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Thread: Anyone Build a Kayak ?

  1. #46
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Huntersville, NC
    Posts
    169
    Roderick,

    Thank you for all that excellent information.

    Mu current situation , this has been explained in my last post. and my largest concern is being able to sit in the “kayak position” for long periods of time. I am working on this. Weather permitting, I should be able to give it a try in my son’s new Plastic-type sit-in kayak . before the “Wee Lassie” is refinished.

    You have given me much to think about as well as Kayak Plan and kit sources. I have been dealing with LV the last few years and will take a look at their plans. Who knows, I nay be satisfied with ny 11-1/2: Wee Lassie.

    Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experience. You have been very helpful.

    Don
    Last edited by Don Rogers; 04-10-2016 at 9:50 AM.

  2. #47
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Southwestern CT
    Posts
    1,392
    Depending on the level of design involvement that interests you - and the type of kayak build you're considering (strip?) - take a look at Ross Leidy's Kayak Foundry. It is a well tested program and has a phenomenol support forum. I have invested the effort to learn how to design using the software, and have designed several small kayaks for myself. One can then post the plans to the forum and get comments on how suitable other's feel the design will work to meet your requirements. When done with the design, one can use the software software to produce moulds to your specifications that you can print out on paper, cut out in plywood or fiberboard and install on your strongback. I run the program in Windows virtualized in Parallels.

    This way you make something truly unique. Or at least come away with a far better understanding of kayak design and stability.

    http://www.blueheronkayaks.com/kayak/index.html
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools.” Confucius

  3. #48
    Don,

    Your post reminded me of a local school that teaches you how to build a kayak:

    http://skippingfishboatschool.org/


  4. #49
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    TX, NM or on the road
    Posts
    845
    Do a Google search for "rowerwet kayak" this guy uses sheets of building foam, then skins it. If you think the idea is nuts, go to http://tnttt.com/ and read the section on "Foamies".

  5. #50
    I built a Pigmy Murrelet from a kit a while back. My completed boat is 17' and around 30lbs. Love the boat and loved the experience but my next one will be a strip-built for sure. Nothing against plywood and fiberglas but as my skills improve I keep considering bigger challenges. Plus the beauty of the strip boats are undeniable. Chesapeake Light Craft has some great plans etc. Might be worth renting some boats and paddling a bit before you invest the many hours in a build of your own.

  6. roughly estimation, how much did it cost to build that one?
    thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by Darrell LaRue View Post
    The skin-on-frame concept was what we used at a Scout camp the year before last. We built a boat, from start to water in 3 hours. It's made from a pile of sticks, a ball of cotton string, a few 1X3's, a roll of plastic, and a handful of screws & nails. If we had used better material and more time we would have had a fairly nice craft, but for the purposes of a demonstration it was awesome.

    Attachment 328859

    Darrell

  7. #52
    Cost... Not much!

    Someone had a part roll of 6 mil vapour barrier leftover from a home reno project. A roll of vapour barrier at the building supply stores probably runs about $30. We used a dozen 1.25 inch wood screws and a couple dozen 2 inch finish nails, and three 8 foot pieces of 1X3 strapping. One of the guys gave us a big spool of cotton string that we used for lashing. Oh, and the inevitable duct tape to pad the pointy bits of the sticks and seal up accidental punctures. The sticks were free, we cut them at a woodlot a friend owns.

    All in I guess about $25 worth of materials if we had to buy it all. And you can portage like a hat.
    Darrell
    Wood Hoarder, Blade Sharpener, and Occasional Tool User

  8. I built a Chesapeake Light Craft kit quite a few years ago and can say that the quality of the kit was excellent.

    Since then I have also built a skin on frame kayak. The skin on frame was quickly made with inexpensive materials and probably cost less than some folks spend on paint or varnish.

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