Nordkapp - Timelines.

Date Status Event
1975   Nordkapp designed by Frank Goodman & used on the 1975 Nordkapp Expedition. The boats were clearly what later became known as the HS, based on the pictures of the 1975 boat hanging in Rutabaga, Wisconsin.
1977   1977 Cape Horn Expedition. The boats used seem to be HMs, based on the line drawing on p13, so the experience of the 1975 trip was being applied.
(1980's?) Confirmation needed. Valley introduces the VCP hatch.
1981/82   Circumnavigation of Australia by Paul Caffyn. Started with Nordkapp HM, then unable to turn into gale force wind, he chopped off the molded skeg and added a makeshift retractable one. When that broke, he added a rudder to finish the voyage.

(1980 ish?)

Confirmation needed. "Bolt in" recessed deck fittings introduced, replacing the earlier moulded recess with bar.
1992   Rebecca Ridgeway becomes the first woman to round Cape Horn, using a Nordkapp.
(1998/9?) Confirmation needed. Nordkapp Jubilee introduced to recognise 25 years of the Nordkapp.
2003   Jubilee in the UK upgraded to 2 Oval hatches. Designated H20 for the US market. Bow and stern altered slightly, more bouyancy behind the seat, slightly less rocker than Jubilee.
2005 Confirmation needed. Peter Orton and Jason Buxton take over at Valley
2006   Nordkapp LV introduced.
2006   Nordkapp RM introduced.
(2007?) Confirmation needed. Valley offers the Nordkapp "Classic", a slightly updated version of the original Nordkapp, in addition to the standard, LV and RM versions.
2008   Sean Morley circumnavigates Vancouver Island in 18 days - 6 days faster than the previous record. He planned to do the trip in a VCP Rapier, but changed his mind due to rough conditions and ended up in Nordkapp H2O.
2010   Marcus Demuth's record-breaking 2,540-mile circumnavigation of Great Britain
2011   Sisson Kayaks cease production as Graeme retires, so bringing to an end the Sisson Nordkapp variant.
2012   Valley cease production of the "Classic".
2014   Valley announce the Nordkapp Forti in recognition of 40 years of the Nordkapp.

Determining the age of older Nordkapps is actually quite hard - there is usually a "makers plate" glassed into the cockpit and the last two numbers are quite often the year of manufacture. From the main article, "aeden's" boat has the serial number 7947/1/??/3 and turns out to probably be 1985 to 1988 so the illegible numbers ("??") may well have been the build year. Certainly that system matches with the one on an Aleut Sea II I had. Valley seem to have used a range of serial number systems over the years. If they have time, Valley have been known to help track down when a particular boat was built and are generally responsive to a phone call.

In general terms it seems that the boats were fitted with lever cam hatches until late 70's, Henderson screw ones 80-83, then VCP rubber as we still have. Howard Jeffs commented on a post on Facebook in Feb 2015 that the deck fittings seem to have been just GRP on the very early boats, however they were prone to break. Because of this, they then put a small aluminium bar inside the fitting when gelling up. Gordon Brown commented on the same post that the the HM which he bought in 1980 has the more modern bolt-in RDF.

Please contact me if you can add to this in any way.

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