Kayak Building
A Great Alternative

Kayak Building is a fun and rewarding way to have a quality kayak that performs better than most boats you can purchase.

Why build a kayak?

There is nothing like the pleasure of paddling the boat that you built with your own hands.

Most kayak plans offer designs that paddle better than most of the plastic kayaks. The performance is as good or even better than the higher priced kevlar/fiberglass boats.

You can have a great performing kayak with less cost than if you went and bought a high end sea kayak.

The most popular and easiest boats to build are wood kayaks.

courtesy clc boats

Wood is the best material

I would suggest using wood for your kayak building project. One of the best materials you could use is okoume plywood. This is a great marine grade plywood that holds up well when sheathed with fiberglass.

A wood kayak covered with fiberglass is a very strong and beautiful boat. After your kayak is constructed, you will be able to finish it with a paint color of your choice or a clear UV ray protective coating, showing off the beautiful color of the wood.

For the artistic kayak builder you may want to try bead-and-cove cedar strips. By using the variation of white and red colored cedar strips, the designs that you can build into your kayak are endless works of art.

Most popular form of wooden kayak construction used by most kayak builders is the stitch and glue method. The stitch and glue method has become known as one of the easiest ways of constructing a kayak. Within a short period of time you can have a boat haul stitched together and be gluing the seams with apoxy and fiberglass.

Don't get me wrong, you can't have a kayak built in a day, but you will be amazed at how quickly you will be able to have a boat finished and ready for the water. This makes a great winter project and then when summer comes you can have a beautiful boat to use on the inland waters around the Outer Banks.

courtesy clc boats

Kayak Building from Plans is not a difficult process. With a good set of plans and some patience you can build a very nice looking and great performing sea kayak.

The boat building plans should cover at least these details.

• A full list of supplies needed
• Recommended tools for the project
• Detailed drawings of each section of the boat
• An instruction manual that explains each step of the boat building process

Building a Kayak from a Kit saves a lot of time and will really simplify the learning process for the first time boat builder.

When you build from a kit you will get all the pieces pre-cut from a CNC machine, which will give you accurately cut pieces to fit together.

A good kayak kit will include these items.

• Plans and an instruction manual, also an instructional DVD may be provided
• All the parts will come pre-cut and ready to fit together
• You will also get the hardware for fastening the hual and components together
• The epoxy and fiberglass to finish a kayak will be included
• The paint or clear coat finish is not included, it needs to be purchased separately

You may want to participate in a forum for some good building tricks for saving time and advice that will aid you in building a great looking kayak the first time.

I hope you enjoy building your first kayak, that you will enjoy paddling for many years.

Maybe I'll see you on the waters around the Outer Banks.

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