Guillemot Kayaks - Boat Building Techniques

Hybrid Kayak Construction

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 14:50:45 -0400

Hybrid construction could mean any method of building a boat which combines two different building techniques. In the case of kayaks it typically means building the hull using stitch and glue methods and the deck using strip building techniques. This offers the ability to quickly put together a hull using plywood, while getting the beauty of a strip-built deck.

Stitch and Glue Construction

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 17:23:50 -0400

This method of building boats use pre-cut plywood panels that are "stitched" together along their joints and then glued. The shape of the boat is determined by the shape of the panels. The 2 dimensional flat panels are bent when they are stitched along their curved edges to the adjoining panel. The shape of the curve between the adjoining panels determines the 3 dimensional shape of the finished boat. Stitch and glue boats can be build without forms although forms can help assure that the desired shape is acheived.

Strip Built Construction

Fri, 30 Apr 2004 01:20:09 -0400

Strip building is the craft of turning a pile of thin strips of wood into a high-performance, durable boat. It is a great way to make a boat. It produces beautiful results that are also lightweight and strong. It may not be the quickest method to make a boat, but the individual steps are really not hard. It is a matter of shaping relatively small pieces of wood so they interlock tightly. The goal is to cover the boat with wood, and this simple idea permits a lot of room for creativity. Below are some pages that will describe and show some of what can be done

How much wood do I need to build the boat?

Fri, 02 Dec 2005 11:29:30 -0500

A stitch and glue boat will typically use three or four sheets of 4mm Occume marine plywood. With careful cutting you may be able to be more efficient.

Strips

For a strip-built kayak a good rule of thumb is 2 board feet of western red cedar or other softwood for each foot of boat length. A board foot is a volume of wood 12" long x 12" wide by a nominal 1" thickness. Most wood you will buy is planed down to 3/4" thick or even 11/16" for some cedar and redwood.

To get a little bit more specific it takes just under 18 strips to cover a 12 inch wide area. In other words to completely cover one square foot of surface area on a boat you will need 18 linear feet of strips. If you are looking at a design with a surface area of 50 square feet you will need approximately 900 linear feet of strips. This does not leave much room for errors so you will want to include some extra.

Why "Stitch-and-Glue"?

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 17:08:40 -0500

Because stitch-and-glue boat construction uses a relatively small number of wood pieces a boat can be build in relatively short order. Because plywood is inherently quite strong for its weight the resulting boat is quite tough and lightweight with a minimum of additional reinforcement.

While the technique quickly produces a boat, that does not imply that it is necessarily easier than strip-building. The shape of a stitch-and-glue boat is largely determined by the shapes of the plywood panels. If the panels are not accurately cut, the resulting boat may be quite badly distorted.

This makes stitch and glue designs very well suited for kits.

Why "Strip-Built"?

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 17:08:08 -0500

One of the biggest benefits to building a small boat with narrow strips is how accessible it is. While it looks intimidating, taking a bundle of small strips and wrapping them around a set of forms really is a matter of patience and not one of specialized skills. The tool requirement is minimal and the technique is very tolerant of mistakes. If you fail to make perfect joints between strips, the epoxy and fiberglass will fill them in and seal the mistakes.

If you are looking for a way to mass-produce wooden boats, strip-building is probably not the best choice. It is a time consuming method. More traditional methods of boat building tend to be quicker when performed by experience craftsmen, but that speed and ability to build a usable boat is largely dependent on the skill of the builder. The strength and water-tight integrity of the finished traditionally-built vessel is a result of the ability of the builder to make tight and sound joints. This takes skill and practice.

Which is easier, Strip Built or Stitch and Glue?

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 17:01:30 -0500

Building a kayak using either the strip-built or stitch-and-glue method is within the means of most people who want to do it. Neither method is particularly difficult for anyone who is willing to take the time required. Many first time builders who have never done anything remotely like a constructing a boat have produced beautiful boats they are justifiably proud of. Wanting to do it is the most important prerequisite.

"Ease" can be broken down into at least two factors: time and skill required. A strip-built boat will take more time, a similar design of a stitch-and-glue boat will require finer skills to get right. The differences are mostly in the woodworking parts of the projects. After the woodwork is done, the fiberglassing and finish work is pretty much the same. Because a "stripper" requires individually fitting many narrow strips together, you spend a lot of time doing woodworking. Once finished with the stripping, you must sand everything smooth. Neither the stripping nor the sanding are particularly hard. While a "poor" job of stripping may look a little ragged, but even if you end up with gaps between the strips, the fiberglass and epoxy will seal all but the biggest mistakes and the finished boat will work very well.

What do you mean by "Stitch and Glue"?

Fri, 25 Nov 2005 17:00:40 -0500

"Stitch and Glue" refers to "stitching" together panels of plywood with wire and then gluing the joints. A stitch and glue boat uses carefully cut panels of thin plywood which when joined together bend into the desired 3 dimensional shape. It is the geometry of how the panels must bend to create a tight joint that defines the shape of the boat.

This method of building goes together quickly because there are relatively few parts that must be assembled, however because the panels of plywood are relatively wide there is typically a hard angle or chine between the panels. This somewhat limits the variety of shapes possible, but does not detract from the performance of a well designed boat.

What tools do I need to build a kayak

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 18:34:35 -0500

To build a striper from scratch you the minimum tools needed:
Table Saw or Band Saw, (Not required with the kits)
Jig Saw
Block Plane,
Thin Kerf Hand Saw,
Jack Knife,
Sanding Blocks.
A selection of clamps

How much will it cost to build a kayak?

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 16:43:34 -0500

Most of the cost of building a kayak is labor, but doing the work is part of the fun so we won't count that here. Some people are really good at scrounging up materials or have especially good access to quality stuff cheap so we won't count that either, but is worth looking you around for unexpected sources of materials. For example old telephone poles were often cedar...

A strip-built kayak needs about 2 board feet of wood for each foot of boat length. Obviously longer boat and wider boats will need more and short boats will use less, but this lumber will generally cost $150 to $200. Forms for a stripper can be cut out of one sheet of inexpensive plywood or MDF and mounted on a simple 2x4 or plywood box beam for $50-$150.

What do you mean by "Strip-Built"?

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 16:42:54 -0500

"Strip-Building" is the art of bending many, small, thin strips of wood around forms to create a boat shape. The wood is covered with fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin then removed from the forms and the inside is fiberglassed. This method allows a lot of design freedom because just about any shape may be produced. The results are very strong and stiff because of the composite construction with wood surrounded by fiberglass and sealed in epoxy. By varying the thickness of the wood and the amount of fiberglass applied the boat can be supremely light or extremely tough.

The fiberglass cloth be

How long will it take to build a kayak?

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 16:42:21 -0500

The amount of time you take to build a small boat will depend on you previous experience, willingness to push forward, and your attitude. It is possible to pump out in 60 hours, or if you are being a perfectionist, you may end up putting 400 hours into it before you christen the finished boat. As mentioned in the previous page a stitch-and-glue boat will generally go together faster than a strip-built boat. Depending on the design, it is usually about half the time for a stitch and glue design vs a stripper.

How do I build a kayak?

Tue, 08 Nov 2005 16:39:07 -0500

The most accessible techniques for do-it-yourself boat builders involves using wood. It is possible for someone who wants a Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) kayak for example a fiberglass or Kevlar kayak to make one at home, but you will first have to go through most of the steps of building a wooden boat, so it is time consuming to build your first.

Wood can be worked with commonly available tools, is readily available in most areas and is structurally one of the best boat building materials available. Not because it floats, but because it is lightweight and very strong for it weight. Read m

Baidarka

Sat, 01 Oct 2005 11:50:37 -0400

The word "baidarka" is actually a Russian word. It is the diminutive form of "baidar" which means "boat" so "baidarka" means "small boat". In modern use in the United States, it has come to mean a skin on frame kayak of the type made by the Aleut peoples of Alaska. This usage probably stems from George Dyson's excellent book by that name Baidarka. This book is a good reference for anyone wanting to know more about the subject.

Skin on Frame Construction

Thu, 29 Sep 2005 17:29:09 -0400

The original kayaks were built by the Inuit and Aleut "Eskimo" peoples of the Arctic. Living above the tree line they did not have access to unlimited supplies of wood. Instead the built boats using a light weight driftwood frame that they covered with skins. Typically these skins were from seals, but whale skin and cariboo skins were sometimes used. Modern Skin on Frame kayaks typically use synthetic fabric such as Nylon or Dacron. Some builders use cotton canvas.

Advantages of Skin on Frame

The big advantage for the traditional builders of skin-on-frame kayaks, the Aleut and Inuit residents of the far north, is they could be built with the materials on hand. The frame did not require big pieces of wood and could be made with material that drift up on the beach. The skin was made from their primary food species, the seal. This set up an interesting chicken-and-egg situation, because they needed the kayak to catch seals and they need seals to make the kayak. The resulting boat was light weight, rugged, resiliant and easy to maintain.