Kayak Progress
It’s the end of day 3 of my class with Cape Falcon Kayak, and we have a completed frame:
Completed Frame
Tomorrow we’ll cover it with the fabric (nylon) skin and dye it. On Friday it will be covered in a two part polyeurethane, and on Saturday we’ll add rigging and lines and make a paddle. The only remaining wood work is a cockpit hole, and we worked on that today too. I think it will be lashed into place tomorrow.
It’s pretty cool, that entire structure is just made of wood and synthetic lashings (there is a little plastic and stainless steel for the foot pegs). I wonder if skin on frame kayaks were one of human kind’s first space frame structures?
If you click on the image above it takes you to my photo gallery showing progress so far (and a few photos of the Shop People space are sprinkled in there too).
front end
Very cool, Alex! I started paddling in the Willamette last year. It”’’s a great complement to biking, and I can easily tow my little 10”” plastic ””yak down to the water. What length and width boat are you building? What use are you planning?
what was the process for bending the boards in the frame? just use the lateral boards to yank them into place?
I”m curious how much she”ll weigh when finished. Looks like a great project.
Cedar? Hardwood? Mix?
around 27lbs (or less than half of my fiberglass kayak). The wood is mostly cedar, with some bamboo, spruce, and oak mixed in.
The boards that go the length of the boat are just bent in plaxe the short ribs that go across the boat were steam bent. Click into the photos and you”ll find one of the steamer.
joe: it is about 14 feet long and 22 inches wide. i”llprobably use it for everything from slow trips watching otters with christine to week long camping trips.
Alex,
Wow, look at the woodworking. You are not making this in your metal shop from the looks of it, this is in their shop?
Dan, Yeah, I”m taking the class at the Shop People space in Portland. It is a well equipped wood shop, with a little metal on the side too. A really nice resource, I wish we had something like it in Seattle.
I could make one in my basement, but I”d have to stop working on metal for a while. Most of the wood working steps were done with hand tools or basic power tools.
Did you have to scarf any joints or was another method used? My wife bought me a build your own wooden kayak book years ago and I”ve always wanted to build one but the honey do list has prevented is so far and a woodshop is a dusty place. I”ll follow up with you some time in the near future about this place, this might be a worth while alternative to doing this in my own crude work shop.
Wow, that is going to be one nice looking boat! I fell in love with the look of a wood kayak (cedar plank) that I saw in Maine. It was a fast boat. Your canvas covered version will be even lighter and more responsive.
I”ve fancied owning one, but the rivers around here are too rocky. I couldn”t stand damaging such a work of art!
What color do you plan for the canvas?
Bill in Roswell, GA, paddling on the Chattahoochie River
We sewed on the skin and dyed it last night. My boat is a medium brown with a slight reddish tint. I”ll post some photos of the skinned boat tonight or tomorrow (they are on my computer, but I haven”t had time to go through them yet).
Alex, nice work on the kayak. It looks like a lot of fun to put together. It was also neat to meet you outside Clever Cycles down in Portland last weekend. It’’s a small world. Hope you have a good time finishing this project.
Wow – very nice. I”ve always been a roto-moulded kayak guy, but I”ve been envious of those with fibreglass/kevlar sea kayaks….your new boat is another level of awesomeness….=-)