskirt (available from Skirtworks in Friendsville, MD) – or, preferably, a drydeck (a drysuit top for the upper part of the skirt) that fits into a concave groove in the deck rendering an exceptionally dry ride and an elegant seamless transition from fiberglass to neoprene at the cockpit. Less turbulence, more control is the name of the game with this system- a better wing. Those who paddle the Whirld say it is the driest and most stable, responsive ride underwater they’ve ever experienced, and they are hitting mystery times similar to (or surpassing) the standard set by the classic Shred and Bigfoot designs. It is designed around a 28-32″ inseam; the shorter inseam range for this series is the Shimmer and longer inseam range is the Wisper design.

Additional notes~ Jim says he went all out to make this a streamlined design and it represents a breakthough for efficient underwater wing shapes. For instance- the ‘flow formed’ rails were designed by building a large mass of wax on the plug’s exterior- about 2 cm. thick at the seam line. Then Jim would heat the entire rail’s wax slowly with a heat gun and when it got all melty- he put the heat gun on high and hit the wax with a lot of heat and making it run like water and leaving a well rounded wind-loving leading edge. It made a ‘windborn’ shape with high boundary layer adhesion at wide angles of attack- in short- highly tweakable in the realm.

He also built a large staging rack for the plug and embedded the plug in a slab of current at low water in the summer on the Cheat River near his house. He set the rack so the plug was crosswise in the slab of current and he could adjust it to whatever angle of attack he wanted. Then he released sand upstream of the plug and watched how it flowed over the shape. Surprisingly, the sand formed into specific lines on the boat and Jim noted that and was able to then streamline the shape even more.

So this boat is all about low drag and viable high angles of attack on your leading edge. Tweakable.

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Description

Welcome to a new Whirld! A design from Jim Snyder that represents a high standard in mystery performance, the Whirld features such innovations as “flow-formed” rails, redistributed cockpit volume and the proven “JimiRim I” cockpit rim. This new rim is designed to work in conjunction with a specific sprayskirt (available from Skirtworks in Friendsville, MD) – or, preferably, a drydeck (a drysuit top for the upper part of the skirt) that fits into a concave groove in the deck rendering an exceptionally dry ride and an elegant seamless transition from fiberglass to neoprene at the cockpit. Less turbulence, more control is the name of the game with this system- a better wing. Those who paddle the Whirld say it is the driest and most stable, responsive ride underwater they’ve ever experienced, and they are hitting mystery times similar to (or surpassing) the standard set by the classic Shred and Bigfoot designs. It is designed around a 28-32″ inseam; the shorter inseam range for this series is the Shimmer and longer inseam range is the Wisper design.

Additional notes~ Jim says he went all out to make this a streamlined design and it represents a breakthough for efficient underwater wing shapes. For instance- the ‘flow formed’ rails were designed by building a large mass of wax on the plug’s exterior- about 2 cm. thick at the seam line. Then Jim would heat the entire rail’s wax slowly with a heat gun and when it got all melty- he put the heat gun on high and hit the wax with a lot of heat and making it run like water and leaving a well rounded wind-loving leading edge. It made a ‘windborn’ shape with high boundary layer adhesion at wide angles of attack- in short- highly tweakable in the realm.

He also built a large staging rack for the plug and embedded the plug in a slab of current at low water in the summer on the Cheat River near his house. He set the rack so the plug was crosswise in the slab of current and he could adjust it to whatever angle of attack he wanted. Then he released sand upstream of the plug and watched how it flowed over the shape. Surprisingly, the sand formed into specific lines on the boat and Jim noted that and was able to then streamline the shape even more.

So this boat is all about low drag and viable high angles of attack on your leading edge. Tweakable.

Additional information

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About Jim Snyder

Jim Snyder

Jim-SnyderJim is a world famous kayak designer and paddle maker. He’s been doing both for decades and is credited with helping the sport evolve into the cubic state it is in today. He was one of the pioneers of squirtboating and was the first person to cartwheel a kayak on flatwater in 1981. Jim began his whitewater career as a raft guide and lives like a squire in northern West Virginia. He was inducted into the International Whitewater Hall of Fame years ago but claims he only needs rocks and water to keep himself happy.

In 1980/81, Jim designed his first kayak- the Slice. It was the first commercially produced short boat in the country. The next year Jess Whittemore kicked off the sport of Squirt Boating by discovering many new exciting moves in his long pointy squirt boats~ fun things like Blasting and Splats. Jim detoured into trying to design a cartwheel-able boat and went off to design his own shorter squirt designs. In 1983 Phoenix Kayaks started making Jim’s Arc design and an early prototype of that design (the “Baby Arc”) was the boat he did the first flatwater cartwheels in- fetching 12 ends right off the bat in January of ’83. New Wave Kayaks started making his designs in 1985 and they were the major factor in popularizing the sport of squirt boating. Today Jim’s designs are produced by Murky Water and PS Composites.

Visit Jim’s Website

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