Building a kayak- do it yourself?

NAVIGATION
of my boat building project, wich incl. a photo-documentary report

Why building a wooden sea kayak?

exactly the desired model with ideal dimensions, esp. interesting for smaller and/or lighter kayakers or for people with special requirements
saving of expenses compared to buying ready-made
light-weight, therefore the boat becomes easier to handle e.g. loading the boat onto the car when the beefiness has dwindled away after a joyful trip
Timber has the „golden touch“ no plastic boat can compete with
being creative, seeing something grow and, most importantly, having fun building

To meet typical concerns:

"A wooden kayaks breaks so easily"

Timber is a very robust and yet flexible material. It is used since medieval times for the fabrication of boats.
For whom that's not enough: modern glues and varnishes work wonder. Coating timber with fibreglas and expoy resins (so-called sandwich-building) reenforces enormously the folding, compressional and tensile properties.

"Only for experienced craftspeople"

You don't have to be a certified carpenter! Some crafty aptness, but mainly patience and fun experimenting are required. There is always something to fiddle about, and what looks like a goof-up at first sight, does not have to be one.

"Only with a super-well-equipped workshed and special tools"

No, ultimately you can get by with a pencil, some hand tools (saw, rasp, drill), a scale or single-use syringes and sanding paper. However, the room has to be long enough. A few power tools ease the work load, see tools. Keep plenty of band-aid ready!
Also availabe are building kits which contain ready-made parts and all needed 'ingredients'. This is also a possibility to get into boat building Link to kit sets.

Otherwise, there are certainly friends around, willing to help out with tipps, tools and muscle power. Also, just ask around in kayaking clubs, relatives etc.

At this, I would like to express my gratitude to all who have helped to fulfill my dream of a self- built kayak. A very big THANK YOU !!.

--- --- Date last modified: 03.09.2007 --- ---