Amazing.
How did you learn to do this?
I assume this isn't your first rodeo.

Cape Falcon Kayak sells supplies, plans, and has very detailed videos. It's my first kayak but I've built a few acoustic guitars, so I'm familiar with bending wood and other techniques. But the videos are so thorough, anyone could do this.

"Anyone could do this. "
Yeah, right.

Great work. Thanks for sharing.
Best
Les

Very nice work Charlie!!
I'm good at nailing two 2X4's together and sanding, this is way beyond my current skill set.

I'm interested in seeing the finished boat, looks like it will be very sturdy and have sleek lines!

I bought my first kayak (Pygmy Golden Eye) s few years back, someone else had built her, was no longer using and it needed refinishing.

I thoroughly enjoyed the refinish/refit process and considered building my own Pygmy kit (a stitch and glue boat), unfortunately they went out of business recently- My only beef with the one I have is the toe box space, a little too small for my size 12 feet.

Mine's 15' and 38 lbs, a bit unwieldy to load and unload from my truck top racks... so far I'm managing it.

I'm curious to hear what your specs are!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638211294.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638211294.jpg

It's 14 feet long and will weigh about 29 pounds.

The main body of the boat is done. Just some odds and ends before skinning.

The finished hull (except for attaching the stringers to the stern stem):
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638547444.jpg

How it looks right-side-up:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638547497.jpg

An example of the lashings. The artificial sinew is incredible stuff. It very thin but very strong. It's also stretchy and waxy so it doesn't slip.:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638547588.jpg

May be a stupid question but does the inside get skinned with anything that would prevent your feet from going through the outer skin, when you get in it?

Do you work through the night?
It would take me years!

Nothing on the inside. The skin is very tough. I wouldn't be able to kick a hole in it if I tried. But I'll be careful, anyway.

The whole thing can be built in 40 to 50 hours. I just work a couple hours at a time in the evening. I also have help from my daughter.

Amazing project, will be a work of art when done!

That's really beautiful. How're your hands doing? Do you have to wear gloves to stretch the sinew? Do you wet the sinew so it shrinks when it dries?

It’s looking really good, will you be putting some sort of a seat pad in there to sit on?

You use three "running" lashings for the sinew on the keel and the two stringers. So you cut a length of lashing material equal to 2-3/4 boat lengths, then you wrap the lashing around a piece of scrap wood like fishing line. You are able to pull very tight on the lashing by using the scrap wood as a grip. If you look carefully at the middle-left of the pic of the lashings you will see the sinew between two ribs, parallel to the stringer.

You don't wet it afterwards. It stays very tight.

There will be a back rest, and a thin foam pad for my bum.

The frame is all done!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638689518.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638689565.jpg

Next up is the skinning of the frame. Here are all the supplies I'll need.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638689627.jpg

Before skinning the boat, you have to slather the frame with, in my case, Watco Danish oil for extra water-proofing. The oil gives it such a nice color. It's a shame I have to cover it up.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1638761425.jpg

Man, you’re making a lot of progress on this thing quickly. Impressive.

We got a lot done this week, all having to do with skinning the kayak. Unlike a cat, there's only one way to do it: very carefully.

Here's the skin after being centered on the keel and ready for stitching: My daughter decided to name the boat Taco Del Mar based on this view.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639270176.jpg

Here's the skin draped into place and stitched with a the first round of stitching to get the skin somewhat taught:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639270060.jpg

The final stitching job at the stern. The curve in the stitching is to accommodate a drain plug. If I wasn't installing a drain plug, it would be a straight stitch.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639270316.jpg

Looking toward the bow from the cockpit:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639270378.jpg

A detail of a whip stitch at the bow, showing the curved needle.

Oops. Clicked "submit reply" instead of "upload photo". Whip stitch detail:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639270541.jpg

And the hull with nice, tight skin. Next step is to install the coaming, then stain the fabric.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639270624.jpg

With the installation of the coaming, the build is done.

The coaming set in place before stitching it in.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639293281.jpg

Close-up of the coaming:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639293311.jpg


Overall view. Next step is to add color. It's done with an acid dye in boiling hot water. This will shrink the fabric and hopefully take out the wrinkles.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639293400.jpg

I stained it and ironed it and the wrinkles came out!
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639361766.jpg


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639361861.jpg

You can't be up a creek without paddle, so I'm starting on a Greenland paddle.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1639361841.jpg

For some reason I thought this one was getting skinned with cedar strips...

What material is the fabric skin? How strong is the stitching?

Does that get "doped" like airplane fabric?

The fabric is called 840 X-Tra Tuff ballistic nylon. There are two kinds of stitching. One is a thick, tarred black thread, then there is the final stitching with a thin upholstery thread. Both are so strong you couldn't break it if you tried. Well, maybe you could break the upholstery thread if you really, really tried.

The skin doesn't get doped. It gets three coats of a 2-part urethane. I need to set aside about 5 hours for the coating, so I'll have to wait till next weekend.

This is a really cool thread. Thanks for posting Charlie.
Looks great so far!

I'm impressed as much with the speed of the build as much as I am the craftsmanship! Way to stick with it and get it done.

Really cool. Is there a birch-bark paint job in the future?

I'm thinking spitfire!

Great thread.

Do you have a color scheme in mind: Guards Red?:D

I'm thinking "Yum Yum Yellow". :cool:

I was thinking flames. But it's just going to stay as seen above. Cape Falcon Kayak calls it Sunset. It was hard to pick a color. There are so many nice options:

https://www.capefalconkayaks.com/choosing-a-color.html

The speed of the build will go down a bit. Next step is the urethane coating, but it has to be at least 60 degrees. My garage is unheated and it's been cool and cloudy lately. I have a small space heater that might do the job, I hope.

It looks great.

This is arguably the most important step. Hope is not a metric.

Wait or get supplemental heating.

The above sounds harsh but you are so close...don't get impatient.

I'll wait for some sunny days. If the sun comes out, I'll be fine. It's supposed to be sunny and 56 degrees on Saturday. Until then, I'll make a paddle. That's also a fun project.

I bought a thermometer for the garage just to be sure.

i'm not so sure i could build the paddle. the boat? forget it.

nice job C.. nice job.

Thank you, Charlie, for sharing this process with us. It's been very interesting to watch.

Great looking project Charlie.

Is there a spot for a flag?
Around here you are taking your life in your own hands without a way for boats to see you.

No flag needed. I'll mostly be taking it out to the harbor in Half Moon Bay, Tomales Bay, Lake Tahoe, the Truckee River, places like that.

Looking great. An inspiring project.

Very cool