Kayak Building
 

I'm thinking real hard about a winter project and building a Kayak is very high on that list. Has anyone here taken on that project -- and how did it turn out, with who's design?

I'm looking here http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/ specifically at the Cape Ann series. I'm leaning to the HV or the Expedition (I'm big and need a sizable boat). Anyone have any working knowledge of these designs? Any input would be very much appreciated before I invest in plans or start building. If not, does anyone have a suggestion for a building group that I may pose some questions to.

--
KENNETH MCCLELLAND

Start with a simple stitch-and-glue model. Then work into something more
complex. You'll be glad you did.

--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://www.jemwatercraft.com/

In article . net,
says...

Start with a simple stitch-and-glue model. Then work into something more
complex. You'll be glad you did.

I agree. I am about half way through a stripper which is my first homebuilt
kayak. I started last Christmas, thinking it was going to be a winter project.
I have a well-equipped shop and am not a complete novice woodworker. I am
amazed at how long this is taking and how uncraftsmanlike the results. I'm
thinking now this may be a practice boat which will be burned before letting
anyone see it. I wish I had started with a stitch and glue boat. I'd have been
on the water with it this summer.

Bennet

Bennet George wrote in :

In article . net,
says...

Start with a simple stitch-and-glue model. Then work into
something more complex. You'll be glad you did.

I agree. I am about half way through a stripper which is my first
homebuilt kayak. I started last Christmas, thinking it was going
to be a winter project. I have a well-equipped shop and am not a
complete novice woodworker. I am amazed at how long this is taking
and how uncraftsmanlike the results. I'm thinking now this may be
a practice boat which will be burned before letting anyone see it.
I wish I had started with a stitch and glue boat. I'd have been
on the water with it this summer.

Bennet



Results can vary. My friend decided he was interested in building a
stripper and completed his in about 250 hours -- which included doing
his own bead and cove router work on the strips. The finshed boat is
a beauty: we tease him about him boat being "guy bait" because
inevitably men come up and start chatting with him about his boat
whenever we're at campsite or put-ins.

He had some woodworking experience, having done a fair bit of
carpentry work around the house, but he was not a "pro". It was his
first boat. He started with only a set of plans and a lot of time
browsing the web looking at kayak building sites.

He's now talking about building a 25' sailboat. But first he needs to
build a garage big enough and we're all betting that his wife will
have something to say about THAT!

--
Darryl

I recently built a couple kayaks from Pygmy Boats (stitch and glue
models) and the results were great. I have little woodworking
knowledge and it is mostly unnecessary. Just follow the instructions.

I am still considering a strip boat design, but haven't taken the
plunge yet. The time commitment is about four-fold and I would need
more tools to complete the work.

Jake


"Kenneth McClelland" wrote in message news:a132d.6974$IO5.6651@trndny04...
I'm thinking real hard about a winter project and building a Kayak is
very high on that list. Has anyone here taken on that project -- and how
did it turn out, with who's design?

I'm looking here http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/ specifically at the Cape
Ann series. I'm leaning to the HV or the Expedition (I'm big and need a
sizable boat). Anyone have any working knowledge of these designs? Any
input would be very much appreciated before I invest in plans or start
building. If not, does anyone have a suggestion for a building group
that I may pose some questions to.

You don't indicate your experience level, but I don't know that you want to
tackle a stripper as a first boatbuilding project. A stitch-n-glue boat may be
a better starter project.

I'm not a woodworker or boatbuilder, so I chose to build a Pygmy Coho kayak
(http://www.pygmyboats.com/) a few years ago. Among kit boats, Pygmy and
Chesapeake Light Craft probably have the largest following. The ultimate choice
is strictly a personal decision, because both are excellent companies thta
design excellent boats. I have documented my project on
http://www.tsca.net/puget/coho1.htm. I am VERY pleased with the results, in
both looks and performance. Mine took 135 hours over 6 months of scattered
evenings and weekends.

Both Pygmy and CLC sell plans for some of their designs, if you would rather
build from plans. If you live near one of thm, and can test-paddle a few of
their finished boats, you may be able to make a better decision.


"Kenneth McClelland" wrote...
I'm thinking real hard about a winter project and building a Kayak is very
high on that list. Has anyone here taken on that project -- and how did it
turn out, with who's design?

I'm looking here http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/ specifically at the Cape Ann
series. I'm leaning to the HV or the Expedition (I'm big and need a sizable
boat). Anyone have any working knowledge of these designs? Any input would be
very much appreciated before I invest in plans or start building. If not, does
anyone have a suggestion for a building group that I may pose some questions
to.

Thanks all for your input. I do have some woodworking experience and pretty
good patience for long projects but I'm starting to think - what the heck,
build a S&G first - more boats = more fun. Fortunately I have the storage
space for more than one and I might even talk my wife into coming kayaking
with me if I have a spare boat around. If not my son will eventually grow
into it.

Thanks All

--
KENNETH MCCLELLAND
"John R Weiss" wrote in message
news:Rvl2d.311372$8_6.182588@attbi_s04...
You don't indicate your experience level, but I don't know that you want
to
tackle a stripper as a first boatbuilding project. A stitch-n-glue boat
may be
a better starter project.

I'm not a woodworker or boatbuilder, so I chose to build a Pygmy Coho
kayak
(http://www.pygmyboats.com/) a few years ago. Among kit boats, Pygmy and
Chesapeake Light Craft probably have the largest following. The ultimate
choice
is strictly a personal decision, because both are excellent companies thta
design excellent boats. I have documented my project on
http://www.tsca.net/puget/coho1.htm. I am VERY pleased with the results,
in
both looks and performance. Mine took 135 hours over 6 months of
scattered
evenings and weekends.

Both Pygmy and CLC sell plans for some of their designs, if you would
rather
build from plans. If you live near one of thm, and can test-paddle a few
of
their finished boats, you may be able to make a better decision.


"Kenneth McClelland" wrote...
I'm thinking real hard about a winter project and building a Kayak is
very
high on that list. Has anyone here taken on that project -- and how did
it
turn out, with who's design?

I'm looking here http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/ specifically at the Cape
Ann
series. I'm leaning to the HV or the Expedition (I'm big and need a
sizable
boat). Anyone have any working knowledge of these designs? Any input
would be
very much appreciated before I invest in plans or start building. If
not, does
anyone have a suggestion for a building group that I may pose some
questions
to.

"Kenneth McClelland" wrote in
news:KSn2d.5920$VV2.5405@trndny06:

Thanks all for your input. I do have some woodworking experience and
pretty good patience for long projects but I'm starting to think - what
the heck, build a S&G first - more boats = more fun. Fortunately I
have the storage space for more than one and I might even talk my wife
into coming kayaking with me if I have a spare boat around. If not my
son will eventually grow into it.

That's the spirit. To offer another perspective, I have built both a stitch
-n-glue (from a kit) and a cedar strip boat (from plans). For the latter, I
milled my own strips and essentially built from scratch. Someone suggested
that I cedar strip boat was more expensive. In my case, I spent several
hundred dollars more building the S&G boat than the cedar strip. On the
other hand, I was able to use some of the tools that I bought to build the
S&G boat for the stripper.

The stripper took considerably longer to build than the S&G but neither is
something that you're going to knock off on a weekend and it's worth taking
your time and doing it right.

Several people have suggested building a S&G first but a lot of people have
built cedar strip boats as their first and fortunately there are a lot of
resources that will help you do so. When I built mine I put together a
binder of printouts from various web pages (including quite a few from the
oneoceankayak site). Nick Schade's boat building forum (and the rest of his
site at http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/Building/Building.html) is pretty
much essential. The Newfound Woodworks and several others all contain good
information. One thing you'll discover is there is no one correct way to
build a boat so using a variety of sources will help you find the best way
to build the boat that you want. There are also quite a few different
designs available. Nick's Guillemot's are very popular, the One Ocean boats
look nice, as do the Redfish boats and several others. I built Jay Babina's
Outer Island.

In addition to web resources I recommend Nick Schade's "Strip built
kayak..." book. There are others. I also bought a copy of the video from
homegrownboats.com which I found very helpful.

One area where it might pay to build an "easier" boat first is in working
with fiberglass and epoxy resin. I didn't find the building process on the
cedar strip boat the be that difficult. The process is very forgiving,
probably more so than building a S&G boat if you build from plans.

Gather as much information as you can, pick a design, then buy the materials
and start building. Having a friend that will cut cedar strips for you is a
great advantage.

Thanks for the details. I printed out the order for the video. That and the
plans order are going into my Christmas/Birthday wish list for my wife. She
always complains that I don't know what I want for those occasions. Well
this year I'm prepared ; I was already looking at the book you mentioned
and that is going to get ordered very soon so that I have it to read on an
upcoming trip I have to take for work. Nothing like being stuck in a hotel
room to get some good reading done.

--
KENNETH MCCLELLAND
"John Fereira" wrote in message
.. .
"Kenneth McClelland" wrote in
news:KSn2d.5920$VV2.5405@trndny06:

Thanks all for your input. I do have some woodworking experience and
pretty good patience for long projects but I'm starting to think - what
the heck, build a S&G first - more boats = more fun. Fortunately I
have the storage space for more than one and I might even talk my wife
into coming kayaking with me if I have a spare boat around. If not my
son will eventually grow into it.

That's the spirit. To offer another perspective, I have built both a
stitch
-n-glue (from a kit) and a cedar strip boat (from plans). For the latter,
I
milled my own strips and essentially built from scratch. Someone
suggested
that I cedar strip boat was more expensive. In my case, I spent several
hundred dollars more building the S&G boat than the cedar strip. On the
other hand, I was able to use some of the tools that I bought to build the
S&G boat for the stripper.

The stripper took considerably longer to build than the S&G but neither is
something that you're going to knock off on a weekend and it's worth
taking
your time and doing it right.

Several people have suggested building a S&G first but a lot of people
have
built cedar strip boats as their first and fortunately there are a lot of
resources that will help you do so. When I built mine I put together a
binder of printouts from various web pages (including quite a few from the
oneoceankayak site). Nick Schade's boat building forum (and the rest of
his
site at http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/Building/Building.html) is pretty
much essential. The Newfound Woodworks and several others all contain
good
information. One thing you'll discover is there is no one correct way to
build a boat so using a variety of sources will help you find the best way
to build the boat that you want. There are also quite a few different
designs available. Nick's Guillemot's are very popular, the One Ocean
boats
look nice, as do the Redfish boats and several others. I built Jay
Babina's
Outer Island.

In addition to web resources I recommend Nick Schade's "Strip built
kayak..." book. There are others. I also bought a copy of the video from
homegrownboats.com which I found very helpful.

One area where it might pay to build an "easier" boat first is in working
with fiberglass and epoxy resin. I didn't find the building process on
the
cedar strip boat the be that difficult. The process is very forgiving,
probably more so than building a S&G boat if you build from plans.

Gather as much information as you can, pick a design, then buy the
materials
and start building. Having a friend that will cut cedar strips for you is
a
great advantage.

I've started a S & G Tutuorial.

http://www.jemwatercraft.com/forum/

Kenneth McClelland wrote:
I'm thinking real hard about a winter project and building a Kayak is
very high on that list. Has anyone here taken on that project -- and how
did it turn out, with who's design?

I'm looking here http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/ specifically at the Cape
Ann series. I'm leaning to the HV or the Expedition (I'm big and need a
sizable boat). Anyone have any working knowledge of these designs? Any
input would be very much appreciated before I invest in plans or start
building. If not, does anyone have a suggestion for a building group
that I may pose some questions to.

--
KENNETH MCCLELLAND
I built a strip kayak from plans I bought from Canoe and Kayak magasine
and a canoe (including sailing rig). I didn't find it difficult and
find they're beautiful. Also the best toys I ever had. :O) A few
hints if you decide to go for it. Use epoxy resin rather than polyester
add opaque glue (blended to match your wood) to the glue you use to fix
the strips together. This hides gaps. Give yourself enough time 250 to
300 hours is normal for a first kayak. If your interested, check out
http://mywebpage.netscape.com/clurri...ge.htm#HAQJAUK
where I have a picture posted...

In any case, if you build it it becomes like one of your children.
It'll be at least twice as much fun to take out...

Clurrie

"Hot or cold, wet or dry, a day on the water is always better than a day
on the job."

I can't see what one would gain by building a S&G first. Both construction
methods are so different that no essential skills are learned by building a
S&G first and a strip-planked kayak later. Well, if one doesn't have the
patient to finish a S&G than it would be hopeless to start a strip kayak, but
that has nothing to do with skills.
To get an idea how strip planking works and to discover little tricks a better
approach could be to built a model boat first, such as a 3 foot sailboat hull
or a scale model of the kayak.

ulli

Ulli wrote in :

I can't see what one would gain by building a S&G first. Both
construction methods are so different that no essential skills are
learned by building a S&G first and a strip-planked kayak later.


I disagree. Both require learning how to work with fiberglass cloth and
epoxy resin. Both may use a similar method for constructing the cockpit
rim, hatches, an basic rigging.

Of course, one could build a S&G hull, strip-planked deck hybrid and learn
skills required for both at the same time.

I would like to take this time to thank everyone for their input. (BTW - I
started this thread just in case you haven't followed the whole thing.) I
have made my decision and am going to do the One Ocean Cirrus (S&G) this
winter. The final decision point was the time involved. I will be starting a
few classes on-line in a little while and the time left over would not allow
the completion of a strip built, in time for next year's paddling. Luckily
my computer and shop are mere feet away from each other and I will be able
to move between classes and the project quickly (this after my normal 40+
hours at a job), this will be a big help while waiting for things to dry for
the next step. This will provide me with a new boat to paddle next summer
and if all goes well and I enjoy the process, I will do a strip built next
winter. Again thank you for all your responses. I'll let you know when I
start cutting wood and let you know how I make out.

--
KENNETH MCCLELLAND
"John Fereira" wrote in message
.. .
Ulli wrote in :

I can't see what one would gain by building a S&G first. Both
construction methods are so different that no essential skills are
learned by building a S&G first and a strip-planked kayak later.


I disagree. Both require learning how to work with fiberglass cloth and
epoxy resin. Both may use a similar method for constructing the cockpit
rim, hatches, an basic rigging.

Of course, one could build a S&G hull, strip-planked deck hybrid and learn
skills required for both at the same time.

There's much to be learned from working with epoxy and fiberglass. A S &
G boat will be more forgiving to errors. I think one could gain quite a
bit from building a S & G first.

Just my $.02.

--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://www.jemwatercraft.com/


Ulli wrote:

I can't see what one would gain by building a S&G first. Both construction
methods are so different that no essential skills are learned by building a
S&G first and a strip-planked kayak later. Well, if one doesn't have the
patient to finish a S&G than it would be hopeless to start a strip kayak, but
that has nothing to do with skills.
To get an idea how strip planking works and to discover little tricks a better
approach could be to built a model boat first, such as a 3 foot sailboat hull
or a scale model of the kayak.

ulli