Kayak research could boost Britain's Olympic performance

Stuart Morris, Nottingham University PhD student and Olympic slalom boat designer, told The Engineer his new approach to kayak design could enhance an athlete’s performance and help inform a new blueprint for the ultimate kayak.

The changes that Morris suggests relate to hull curvature, kayak width, seat position, and the volume of the kayak. However, UK Sport is preventing Morris from revealing specific details on the modifications and how much time they could allow athletes to save.

Morris was, however, able to say that a successful tailor-made slalom kayak has to be a finely balanced compromise of design attributes that maximise forward speed, manoeuvrability and stability.

‘All three elements play against each other,’ said Morris. ‘It’s about trying to find the best selection for each athlete based on the performance they require, their skill level, and the environment in which they compete.

‘Obviously if you’re doing a slalom course your forward speed has to give way to a bit of manoeuvrability and a lot of stability.’