So anyone out here in FWW Land ever build a kayak? I am looking at a stitch & glue and would appreciate any thoughts.
I looked up in the archive that issue #95 has an article. So I am off to the attic!!
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Hello Kungur:
I have built a couple of skin-on-frame kayaks using aluminum tube, HDPE for the "ribs" and PVC for the "skin". A few friends have built stitch and glue. The biggest difficulty they encountered was with the quality of the plans and the errors contained therein - some quite egregious.
A few questions:
Do you plan on doing your own lofting?
Are you going to buy a kit, e.g., Chesapeake Light Craft?
Have you got plenty of space?
There is nothing inherently difficult, but you might want to build a strongback and stations to hold the semi complete kayak. I used this approach and it was very helpful. Also, I found many builders had published there stories and experiences on the web - try and find some of those - they will be very helpful.
Good luck
Hastings
I have been looking at CLC and am quite impressed.
CLC come with excellent instruction and great videos. This is one instance when you really need to RTFM.You should have no problem i making an excellentboat.Hastings
Years ago I made a "skin on frame" kayak with sawn marine plywood frames and canvas covering. The canvas was treated with airplane dope and painted. It was used every summer for 20 something years and is still watertight. I would look at some of the kayak building forums as there is something special about "skin on frame" The stitch and glue kayaks involve a lot of epoxy work as they are glassed with fiberglass and epoxy resin -- a friend build a Pygmy "Coho" kayak from a kit. One of the nice features of this is that the deck has a chine at the edge to increase foot room. I would check out the Pygmy website in any case.
In 2001, I built a Chesapeake 17 LT from thier kit.
I am very pleased both with the resulting kayak, their forum, and excellent instructions for construction.
It took quite a bit longer than they suggested it would. I spent 5 1/2 months of nights and weekends, about half the time constructing and half the time finishing.
One reason that it took so long was that for every step, after reading gthe manual, I spent half an hour reading the CLC forum (http://www.clcboats.com).
I started in December and had my varnished and painted boat in the water in May.
No regretsat all; only modest woorworking skills required.
You need a strongback for a strip built kayak. No place / way to use one on a stitch & glue.
Bill
I used over 100 sheets of sandpaper on my Porter Cable ROS.
I just got an e-mail from Chesapeake Light Craft. From now until Oct 31, their annual fall sale is on. Up to $76 off most of their kits.
I believe I saved $75 on my kit by ordering it during the fall sale.
Bill
There is a book by Chris K? on building kayaks, actually he may have written two books, which has plans for S & G kayaks. The book pretty much explains everything. I have built two kayaks myself and a strip canoe. There is nothing difficult with either method of construction, but strip building is definitely time consuming. But it does leave you with a boat that impresses everyone. As others have suggested, the CLC kits are great. If you do an online search you will find other plans as well. If I would ever build another, it would probably be a stripper built from Gulimont plans.
Hi Kungur,
I just finished a wood strip kayak using the book by Ted Moores, called KayakCraft. The boat described and built by me is called the Endeavor. The book describes how you use staples to hold the wood in place while the glue dries, but since there are station molds every 12 inches with a maximum number of 68 strips at the center tapering to the ends, I calculated I would have something less than 2000 holes. Since I fancy myself as being a high quality woodworker, I found a reference in the back of the book whereby one could use many many clamps and "L" shaped plywood "holders" so there would be no holes. By having to use a clamp per station mold per strip the time to build became significantly longer. My neighbors tell me what was produced should be hung on the wall as it is a work of art. I used primarily cuban mahogany with black walnut and maple accent stripes and maple cowlings around the 2 hatches and cockpit.
I would highly recommend doing what I did if you want both a work of art and a very satisfying project.
Buy the book and see what you think. I used wood left over from other projects so the bulk of the costs were for epoxy, resin, varnish, and sand paper.
Best to you and your decision.
Don
Don, Any photos to share?!Bill-http://www.franklinwoodwright.com
I am in California and did not take pictures, so I had a friend do so. Sorry for the delay. Here are a few pictures now, a few months later.
Here's a set reduced. Nice.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
That is one nice looking kayak! Does the OP have an estimate concerning the number of hours?
I would say FINEWOODWORKING!
I've built two Mill Creek kayaks from CLC plans, a 13 and a 15. We love the boats and they were fun to build and even more fun to use.
Jim
Hi Kungur,
I build kayaks for a living.
Stitch and glue is a good construction method for your first project but the material toxicity is not to be taken lightly. My preference for a first time build is skin-on-frame. It is far more sculptural in its approach and much more fun. From a toxicity point of view it does not get much safer. Paint is your only goop to contend with. It is also the fastest method by far. The average kayak in my shop is ready for paint in five working days. That is with myself guiding a beginner through the process.
The materials cost is also much lower for a skin boat.
Feel free to visit the kayak section of my website to see the wide variety of styles you can explore. There are a couple of skin-on-frame boats in my skiffs section as well.
Mark Reuten
http://www.nomadboatbuilding.com
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