Products
Guillemot Kayaks provides a wide range of products and services relating to wooden kayaks and other boats. From a comprehensive book about building kayaks, through complete building plans, to kayak building classes as well as beautiful custom crafted boats.
Please look through the products listed below to find something that excites you.
If you already know what you want, and prefer to cut to the chase, you can find the book, plans and accessories product list here.
Kayak Plans and other Wooden Boat Designs
Guillemot Kayaks has been offering complete plans and instructions for building high performance wooden kayaks since 1993. Each kayak plan includes all the forms drawn out at full size and individually. No copying or lofting is required, just glue the plans to your form material and cut out around the lines. Each plan is printed out as an original to minimize any chance of errors being introduced in the reproduction process.
Each boat is meticulously designed in a process that typically takes several years of analysis, designing and testing. I am first and foremost interested on how the finished boat handles on the water and concentrate my design efforts towards making the best performing boats you can find. My years of paddling experience comes into play in every boat I design and my years of building boats ensures that the design will be something you can build and enjoy.
Guillemot Design Family
The Guillemot family of kayak designs grew out my quest to create a kayak to bring my out to the exposed islands off the coast of Maine. I wanted a boat that would be efficient for making open water crossings yet responsive in close to shore. I drew from a wide range of inspirations to get my dream boat, the responsiveness comes from the whitewater kayak I was paddling at the time, the ability to cross open water was borrowed from Greenland Inuit kayaks.
The design that resulted is characterized by sweeping end shapes and a rounded cross section. The ends are kept fairly low to decrease windage but curl up at the tips to provide lift over waves. The relatively flat bottom and moderately soft chine provide an easy to turn platform with the fine ends provide balanced tracking.
The Guillemot designs tend to be a little skittish. Novice paddlers who are used to stiffer tracking boats may feel they don't go straight. If you give them free rein they may get away from you, but with practice you can virtually think your way through a turn. A slight lean away will initiate a turn and you can stop it with a little lean the other way. With experience you will grow to find that the boat just becomes an extension of your body.
View the Guillemot Design Family of Sea Kayaks
Great Auk Design Family
The Great Auk family of designs grew out my first efforts to design a kayak. I wanted a boat that would be roomy and stable, could carry a lot of camping gear and move through the water smoothly and easily. Since my initial efforts the family has evolved to fill a wide range of niches, from calm water pond boats to a fast tourer/racer.
The family is characterized by a long waterline with plumb ends. The sectional shape is gradually rounded with a bit of flat on the bottom. The result has good initial stability and solid secondary. The long waterline contributes to efficiency at speed and good glide.
Due to their relatively simple shape the Great Auk designs are inherently easy to build. The bow shape has a small amount of hollow that provides a clean entry on flat water while adding lift as the waves get larger. While not strictly necessary these designs are well suited for installation of a rudder.
View the Great Auk Design Family of Kayaks
Night Heron Design Family
The Night Heron family of kayaks grew out of the Guillemot family of designs as I started venturing out in to rougher conditions. The Greenland Inuit influence is more explicitly evident with sharper, more angular end shapes, lower back decks and more steeply raked cockpit.
The Night Heron family differs from traditional Inuit designs by maintaining a full waterline shape out to the ends instead of the "pinched" ends that are characteristic of the skin on frame kayaks made by the Greenlanders. The fuller ends create a long effective waterline giving the Night Heron good efficiency at high speeds. The volume distribution results in a boat that surfs very easily. This is further helped by a chine that starts up soft near the bow and hardens up at the cockpit and behind.
Although the beauty of the Night Heron shape has received attention outside of the kayak world, it is really on the water that the beauty of the design becomes most evident. These boats are fun to paddle.
View the Night Heron Design Family of Sea Kayaks
Other Boat Designs
Not all my designs fit neatly into one of my families of kayak designs, in fact I also design some boat which aren't kayaks at all! I put the same care and effort into these designs as I have into my families of kayak designs. These designs are the result of months of design work and are boats I have built and tested to be sure they work as I intended.
With all my design I invest a lot of effort refining the design to get the combination of performance characteristics I desire. I combine engineering for performance with a careful eye towards the beauty of the overall shape. It is easy to make a boat look pretty if it is made of wood, I strive to create designs that will be beautiful on and off the water regardless of the material used to build them.
View the Other Boat Designs from Guillemot Kayaks
On the Drawing Board
I am constantly working on new designs, either to fill some performance desire I have or to meet the needs of customers. Sometimes I just have an idea that I want to play with, so I'll draw something up. These ideas may be at different stages of completion. Some are just ideas, others I have taken all the way to having a complete set of drawings prepared. Some times they are the product of a request from a customer and they paid to have finished drawings prepared so they could build them. Other times they are ideas I think would be fun and hope someone will request that I finish them up.
What all the boats on the drawing board have in common is I have not built them. Many of them have been built by customers. Some are minor variations on boats I have built and am confident will work well, others are completely experimental. Since I have not built them or paddled them myself, I will withhold judgement on whether the designs are any good.
There are some boats that I may have built prototypes for and are basically ready to build, but either I have not had the time to draw up the plans, or haven't written directions yet. With stitch and glue designs, I may have the necessary material for a kit, but don't have instructions or plans. Some experienced builders may be able to build these boats if they are willing to take on a bit of a challenge. Please contact me if you want more information about these designs.
If I have a design that I am working on that I think is interesting, it will typically appear here first.
View the Designs on the Guillemot Kayaks Drawing Board
Book
| 
|
The Strip-Built Sea Kayak
"Three Rugged Boats You Can Build"
By Nick Schade
Published by Ragged Mt Press, a division of McGraw-Hill |
Strip-building is the most flexible, forgiving, and attractive way to build
a small wood boat. Professional sea kayak builder Nick Schade presents complete
plans and measurements for three kayaks:
- Great Auk, a fast, stable, comfortable single
for beginners
- Guillemot , a beautiful, high-performance
single for intermediate and skilled paddlers
- Guillemot Double, a spacious kayak for two
This book has all the information you'll need to learn how to build a sturdy,
elegant sea kayak, from setting up shop to making a paddle.
This book, written by Nick Schade, the designer
behind Guillemot Kayaks, describes how to build a rugged and
beautiful sea kayak using strips of wood, fiberglass and epoxy. At 200 pages
it is richly illustrated with photographs and drawings, making each step of
building clear and understandable. Three different kayak designs are included
in the book: an easy to build, easy to paddle single;
a beautiful, high performance single; and a comfortable,
stable tandem.
The strip-building process, some times called wood-strip or cedar-strip/epoxy,
is very forgiving. A first time builder can be confident of creating a boat
that functions well and looks beautiful even if they make mistakes. Not only
can you construct a beautiful water craft, you can go beyond, to a crafting
a functional work of art. The book provides instructions in techniques for bringing
your craft to that next level.
On these web pages you will find information about the book, supplements, additions,
and corrections (there are bound to be some) and answers to your questions.
If you purchase
a copy of The Strip-Built Sea Kayak through Guillemot Kayaks you
will receive the latest copy of Nick Schade's Kayak
Building Notes.
Table of Contents
Strip-building - assembling a pile of thin wood strips into
a functional hull - has been a popular canoe-building method for many years.
Now boatbuilder Nick Schade, an engineer by training
and a self-professed sea kayaking addict, has refined this time-tested method
to build the more complex shapes of sea kayaks. The method is simple, forgiving,
allows a liberal amount of design flexibility, and requires a minimum number
of tools. Its also relatively inexpensive: about $400 to $500 for one of the
designs discussed here--one-quarter the price of a factory-built model. In The
Strip-Built Sea Kayak, Schade presents full plans for three elegant
designs inspired by the grace and seaworthiness of the Inuit and Aleut skin
boats. Profusely illustrated instructions provide the details that will guide
you through the process. A complete novice will be able to construct a finished
kayak after reading nothing but this book. And for an experienced builder, the
techniques here can be expanded to create the perfect boat for you.
This is the Table of Contents for the book The Strip-Built
Sea Kayak. The links lead to supplemental information on the subjects.
Introduction
Strip-building
is the art of taking a stack of small strips of wood and converting it into
a beautiful and durable water craft. This process has been a popular
method of making canoes for years. It is easily within the means of the average
do-it-yourselfer. It does not require a large investment in specialized tools
or a long apprenticeship to achieve a beautiful
result.
I have been paddling since I was a kid. Mainly in my parents
canoe and a kayak my father had made from a kit. When I got out
of college, I wanted a boat of my own. I had read about the idea
of a "sea kayak", but had never seen one. It sounded
like the ideal vessel. It combined the fun of my father's little
kayak with the place I best enjoyed paddling. The problem was,
being a typical college student, I didn't have enough money to
buy one.
A couple years previously, my father bought a book, Building a Strip Canoe, by Gil Gilpatrick,
and I helped my brother build a canoe from this book. I figured that I could
probably make a decent kayak using this the strip method. I researched everything
I could find out about sea kayaks and thought about what I wanted to be doing
on the water. Then, on the floor of my parents dining room, I drew up a kayak.
This kayak took form in the basement of my brothers house. With couple trips
out on the waters of the Maine coast, I was hooked. My brother tried it and
he was hooked. He took my forms and built a kayak of his own. His friend tried
it and was soon building one of his own as well.
From that beginning I learned about sea kayaking. My growing
kayaking skills, the inevitable flaws in any first boat and the
fun I had building the boat, incited an urge to build another
kayak. I am now deeply addicted to both sea kayaking and kayak
building.
I build my own boats to use "hard". I want a kayak
that performs well in a wide variety of conditions from backwaters
to surf. I have refined my designs to the highest performance
standards. I include three
designs in this book.
For the beginner I have a design that has served me well for
ten years. This is a stable,
comfortable, easy-to-build kayak. Due to the simplicity of
the lines, this design can be adapted from a small
paddle boat to a roomy
two-person kayak.
The second boat is a high
performance design suitable for intermediate and skilled
kayakers wanting a boat for day use and overnight trips. This
design provides the builder more of a challenge than the first
kayak. Influenced by the kayaks of Greenland, this boat would
look good when made of plastic and painted white, but is spectacular
when made of wood.
Many builders want a boat they can share with a friend. The
third boat fills this desire. Based on the high performance lines
of the second design, this boat is a comfortable
tandem.
The body of the book is a comprehensive description
of the building process. Books that leave out crucial details
can be very frustrating. It is my intention to help a complete
novice construct a finished kayak after reading nothing but my
book. I describe alternate methods for builders who feel the
initial description is beyond their ability and urge the experimenter
to take risks. It is important to describe why a step is performed
a certain way so the builder can make an educated choice.
An large part of the fun of building kayak with wood is the
beauty of the finished product. The wood alone is beautiful.
The thin flexible strips provide a unique medium for getting
creative. With the natural contrasts available in wood the
builder has the opportunity to enhance the design of the kayak
beyond the inherent grace and style of a kayak built of wood.
I offer techniques to get the builder with an artistic bent started
on making a kayak that is more than just a nice boat.
I include a discussion of the design considerations required
to choose the right kayak either from my designs in this book
or from other sources. I do not dwell on technical terms but
give practical advice on what the builder should look for.
The tools required to strip build a kayak are basic. Many
of the tools are commonly found in the do-it-yourselfer's toolbox.
Selection of the right tools will ease the building process.
I discuss what is important to look for when selecting new tools
and how to get the most out of tools the reader already has.
One of the most difficult tasks when building a boat is finding
sources of the specialized materials.
The materials are not hard to get when you know where to look.
I provide a list of reliable sources and offer suggestions on
where too look for other suppliers.
I urge builders not to sweat the details. The reason to build
the boat is to get out on the water. I am addicted to building
boats and paddling the boats I build. I want to spread the disease.
Outline
Here is a step-by-step overview of the process of building
a strip kayak. The numbers following each step are pages numbers
where the step is described in more detail. While building a
kayak may at first appear to be a big task, it can easily be
broken down into a series of small manageable tasks. None of
these steps are beyond the capability of the average person who
has ever wielded modest hand tools.
Getting Ready
1. Cut 1/4" strips off a 3/4" cedar, redwood or
pine plank.
2. Optional: Mill a "cove"
and "bead" on each edge of the strips.
3. Obtain a fairly straight 2 x 4.
4. Draw out the building forms at full size.
5. Glue the drawings to a sheet of plywood (or particle board).
6. Cut out the forms from the plywood.
7. Thread the forms on
to the 2 x 4.
8. Check alignment of the
forms and secure them
in place.
Stripping the Boat.
9. With the boat upside-down, staple
a strip along the sheerline.
10. Double check the alignment of the first strip.
11. Trim the ends of the
strip.
12. Repeat steps 11 and 12 on the other side.
13. Apply carpenter's glue to the top of the strip installed
in the previous step.
14. Install a strip on the glue and staple
tightly it in place.
15. Trim the ends of this strip and install a strip on the
other side.
16. Repeat steps 13 through 15 until the strips have extended
up the side and just start covering the bottom.
17. Install strips down either side of the keel, tapering
the ends to fit the existing strips.
18. Fit strips into the
remaining gaps. Alternate between strips following the sheerline and strips
following the keel line.
19. Flip the boat over into a cradle.
20. Install the first deck strip next to the first hull strip.
Do not glue this strip to the hull, just staple it in place.
21. Install strips on either side of the centerline in a similar
manner to step 17.
22. Strip in the rest
of the deck in a similar manner to step 18. Do not strip all the way over
the cockpit.
23. Remove all the staples
from the deck and hull.
24. Cut out the cockpit
hole.
25. Install the coaming
strips.
26. Scrape off any
glue drips.
27. Plane the wood fair and
smooth.
28. Sand the wood smoother.
Fiberglassing
29. Temporarily remove the deck from the forms.
30. With the hull side up, drape
fiberglass over it.
31. Trim the fiberglass
close to the sheer line.
32. Smooth the fiberglass with a brush.
33. Mix up a small amount of resin.
34. Pour the resin onto the middle of the hull and spread it with a squeegee.
35. Mix more resin and spread as needed. Use a brush to apply resin to dry
spots.
36. Scrape off the excess resin with the squeegee.
37. Let the resin partially cure.
38. Apply fill coat of
resin to the whole
surface and let it cure.
39. Remove the hull from the forms and return the deck to the forms.
40. Repeat steps 30 through 39 for the deck.
41. Plane and sand the inside of the hull.
42. Fiberglass and resin the inside as you did the outside.
43. Trim off the
bottom of the coaming inside the deck.
44. Plane, sand and fiberglass the inside of the deck.
45. Glue multiple laminations
of hardwood around the coaming to create the lip.
46. Cut of the excess
coaming above the lip, and sand smooth.
47. Install the cheek plates on the inside of the cockpit.
48. Fiberglass over the coaming lip.
49. Roughen the cured resin along the sheer line of the deck and hull with
sandpaper.
50. Align the deck and hull together, securing
with packing tape as you go.
51. Turn the boat
onto one side and measure out some fiberglass tape for the inside seam.
52. Soak the tape in resin until it is completely saturated and then squeeze
out excess.
53. Roll tape along the inside seam as far as you can reach by hand and push
it the rest of the way with a stick.
54. Smooth the inside
seam with a brush
on the end of the stick.
55. After the first side cures repeat steps 51 through 54 for the other side.
56. Remove the packing tape on the outside.
57. Sand the outside seam smooth.
58. Lay fiberglass tape on the outside
seam and resin it in place.
Finishing the boat
59. Drill holes to install footbraces
60. Sand the outside of the whole boat with 80 grit sand paper.
61. Apply an additional fill coat of resin in two stages to
cover the deck and hull.
62. Sand with progressively finer paper up to 220 grit. Repeat
step 61 if necessary.
63. With the boat
on end, pour a small amount of filled resin into each end.
64. Varnish the boat.
65. Sand with fine sandpaper.
66. Repeat 64 and 65 until bored.
67. Install the seat, backrest, footbraces and other outfitting.
68. Find a suitable body of water
69. Paddle.
70. Repeat steps 68 and 69 until you're ready to build another.
71. Go back to step 1
I rarely build a kayak the same way twice, so it would be
a lot for me to ask of you to follow this schedule to the letter.
Use it as a basis for determining your up coming tasks. Don't
get hung up on fears that taking some of the steps out of order
will ruin the boat. With my first boat I was so impatient that
I put the boat in the water (step 70) before I installed the
cockpit coaming (step 25). Obviously, I had to rearrange the
steps a bit, and I may have made my task more difficult in the
end, but the boat came out great.
Changes and Corrections
This page will include any updates or corrections to the information
in the book. If you see any mistakes in the book, please let me
know at Email Nick Schade.
The first printing had some small errors in the offsets for the Guillemot.
There are a couple whacky numbers in the Keel row of the Buttocks numbers: These
errors only show up in the first printing, if you purchased your book recently
you should not need to make any changes.
|
Long Position (ft) |
1/2 |
16 |
16 1/2 |
|
Keel |
5.85 |
0.83 |
3.32 |
These corrections show up as yellow and red below.
The location of these mistakes in Figure 4-9 is shown in yellow and
red below.
I did not include the section of the forms in the cockpit that
you cut off in the book because it was not really necessary. If
you want to include this, use the numbers in the table below,
as shown in the green section above. Make the forms using these
numbers to determining the top outline. Pre-cut the cockpit area
at the height given for the cockpit recess and tack glue the top
back onto the forms. These forms may help you get the strips fair
around the cockpit area, but you can do it fine without these
extra bits of form.
Cockpit Area Forms
|
Long Position (ft) |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 7 |
- |
6.46 |
5.18 |
|
Buttocks |
6 |
- |
7.03 |
5.45 |
| 5 |
7.78 |
7.29 |
5.62 |
|
Deck |
4 |
8.12 |
7.48 |
5.75 |
| 3 |
8.39 |
7.64 |
5.86 |
|
(Heights) |
2 |
8.62 |
7.79 |
5.97 |
| 1 |
8.84 |
7.93 |
6.08 |
| Deck Peak |
9.05 |
8.06 |
6.18 |
| Long Position (ft) |
8 |
9 |
10 |
| 8 |
4.41 |
0.47 |
|
|
Water |
7 |
- |
6.06 |
|
|
Lines |
6 |
- |
7.63 |
1.73 |
| 5 |
- |
- |
7.55 |
|
These additions show up as blue
and green above.
The location of the the cockpits in the Guillemot
Double is not very clear. Page 187 gives some guidance of
the placement, but if you need a place to start, the front of
the front cockpit 6' - 3/4" from the bow and the back of
the rear cockpit about 5' - 2 1/4" from stern should work
well for many people.
Kayak Kits
If you need the materials to build your own boat, or are short on time, a kayak kit is the way to go. Guillemot Kayaks does not make kits, instead we have teamed up with the best suppliers in the business. Chesapeake Light Craft is now bringing their expertise at manufacturing high quality small boat and kayak kits to producing Guillemot Kayak's designs.
Not only will CLC provide kits for my stitch and glue designs such as the Stitch and Glue Night Heron but they will also create kits for all my strip-built and hybrid designs.
You can count on CLC providing a complete kit with the finest materials available. Their years of experience producing and shipping kits assures you will get precision cut parts, reliable shipping, and excellent technical support.
Guillemot Kayaks International Kit Suppliers
|  | Seawing Boats
18 Darrowby Close
Thirsk
North Yorkshire
YO7 1FJ
United Kingdom Phone: 01845 527397
Supplying canoe and kayak kits to the United Kingdom. |
| 
| Cape Boat WorksUnit 5/48 Aurora Avenue
Queanbeyan NSW 2620
Australia
Phone (02) 6297 8009
Supplying pre-cut boat kits in Australia |
Accessories
In the pages below you will find various items to enhance your kayaking experience, from clothing to accessories for your boat and home. If you are looking for a gift idea for the paddler in your family, this is the place to look.
Builder's Drawings
Kayak Paddle Plans
Plans for building your own feathered kayak paddle.
Making your own paddle is a fun way to upgrade your equipment. It is a fairly quick project. You should be able to make one in a couple weekends. The paddle I make does require a bandsaw, but the technique I describe can be adapted to hand tools.
The plans show how to create the feather angle. While I like a fairly large blade, changing the size and length is easy. Six different paddle blade sizes are drawn out full-sized on the plans. The instructions in my book describe the basic method for making any laminated paddle and includes time saving methods.
Wooden Kayak Models
An 18" model of the microBootlegger double paddle canoe carved from Mahogany and Maple with a Mahogany veneer
coaming, mounted on a piece of Manzanita root.
If you aren't ready to build your own kayak and buying a custom boat seems a little beyond you at this time, maybe you would prefer a scale model of one of the Guillemot Kayaks designs. These hand carved models are constructed from laminated solid hardwood and displayed on a dramatic base.
An 18" model of the Night Heron carved from Mahogany and Ash with a Maple
cockpit, mounted on a piece of Manzanita root.
Sizes range from 12 to 36 inches and prices range from $150 to $600. Models of any of the Guillemot Kayaks designs are available. Please contact Nick for a quote. Although some models are in stock please allow time enough time to deliver carve and ship the design you desire.
Clothing
T-shirts and various other clothing as it becomes available.
Guillemot Kayaks T-Shirt
The Guillemot Kayaks logo on an Ash Grey T-shirt.
Wear your pride in your boat on your chest. This Ash-Grey T-shirt with the Guillemot Kayaks logo will show people how proud you are of the boat you made. While many people will not know what it means, it will give you a chance to talk about what you have accomplished. For the those who do know, it will help them pick you out of the crowd.
Kayak Forum T-Shirt
da Vinci's Vitruvian Man in a Kayak orbited by "Design, Build, Paddle".
SOLD OUT !!
Readers of the Kayak Forum Bulletin Board will enjoy this Tshirt featuring an adaptation of da Vinci's Vitruvian Man in a kayak. The man is holding a kayak paddle and around him orbits the words "Design, Build, Paddle" in a never ending cycle. Below him is the URL for the Kayak Forum.
Help other readers of the Kayak Forum find you in a crowd.
Custom Designed Kayaks and Other Boats
Are you not average? Are you taller, shorter, heavier, or lighter than the "average" paddler? Do you have trouble finding a boat which fits comfortably? The practicalities of mass-produced boats makes it impossible make a standard product which will work for everyone. This forces most kayak builders to concentrate on the "typical" paddler. But if you are building your own boat or having one custom built, there is no reason to be tied down to a less-than-ideal design. I can create a custom design optimized for you.
I use the latest software to create unique high performance small boat designs. I can create a design to meet your particular needs or desires. If you have a special need such as limited storage space, big feet, heavy or light weight, a handicap, or any other requirement. I have a wide selection of quality designs that may be customized for you. I also have a variety of boats on the drawing board that may strike your fancy. I can also create a design from a blank screen to specifically address your requirements.
While my emphasis is on wooden kayaks, many of the same design principles apply to any construction method. If you want build your boat out of Kevlar, Carbon Fiber, or Rotomolded plastic, I would be happy to work with you.
If you don't know what "prismatic coefficient" means or what makes a kayak track well, I do. My background in engineering gives me a strong desire to create designs that are more than just good to look at. I want boats that perform well.
I can then build a beautiful wooden boat to your designs or I can create a set of plans so you can build your own
The price for a custom design is dependent on how complicated your designs needs are. I charge an modest hourly rate, but it is cheaper to modify an existing design than to create one from scratch.
Custom Built Wooden Boats
Night Heron in western red cedar.
There is a quality about a finely crafted wooden kayak which is hard to describe They have a sensuousness not typical of other traditional wooden boats. Their motion through the water seems somehow smoother than other kayaks. The sweep of the sheer and the smooth arc of the deck draw the hand as well as the eye.
Nick Schade has been designing and building high quality, high performance sea kayaks under the Guillemot Kayaks name since 1986. His boats have paddled the bold coast of Maine and exhibited in the American Craft Museum. His work has garnered the first place award at the Washington Craft Show. One of his kayaks is now in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art. They are suitable for riding late-season hurricane generated swells or for display in a post and beam great room. They are designed by a dedicated kayaker seeking to achieve the highest performance standards and built by a craftsman who feels that beauty and performance go hand in hand.
These kayaks are characterized by clean, elegant lines and smooth, responsive motion through the ocean.The Guillemot Kayaks designs are world renowned for their distinctive beauty and sea kindly handling. Nick's craftsmanship has been referred to as graphic art in wood. While some feel his boats should be confined to the protected confines of a living room, they are built to withstand the rigors of hard use.
Workshops and Classes
Trimming the glass of the Stitch and Glue Night Heron during a class at the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, Maine.
If you are interested in boat building techniques or making your own kayak paddle, Nick offers a variety of classes, workshops and presentations about making kayaks and other small boats. Classes include build-your-own courses where students can go home with their own boat or paddle. Workshops include an all-day demonstration of strip building suitable for woodworking or paddling clubs. Nick can also do a presentation describing the various methods for building your own kayak.
Nick has run courses at the WoodenBoat School, Mystic Seaport, and the Connecticut Valley School of Woodworking, and offered workshops or presentations for The Rochester Woodworkers Society and the Rhode Island Canoe/Kayak Association and other organizations and clubs.
Boat Building Classes
Working on taping up the deck-hull joint on a stitch and glue Night Heron at the WoodenBoat School.
Turn plywood into a beautiful sea kayak in 6 days
Sea kayaking is the sport of taking a small boat out on to the big ocean. You could buy an ordinary plastic kayak, or you could build your own which will be lighter, faster and more fun than buy. It will also be more beautiful.
A unique feature of the Night Heron is the "puzzle boat" construction.The short pieces of plywood are joined together with a puzzle joint to make the full 18' length of the kayak. The different pieces of plywood are stained different colors creating a beautiful graphic contrast highlighting the puzzle joint.
This fast-paced class will take students through the major phases of building a “Night Heron” sea kayak. Using the “Stitch-and-glue” construction method, each student will go home with his or her own kayak. Some finish work will be required when they get home. Students will learn basic boatbuilding skills as well as how to work with fiberglass and epoxy. Students should expect several long days in order to get through all the steps that must be completed in a day.
Please look at the class syllabus to get a feel for what is involved and also take a look at the required tool list.
Part of the fun of this design is you can personalize your boat by staining the various parts different colors. It is worthwhile having some ideas about colors prepared before starting the class.
The Night Heron is 18’ long and 20” wide. It is fast and responsive, suitable for exploring estuaries or venturing out into exposed open water.
- See the events listing on the right for scheduled classes and other events.
Required tools for S&G Night Heron Kayak Building Class
Some of the schools may have some of these tools, but if you want to be better prepared with your own tools these are what we use:
- Organic Vapor Respirator - For use when handling epoxy. It is strongly suggested that you purchase a quality respirator for the class. Schools usually don't provide these. They may be found at most home centers or automotive part suppliers. They can also be ordered from Jamestown Distributors.
- Low Angle Block Plane - Such as Stanley, Record or Lie Nielsen.
- "Four-in-hand" File (aka "Shoe Rasp")
- Replaceble Blade Utility Knife
- Pliers and Diagonal Wire Cutters
- Bright Flashlight such as those that use cordless drill batteries or 6V lantern.
- Paint Scraper
S&G Night Heron Kayak Building Class Schedule
This is a fast paced class which will get you through most of the most difficult steps involved in building a stitch and glue kayak. The first day will deal primarily with preparing the parts for the the busier days to follow. You will need determine your staining scheme. The second day will see the transformation of flat pieces of wood into a shapely kayak hull. You will stitch together the hull and apply fiberglass. On day three you will make the deck. Day four will have you putting together the deck and hull.On day five we will finish the fiberglassing. Day six we will do outfitting and as much finish work as we can. Some of the days may well run longer than this schedule shows, a couple 12 hour day are not uncommon.It is important that we get through all the tasks in each day so the epoxy has time to cure overnight.
Please look at the schedule provided by the school where you are taking the class to determine start times. The times posted on the schedule below are approximate and subject to change.
When you bring the boat home you will still need to do some finish work including some epoxying, sanding and varnishing. For information about future classes please look here.
Note the list of required tools on the next page.
Approximate Class Schedule
Click on Images for an Enlargement |
Process
|
Required
Time |
Time of Day |
| 1: Prepare Panels |
|
8:00 AM |
| Overview Project |
1:00 |
9:00 AM |
| Open Kit |
0:30 |
9:30 AM |
| Review Parts |
0:30 |
10:00 AM |
| Sand Panels |
1:00 |
11:00 AM |
| Lunch |
1:00 |
12:00 PM |
| Stain Panels |
1:00 |
1:00 PM |
| Epoxy Panels |
1:00 |
2:00 PM |
| Glue Up Hatch Rings |
1:00 |
3:00 PM |
| Glass Cheekplates & Backrest |
1:00 |
4:00 PM |
| End Day 1 |
6:30 hrs |
|
|
|
2:
Assemble Hull and Deck, Glass Inside Hull |
|
8:00 AM |
| Assemble Hull Panels |
1:00 |
9:00 AM |
| Bevel Hull Panels |
2:00 |
11:00 AM |
| Stitch Hull Panels |
1:00 |
12:00 PM |
| Tighten Stitches |
0:30 |
12:30 PM |
| Spot Weld Panels |
0:30 |
1:00 PM |
| Remove Stitches |
0:30 |
1:30 PM |
| Lunch |
0:30 |
2:00 PM |
| Glue Seams |
0:30 |
2:30 PM |
| Cut Fiberglass |
0:15 |
2:45 PM |
| Lay in Hull Glass |
0:30 |
3:15 PM |
| Wet Out Hull Glass |
2:00 |
5:15 PM |
| End Day 2 |
9:15 hrs |
|
|
|
3:
Glass Outside Hull and Inside Deck |
|
8:00 AM |
| Clean Up Hull |
0:30 |
8:30 AM |
| Round Chines |
0:30 |
9:00 AM |
| Touch up Stain |
1:00 |
10:00 AM |
| Assemble Deck Panels |
0:45 |
10:45 AM |
| Bevel Deck Panels |
1:00 |
11:45 AM |
| Stitch Deck Panels |
1:00 |
12:45 PM |
| Tighten Stitches |
0:45 |
1:30 PM |
| Spot Weld Panels |
0:20 |
1:50 PM |
| Remove Stitches |
0:45 |
2:35 PM |
| Lunch |
0:30 |
3:05 PM |
| Glue Deck Seams |
0:45 |
3:50 PM |
| Cut Deck Fiberglass |
0:15 |
4:05 PM |
| Lay in Deck Glass |
0:10 |
4:15 PM |
| Wet Out Deck Glass |
1:30 |
5:45 PM |
| Cut Hull Fiberglass |
0:15 |
6:00 PM |
| Wet Out Hull |
1:00 |
7:00 PM |
| |
|
7:00 PM |
| End Day 3 |
11:00 hrs |
|
|
|
4:
Start Joining Deck and Hull |
|
8:00 AM |
| Cut Hatches |
1:30 |
9:30 AM |
| Bevel Sheer |
1:30 |
11:00 AM |
| Install Deck Line T-nuts |
0:30 |
11:30 AM |
| Sand Interior Seam |
0:15 |
11:45 AM |
| Tape Together Sheer |
1:00 |
12:45 PM |
| Lunch |
0:30 |
1:15 PM |
| Tape Interior Seam 1 |
1:00 |
2:15 PM |
| Clean Up Hatch Rings |
0:30 |
2:45 PM |
| Glue up back hatch |
0:30 |
3:15 PM |
| Tape Interior Seam 2 |
1:00 |
4:15 PM |
| |
|
4:15 PM |
| End Day 4 |
8:15 hrs |
|
|
|
5:
Finish Joining Deck and Hull |
|
8:00 AM |
| Remove exterior tape |
0:15 |
8:15 AM |
| Glue In Hatch Rings |
0:30 |
8:45 AM |
| Install Coaming |
1:00 |
9:45 AM |
| Drill Footbrace Holes |
0:15 |
10:00 AM |
| Cut Bulkheads |
1:00 |
11:00 AM |
| Cut Seat |
0:20 |
11:20 AM |
| Carve Seat |
2:00 |
1:20 PM |
| Lunch |
0:30 |
1:50 PM |
| Cut off Tips |
0:10 |
2:00 PM |
| Round Corners |
0:30 |
2:30 PM |
| Clean up Drips |
0:45 |
3:15 PM |
| Sand Deck |
0:10 |
3:25 PM |
| Touch up Stain |
0:45 |
4:10 PM |
| Cut Deck Fiberglass |
0:15 |
4:25 PM |
| Wet Out Deck Glass |
1:30 |
5:55 PM |
| |
|
5:55 PM |
| End Day 5 |
9:55 hrs |
|
|
|
6: Finish what we can
Note that much of this day is optional. If you need to start traveling home this day, you will not want to apply the fill coat. The fill coat requires 12 hours to cure so you could not move the kayak until the following day. |
|
8:00 AM |
| Scrape Seam |
0:30 |
8:30 AM |
| Install Bulkheads |
0:30 |
9:00 AM |
| Install Gaskets |
0:30 |
9:30 AM |
| Install Seat |
0:20 |
9:50 AM |
| Drill Grab-Loop Hole |
0:20 |
10:10 AM |
| Sand Hull |
1:00 |
11:10 AM |
| Fill Coat Hull |
1:00 |
12:10 PM |
| Varnish Demo |
1:00 |
1:10 PM |
| Review What Still Needs To Be Done |
2:00 |
3:10 PM |
| Watch Epoxy Dry |
|
3:10 PM |
| |
|
3:10 PM |
| End Day 6 |
7:10 hrs |
|
Paddle Making Classes
Over the course of 4 evenings you will learn how to make your own modern wooden kayak paddle. The paddle can be adapted for sea kayaking, recreational boating or white water. You will learn about laminating, scarfing, shaping wood and fiberglassing. The resulting paddle will be lightweight and strong.
Many people think of wood as being heavy and delicate. These paddles are not as light as the best carbon fiber paddles, but are close and significantly more rugged. The paddle can be built with a right or left hand feather or left unfeathered. If you don't understand what this means, the class will explain it. While this paddle will be a one-piece, you will learn enough to make a take-apart paddle if you choose to.
Not only are these paddles light and strong, but they are beautiful. Yours will be the envy of everyone you paddle with.
Strip Building Workshop
In this workshop Nick will demonstrate the details of strip-building a kayak or other small boat. The details of what is covered will depend on what people are interested in. Subjects covered may include fitting strips, fairing, fiberglass, staple-free construction and discussion will continue where questions take it. With a small sized group, there may be opportunities for hands-on experience.
Please contact Nick for more details.
Kayak Building Overview Presentation
Nick has a slideshow that provides an overview of the various methods of building wooden kayak. Topics covered include Skin-on-frame, Stitch-and-Glue, and Strip Built methods plus a discussion of repairing the boats if damaged, various outfitting techniques and making a wooden paddle. The slideshow is intended as an evening presentation for a woodworking guild or kayaking club. The length of the presentation will depend on how many questions people ask, but generally runs about 1 hour. The slide show can be tailored to the particular interests of your group.
Please contact Nick for more details.
