I first had the idea about building a wood strip kayak when I saw a photo of one in a magazine. I thought to myself "I think i can build that." That day in August 2010 I was bitten by the boat building bug. I initially hoped it would be complete by the spring of 2011. Turns out that was a bit too ambitious. Now I'll be real happy if i get a chance to use it by the end of the year. Even if i have to take a road trip south to where some water isn't frozen! Here you will find a photo documentary on the progress. Enjoy!
99% of the photos I added to this site had disappeared. I just reposted them all. They no longer have the descriptions for each photo. Maybe in the future I will get a chance to go through and reorganize them all.
Sorry that it's been a while since I've added anything to this site. I have been busy though. The holidays came and went, and I made some progress on the kayak. Many of the things I have been working on are small and a bit time consuming. I have taken some photos and video when I could, but waited to post them until the whole process was complete (check out the Footbrace and Hip Plate photos). I can't believe its been almost a year and a half since I started this project! This is a list of what needs to be done as of today:
1) 2 more coats of varnish on the inside
1a) hand sand in between coats
2) Attach the hull and deck together
2a) Epoxy hull and deck together
2b) Fiberglass the exterior seam
2c) fill coats and sanding to smooth out seem
3) Install bulkheads
3a) Cut bulkeads to fit
3b) smooth and secure them in place
4) Make Seat and Backrest
4a) Carve seat
4b) Finish making backrest (already started it a bit)
4c) Install rigging for adjustable backrest
5) Add Carry loops and grab handles.
5a) Carve the grab handles
6) Final sanding of exterior
7) Varnish the Exterior
7a) Sand, varnish, sand, varnish, sand, varnish.... repeat until bored
8) Install all finishing touches
8a) Install seat
8b) Install backrest
8c) Install footbraces
8d) Install grab handles
8e) Install gasket on deck hatches
8f) Install padeyes
8g) Install deck rigging
9) If its still too cold to use.... Make a paddle