After 3 years of having the material and the plans I decided to start building sea kayaks finaly. I have been working on my boat and motor for the boat this winter but That's been put on hold for 1-2 months.

I haven't made this particular shape of kayak before so I need to start by making a support frame for the bulding jig first which is this weekend. Then I can start building one kayak to start so I can fine tune the jigs if need be and go on to build some more.



The first one I'm making will have a Mahogany plywood hull and red cedar wood strips for the deck. It's almost 18 ft long with 2 cargo containers for camping gear and supplies for long coastal trips.

My first trip should be in the Bic Archipale islands (Bic National Parc) probably in May.

Pics to follow as I build.

sweet idea, I've been thinking lately about maybe building one myself aswell. where are you sourcing your stripping? And did you get a set of plans or are you making them yourself?

livetoride21 wrote:

Well, I'm a cabinet maker by trade and own a shop at home so getting material is part of my job. i was in manufacting before that for 15 years same place in high end underwater videography. I did every job from bottom up next to the CEO so I can find my way around for resources anywhere in the world.

Plans I purchased and going to glue them on 1/4" ply to keep as templates. The wood I can get any type and at many places but I can supply you with a few places. Resins, fiberglass & carbon theirs a plce downtown that deals just in that type of material.

I started my templates but had no time to continue lately if I want to enjoy some free time. I have too many sports, hobbies and other interests in my life.

aha. yep, having lots of hobbies sure has its up sides and also it's downsides. I was originally looking at making my own with fiberglass, but just recently I've been looking into making a wood/composite one (cedar/redwood, with a layer of fiberglass over.) I just don't know where to start. I'll probably make my own set of plans, design it exactly how I want it, but i've never built a boat before, so It'll be quite a learning curve.

How much do you figure it'll cost in materials for something along the lines of a 15foot sea kayak?

Pretty much all wood kayaks even the ones entirely made of marine plywood are laminated with one layer of fiverglass. The one I'm making is concidered a hybrid because it's Marine ply hull and strip deck. It comes out to about $500 in material 15 or 17ft. Wood weighs a lot less even with one layer of fiberglass and tracks far better in the water.

I have a K-1 olympic sprint kayak made of fiberglass, haven't used it in 6 years and needs the deck/hull seem redone. That sprint kayak is an amazing way to get fit from neck to toe. I took it out of storage 2 weeks ago, next thing on my list to get ready. Also have a sailboard for freestyle sailing that's been in storage also 6 years but need to update some gear. That's also coming back out.