Project Pics
I wasn't sure if you guys would consider this a valid 'woodworking' project but then I figured it's got dozens of mortices, over 400 dowels, hand cut miters, and alot more. So it's a woodworking project! This is my skin-on-frame East Greenland Kayak and I must start out by saying that it was built under the direction of my good friend and mentor, Mark Rogers of Superior Kayaks in Whitelaw, WI, who also makes beautiful wood kayaks of 'fine furniture' quality. He would probably cringe to read that because his boats are made to be paddled. If your interested in checking his work out his website is superiorkayaks.com.
All the construction techniques are as close to the original Greenland methods as Mark can determine, based on studying kayaks in European museums and by being mentored himself by Sven Ulstrup, a Dane who learned the techniques in Greenland.
Anyway, my boat is 19'8" long and 20" wide and weighs 34 lbs. A fibreglass boat this size would weigh about 50 lbs. The gunwales are pine and have scarfed joints (epoxied) to achieve their length. The gunwales are bent to shape using spreaders and ropes. The ribs are steam bent red oak and fit in mortices in the underside of the gunwales. The deckbeams (mostly pine) fit into mortices in the inside walls of the gunwales. The mortices and mating ends of the deckbeams are cut to accommodate the angles formed as the gunwales taper at either end. In case you haven't figured it out, that means every deckbeam and every rib is different and must be hand fit. Both ribs and deckbeams are pinned (1/4"), and then the pins are pinned (1/8") at each end. The only power tool used was a small cordless drill. The frame is rubbed with BLO before stretching the canvas skin over it. The cockpit coaming is steam bent red oak and is sewn directly to the canvas. The canvas is painted with a "secret formula" which I cannot share. Sorry.
In case you are wondering, these kayaks, of which I have built three now, are high performing boats. They are quite fast and handle very well in rough water. I know that some of you folks get a kick out of pulling a pair of socks out of a dresser drawer with nice hand-cut, or machine-cut dovetails that you made. So I suspect you have an idea how much fun it is to mess around in your own hand-made boat.
Greg
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Bob_Hammond
