Kayak specifictions, which design to go for ?

How's it going V? Any design decisions, start of build etc?

 

Here's a pretty good worklog / primer on building a cedar strip canoe.

http://www.canoe-suwannee.com/cedar_strip_canoe.htm

The cedar strip boats are strong, durable, not as heavy as you might think, and the construction is repetitive, but not as difficult as some other types. The other advantage to the cedar strip method is that the finished boat is incredibly beautiful. The guys over at Guillemot say that you should always build in an extra 20 minutes in your plan for people to gawk over your boat when you go to launch.

 

Pygmy Boats here in WA state makes a very good line of complete kits of very cutting-edge kayaks of computer cut plywood for a low price considering complete means just that, down to the gloves and squeegees. They sell constantly and the company's been in business over 10 years with designs from small white water boats to large cockpit kayaks for two people and a lot of gear. Also a really nice canoe and pulling boat kit that are lighter than almost all others and amazingly strong, durable and easy to repair.

 

Well i was gona prospone the kayak since my friend is not 100 % behind me, but starting it does sound very logical, smaller, faster and easier than a bigger boat !
Well ... i just came back from a trip to alex hunting for some materials, as soon as a find a place and solve my financial problem ill start with it

 

Cedar is almost impossible to find in Egypt ..... hence my dilemma in my other thread regarding which wood to use for strip planking my lobster ...

 

Dora, my home-designed and home-built canoe is mostly plain old plywood, mostly painted in semi-gloss, with just a little bright work (varnish). I estimate I lose about 10% of paddling time with folks stopping me to admire it. It has nice lines but I didn't go out of my way to finish it especially well. I have another one in the works that I plan to be the best I can do with materials, building and finish. Hmmm ... maybe this isn't a smart move ...

 

Think ill just build the thing out of normal plywood and cheap material just to get the grips and mess about ... i dont plan on kayaking since im not a river person besides it has no sails and no engine ... kayaks / canoes are not my cup of tea ..... maybe ill donate it to my friend and watch him go down with it ...
Serves him right for not believing in me ...

 

Careful saying that. kayaking is addictive, it can take you places you can't go to any other way, sometimes including with a motor or sails.

Just out of curiosity, what material is cheap and readily available in Egypt? I tend to think in terms of wood for kayaks, but that's at least partly because wood is so cheap (or free) around here. I'm a huge believer in using what you have and what's available to you whenever possible.

 

Hmmm. Sand?

 

Egypt has virtually no forests to speak up and yah srimes sand !!! Almost all local wood is planted so to speak.

The only wood that seems to be available is Mulberry almost everything else is imported. I am gathering more information regarding wood so ill keep you posted ....

Interesting i think ill try it first, only we have no lakes or ponds just the river nile (which usually has a strong current) and lots of seas ...

 

Vulkyn, you should have this built by now, but in case you haven't started I have a suggestion. I'm really surprised no one has suggested this yet, you have lots of plans and sites to visit to contemplate the style, how much rocker and shape you may need. My plan works with any style and can be easily modified, to some extent, any time you like! You need to only figure out what wood you have available in your area. Save money and cut the tree down and trim off any limbs. Cut away everything that is not the kayak or canoe you need! That's it. Simple! Good luck, Bill

 

I did a little research and discovered that in Turkey they use Mulberry wood in place of oak for frames in boats.

From the sound of it you're probably better off with stitch and glue, but a boat made of local mulberry would be extremely impressive!

 

Dugouts

Even in Canada trees big enough to allow you to throw away the parts of a tree that are not the boat are becoming rare! Also a dugout is a very labour intensive way to make a boat.

Wood is popular as it is by far the best all-round material from the points of view of ease of use, cost, availability, weight and strength. There are materials that exceed it in one or two of those categories but nothing to match in overall.

However, there are ways to minimise the amount of wood you need for a boat if you live in a part of the world where wood is difficult to get or costly; a skin on frame canoe is one solution. Egypt used to be famous for its cloth; I don't know if that is still the case but if so, a SOF boat would be a good plan.

Frames can be ply or even scraps glued together. The longitudinal members (stringers and gunnels) should be straight-grained wood but aluminum tubing, bamboo, fiber-glass rods from cast-off tent poles or fishing rods, or old wooden tent poles can all be put to good use as alternatives. Boats have also been made from bundles of papyrus reed.

Mulberry has a lovely grain when I have seen it used for furniture, but it is also supposed to be suitable for making bows and barrel staves which suggests it is pliable and split-resistant, which would make it idea for SOF canoe stringers and gunnels if it is available in useful lengths. It steams well but has the reputation of being hard on tools.

 

Many thanks for the input folks !!
Wavewacker = the problem has migrated from which design, to how on earth can i build a cheap @$$ boat with no tools and no place to build !!!!

cthippo = check this out http://www.boatdesign.net/forums/at...ter-fiber-over-wood-fishing-boat-dsc04922.jpg thats the mulberry (i think lol) and yes it is mostly used for frames, however it can in theory be used for strip planking as well ....

Ancient = my aim was to learn from the project to help me build my boat, so options like SOF, skin frames and similar concept will move me away from strip planking or S&G which is what i want to learn.

Just got a hold off to local wood dealers, will call them in a couple of hours and see what they have ..

 

LOL, guess some thought I was serious, that was a joke!

Where to build? Just not familiar with your circumstances, I guess you have access to PVC pipe and plastic sheeting for an arched shelter. Can you rent tools locally? I can see a kayak being built in the livingroom and passed out the window! Can't find a 9X20 foot space?

Do you have any public wood shops there, craft shops?

Here, high schools have wood shops and kids look for projects, some teachers might let the expert come in and build one as an example, teaching techinques. You have to buy the materials, but teaching a class, you would use the space and tools.

Good luck....