My Kayak-Build Thread

[911 Rod]

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

[ckissick]

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.

[oldE]

"Anyone could do this. "
Yeah, right.

Great work. Thanks for sharing.
Best
Les

[Skip Newsom]

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!

[ckissick]

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

[ckissick]

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):


How it looks right-side-up:



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.:

[javadog]

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?

[911 Rod]

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

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by javadog

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?

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.

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by 911 Rod

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

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.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

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

[herr_oberst]

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?

[javadog]

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

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

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?

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.

[ckissick]

Originally Posted by javadog

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

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

[ckissick]

The frame is all done!





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

[ckissick]

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.

[javadog]

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

[ckissick]

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.


Here's the skin draped into place and stitched with a the first round of stitching to get the skin somewhat taught:


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.


Looking toward the bow from the cockpit:


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

[ckissick]

Oops. Clicked "submit reply" instead of "upload photo". Whip stitch detail:


And the hull with nice, tight skin. Next step is to install the coaming, then stain the fabric.