k wrote:
Thanks for the reply Brian. Here is what I think I need:
Dimensions for a14-16' Greenland style kayak
(the width and depth for a 5'9 180 pound person should not be that hard
to figure (there are alot of us around). a general idea of size would
be helpful.
A good plan (picture, example, drawing) of the gunwale.
A method to figure out the size of where a person sits (coams?).
cockpit?
I have looked at enough pictures...I think I have it figured out (how
to construct it).
A reccomendation of materials would not hurt anything.

Morris',Cunningham's, Starr's and Petersen's book are not available on
library loan.
If you were going to buy one....which one would it be? Thanks,
-k
Morris' book is probably the most comprehensive and his building
technique is the easiest. The only caveat is that he suggests cutting
all of your wood from rough 2x stock that's not available in most areas
and is a pain in the ass to do.

Cunningham's book shows a superior way of making matched gunwale boards
by cutting them from a wider plank. His method is the most authentic
(next to Petersen's, who's books are very hard to find) and somewhat
more difficult than Morris'.

Starr's method is probably the most foolproof, but it's slower.

All of these books show you how to determine the dimensions for your
boat. Once you get into the process, it's much easier to understand how
it works and it seems much less daunting. Building these boats is a
matter of a lot of relatively simple steps. You learn the skills you
need as you go along.

Honestly, I think it's best to have at least two of these books, if not
all three, to get a more balanced perspective of the process and to see
various options for the construction steps. I've got about a dozen books
and one video on the subject and they all have good info to offer. They
aren't expensive and they're well worth owning.


Brian Nystrom wrote:

k wrote:

Has anyone built the kayak from David Zimmerly's plans that Bill
mentioned (Thanks Bill). http://www.arctickayaks.com/ It looks
interesting. I'll have to figure how to scale it down because I do not
have a big enough space to build it. (22' yikes!) - k

Skin-on-frame kayaks are not typically built from plans. The popular
books on the subject (Morris, Cunningham, Starr, Petersen) teach you a
construction method and how to determine the proper dimensions to match
your body size. That's how the Inuit and Aleut did it (and still do).
Zimmerly's book contains examples of kayaks from several areas and has
dimensioned diagrams of them for reference, but does not teach the
construction methods. You could use those dimensions to duplicate the
boat, but you still need to learn how to build it. If you're thinking of
building any of the Aleut boats, Morris' book has instructions for
building them, in addition to the main section on building
Greenland-style boats. Cunningham's, Starr's and Petersens books are
about building Greenland-style boats only, though many of the techniques
are the same.