kayak plans

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by pauloman, May 15, 2016.

  1. pauloman
    Joined: Jun 2010
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    Location: New Hampshire

    pauloman Epoxy Vendor

    anyone have a web site for stitch and glue kayak plans for a 9 foot hull (so it will fit into my car)?

    paul oman
    progressive epoxy polymers inc
    epoxyproducts.com
     
  2. upchurchmr
    Joined: Feb 2011
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    Location: Ft. Worth, Tx, USA

    upchurchmr Senior Member

    The shortest I've seen is about 13'.
    There might be something for river play boating.
    In SOF the shortest I've seen is 11' for children.

    It may be difficult to get a fat enough shape for an adult. Bending the ply can probably be done but might be hard.

    If you were to try and design your own, you might try a shape with a transom, to cut off the extra length. This could gain stability at the back to keep it upright, but would make it hard to roll back upright.

    I'm sure you've thought about a roof rack. I always buy mine from Craigslist, as much as possible.

    You might go to the kayak forum for a more focused crowd: http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Building/index.cgi/page/1/md/index/#m_215803
    Or a kayak fishing forum: http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=66

    Actually I helped a coworker convert a pirogue from aluminum (100#) to glass and ply (34#) recently. It is an open low freeboard boat, about 11' x 30" wide, used in calm waters for fishing. In his case Louisianan swamps. https://www.google.com/search?q=pirogue plans&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
     
  3. SukiSolo
    Joined: Dec 2012
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    Location: Hampshire UK

    SukiSolo Senior Member

    I built an 11' kayak, in thin ply rather than SOF, many years ago. It worked OK but I was a smaller early teenager then, although it could take 2 in it's long cockpit. She was not too bad and I took her on open sea a few times as well as a lot of the Thames.

    Downside was she was a little too wide to paddle fast, and her length definitely restricted the speed. You could feel her hit the 'hump' of the end of displacement speed pretty early on. I'd guess a narrower version would still work OK. I doubt anything shorter would be any good except on very small ponds. One of my favourite kayaks was a ply Eskimo type at 17', but they are narrow and you need reasonable skill to keep upright. Fantastic in the sea and on big lakes.

    A decent thin ply kayak is easy enough to car top, 25-32lb?
     
  4. latestarter
    Joined: Jul 2010
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    Location: N.W. England

    latestarter Senior Member

    There are a couple on the Fyne Boat Kits site

    http://www.fyneboatkits.co.uk/plans/kayaks/matunuck/
    http://www.fyneboatkits.co.uk/plans/kayaks/wood-duckling/

    They also appear on the Chesapeake Light Craft site
    http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boat-plans/kayak-plans/?next=1

    Plus http://www.fyneboatkits.co.uk/kits/kayaks/io-kayak/
    if you scroll down there is a link to free plans

    http://www.makeacanoe.com/Kayaks.htm
    You could contact Paul Fisher at the above site to ask if they can be built in 2 or more parts, some of his open canoes have been.
     
  5. 300wm
    Joined: Jul 2014
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    Location: Port Charlotte, Florida

    300wm Junior Member

    There are a number of kayak carriers you can put on your roof, including suction cup carriers. When you tie it down running your straps through the cabin with the doors open, it ain't going no where. Even if the suction fails, the force of the straps being pulled tight will keep anything from moving. It's rubber against paint. I carry an 18' yak on an Elantra with a homemade roof rack that sits on rubber pads and no suction cups.

    Before you build a short kayak, rent one and then rent a 16, 17, or 18' yak. You'll never consider a short kayak, again.
     
  6. LP
    Joined: Jul 2005
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    Location: 26 36.9 N, 82 07.3 W

    LP Flying Boatman

    I did a couple of really short kayak several years ago. I was attempting to make a single sheet'er. They came out about 7 1/2 feet. If trying to go fast, you hit the speed hump rather quickly, but it was usually not an issue. They received quite a bit of use and we fished from them on occasion. They has so little wetted surface that they seemed to "coast" endlessly. Especially, when when tryin to stop and fish from a certain location. A shorter kayak will travel with less effort if speed is not a concern. Certainly, cruising and maintaining a pace will be better in something longer. My two "shorties" would both fit in the back of my pick up with the gate down. Talk about convenient.

    Foam blocks make nice, simple car top carriers. A couple of winch type cargo straps will cinch your vessel down nicely and the flat webbing is easy on your door seals if done the way 300 mentions. Be sure to throw some twists on the strap where in is in the main airstream above you vehicle. Otherwise, it sounds like you have a mad hornet on your roof at any kind of highway speed. :eek:
     

  7. Wade Patton
    Joined: May 2017
    Posts: 6
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    Location: Tennessee

    Wade Patton Junior Member

    If you want a proper sea-going kayak that can be built in two sections, check out the Shrike plans from cnckayaks. The plans can be scaled down or up as needed.

    The two orange boats in this photograph are made in two pieces for convenience in transport. They come apart at the foot board. I am not privy to the method used to hold them together for use, but they appear sound and fair in the picture.

    Eleven of the 12 kayaks pictured are Home-built Shrikes.

    eleven shrikes and a Scorpio at the Gathering 29th May nearSaltash_zpsxxzvdwhr.jpg
     
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