Building Your Own Sea Kayak - By: Jessica Thomson

For those who love sailing the vast oceans and quiet lakes, there is no pleasure bigger than making one’s own floating vessel. Making a custom built boat is like a dream come true. It is the beauty of creating something that lends to a boatbuilding project its uniqueness. The project becomes more practical if, a small boat design is chosen.
A Kayak is a small human powered boat that has a covered deck and one or more cockpits with paddles for propulsion. The cockpit is covered which helps keep the inside of the boat and the lower part of the paddler’s body dry. Some modern kayaks have eliminated the cockpits, seating the paddler on top and have used alternative methods of propulsion.
A kayak has certain characteristics that make it perfect for the first time builders. These are as follows:

The advantages of building a kayak out of wood are manifold. It is
· Lightweight
· Has an uncompromised hull form and
· Strength and stiffness.
Materials needed for building a wooden kayak are:
· Minicel foam for kayak seats: This is a light weight closed cell foam structure with excellent cushioning properties and is cent percent water proof.
· Router Bits
· Stainless cables: These are maintainence free, corrosion resistant stainless steel cables.
· Ultra high molecular weight Polyethylene: These are self-lubricating, wear resistant, chemically inert and lighter than water.
Steps for building a kayak
Ø Choosing design: The first step before plunging into a kayak building project is to choose a design. The design depends on the paddler’s need. It can be high performance cruiser or a recreational touring kayak
Ø The second step includes the method you want to adapt to build your own kayak. The methods used are of two types :

We can now discuss the two types of methods used for building kayaks in details.
Strip Built Method
Ø Drawing out forms and cutting them out with a saber –saw or band-saw
Ø Cutting a hole in the middle of forms and stringing them together
Ø Adding more strips , gluing edge to edge and stapling
Ø Plane smooth
Ø Fibre-glass the outside
Ø Remove the shell from the forms into two halves, that is the deck and the hull
Ø Plane the inside
Ø Fibre-glass the inside
Ø Glue the deck and hull back together
Ø Paddle
Stick and Glue Method
Ø Scarfing
Ø Draw the parts and cut out
Ø Drill small holes along edges of parts
Ø Stitch the panels of the hull with wire through the holes
Ø Glue the hull and the deck similarly
Ø Radius the corners
Ø Glass the outside
Ø Paint
Ø Paddle
The above is a brief description of methods used for building a kayak. There is no joy more than the joy of creating something and when you would see your created kayak sailing in the seas, the joy would reach its zenith. Best of luck boatbuilding!

About the Author

For more insights and further information about small boat design visit our site http://www.marinetechindustries.com.au

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Jessica-Thomson/15140

Additional Articles From - Home | Travel & leisure | Boating