building wooden kayak costs?
 

Sue Goddard wrote
My son wants a touring/fla****er kayak and can't afford to buy one. I
have a woodworking shop and offered to help him build one over the
winter, but his budget is only around $300.

Hi Sue,

One thing I am suprised no one mentioned is looking for used boats.
Unless you are really set on building your own, you can probably find
a used boat in your son's price range. I'd suggest contacting your
local paddling clubs, and looking at yard sales and estate sales.

I have a friend who developed horrible arthritis, and he ended up
selling off all his boats for a fraction of what they are worth
(sorry, they're all sold now). In cases like that, you can also work
out a bargain with the paddler, because more often than not they will
be proud to help someone enter the sport even if they themselves can
no longer enjoy it. When my grandfather passed away, my grandmother
virtually gave his boat away to a kid who she believed would enjoy it
as much as he did. I personally just sold my ex's boat for half of
what it is worth, because I did not want to look at it anymore.

Boats bought this way will also often include the paddle, PFD, skirt
and other goodies. It's also environmentally friendly because you are
you are recycling someones old boat.

building wooden kayak costs?
 

Eric gives good advice here.

building wooden kayak costs?
 

Eric gives good advice here.

I understand the appeal of used boats. But I live in an area where
fla****er/sea kayaks are unusual. The ones that I do hear about are an
hour away and sell for $600+. Having a wood shop, the thought of
building a boat over the winter with my son is appealing, and I'd hoped
it would be affordable as well.

But I appreciate all of the advice.

Sue

building wooden kayak costs?
 

Hi Sue,

In the mid-90's I came across some boy scouts who built canvas framed
kayaks as a project. The boats cost virtually nothing (about $75), and
took a few weekends to build. The scouts were using a book called
"Wood and Canvas Kayak Building" by George Putz, ISBN 0071559396,
$13.27 from amazon.com

To build the things, they were just using scrap wood, canvas and
paint. The boats are equally easy to repair, sew the hole back
together, repaint and paddle. Ribs can be repaired with driftwood. The
boats even fit into the category of "fix with duct tape and bailing
wire".

I believe their cost per boat was something like $75 each (mostly for
heavy canvas and good marine paint). They were not the prettiest
things on the water, but it did give the kids a chance to get out and
paddle. They even used them for an overnight trip on the Colorado
River from Loma to Wes****er (class I). The scout leader even made
himself a jumbo sized one, they are a build to fit type boat.

There will no doubt be purists that will balk at such a boat (yes,
just plain painted canvas, no fancy imitation seal skin), but from
what I have read posted here, it just might meet your criteria. The
only downside is that the canvas will rot, no matter what, and will
need to be replaced every few years (more if you are in a wet
climate). For as little as they cost to build, if your son does not
like it, he can probably sell it for a profit and build something
else.

- Eric

building wooden kayak costs?
 

You might want to look he http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/

Links to all sorts of possibilities


"Sue Goddard" wrote in message
...
My son wants a touring/fla****er kayak and can't afford to buy one. I
have a woodworking shop and offered to help him build one over the
winter, but his budget is only around $300. Chesapeake Light Craft's
kits are +/- $600 for stitch 'n glue. I was hoping a strip boat would
be cheaper, but I bought two books with instructions, and they claim
costs of $500 - $1000.

Does anyone have thoughts on minimum costs to build a kayak, and whether
a strip boat or a stitch 'n glue would be cheaper?

Thanks!

Sue

building wooden kayak costs?
 

"Eric Nyre" wrote...
In the mid-90's I came across some boy scouts who built canvas framed
kayaks as a project. The boats cost virtually nothing (about $75), and
took a few weekends to build. [snip]
To build the things, they were just using scrap wood, canvas and
paint. The boats are equally easy to repair, sew the hole back
together, repaint and paddle. Ribs can be repaired with driftwood. The
boats even fit into the category of "fix with duct tape and bailing
wire".


I started paddling about 35 years ago in a skin & frame kayak made of scrap
wood, 6 mil plastic & duct tape. It had 3/4" plywood frames & 1/4" ply
stringers. It was delicate but cheap & light.

Lloyd Bowles
www.madcanoeist.4ever.cc

building wooden kayak costs?
 

On 16-Nov-2003, (Eric Nyre) wrote:

There will no doubt be purists that will balk at such a boat (yes,
just plain painted canvas, no fancy imitation seal skin),

I wouldn't refer to them as purists. Modern Greenlanders make
kayaks using painted canvas. They don't use Putz style frames,
though, prefering traditional style frames.

Mike

building wooden kayak costs?
 

My 14'8" canoe cost me about $735 in 1991 dollars. This includes a
good saw blade, and materials for the strongback.

Dan

On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 19:00:44 GMT, Sue Goddard
wrote:

My son wants a touring/fla****er kayak and can't afford to buy one. I
have a woodworking shop and offered to help him build one over the
winter, but his budget is only around $300. Chesapeake Light Craft's
kits are +/- $600 for stitch 'n glue. I was hoping a strip boat would
be cheaper, but I bought two books with instructions, and they claim
costs of $500 - $1000.

Does anyone have thoughts on minimum costs to build a kayak, and whether
a strip boat or a stitch 'n glue would be cheaper?

Thanks!

Sue

Colorado Springs, CO
My advice may be worth what you paid for it.

building wooden kayak costs?
 

Epoxy is what gets you the most in cost.

Strip built requires fiberglassing inside and out. If you went with
stitch and glue, you could get away with just coating all surfaces with
2 coats of epoxy, which takes less resin than complete glassing.

S & G designs generally do not require a strong back either.

The trade off is you don't get the super fine curves of a strip built.

For around $300, you could get $200 worth of epoxy and paint and $100
worth of medium grade marine plywood. You could go cheaper with exterior
grade wood you get from the Home Depot but what you save in wood, you
spend in epoxy to get a decent, fair surface. Home Depot plywood will
soak up more resin too.

I don't have any touring kayak plans out yet (couple more months). I do
have a recreational kayak but it's pretty wide to be considered a
touring yak. Wider is generally more stable but not as fast for touring.

Selway Fisher has some neat looking ones
http://www.selway-fisher.com/Kayak.htm.

That or http://www.boatplans-online.com/prod....php?prod=SK17. Evan
designed that one as a 'sea kayak' but it's beamy enough for lake
cruising and be forgiving to a beginner.

Hope that helps!

--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://jem.e-boat.net/


Dan Dunphy wrote:
My 14'8" canoe cost me about $735 in 1991 dollars. This includes a
good saw blade, and materials for the strongback.

Dan

On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 19:00:44 GMT, Sue Goddard
wrote:


My son wants a touring/fla****er kayak and can't afford to buy one. I
have a woodworking shop and offered to help him build one over the
winter, but his budget is only around $300. Chesapeake Light Craft's
kits are +/- $600 for stitch 'n glue. I was hoping a strip boat would
be cheaper, but I bought two books with instructions, and they claim
costs of $500 - $1000.

Does anyone have thoughts on minimum costs to build a kayak, and whether
a strip boat or a stitch 'n glue would be cheaper?

Thanks!

Sue


Colorado Springs, CO
My advice may be worth what you paid for it.

building wooden kayak costs?
 

My son wants a touring/fla****er kayak and can't afford to buy one. I
have a woodworking shop and offered to help him build one over the
winter, but his budget is only around $300. Chesapeake Light Craft's
kits are +/- $600 for stitch 'n glue. I was hoping a strip boat would
be cheaper, but I bought two books with instructions, and they claim
costs of $500 - $1000.

Does anyone have thoughts on minimum costs to build a kayak, and whether
a strip boat or a stitch 'n glue would be cheaper?

Thanks!

Sue

There's lots of information on building your own kayaks and canoes
here as well: http://home.clara.net/gmatkin/design.htm

A very simple design you could try is this one:
http://www.alaska.net/~fritzf/Boats/...cky_Lassie.htm

Judging from the description it should be fairly cheap and easy to
build. In case you really like to have a closed boat you can always
add a deck etc.


HTH,

Michiel