Not a canoe

But a kayak!

We all know I have a small boat problem.  With my trailer down until the end of october, I started working on this, a Skin on Frame Kayak from Dave Gentry  http://www.gentrycustomboats.com/

It's actually been a lot of fun to build thus far.  I have finally reached the point of "skinning" it.  Hopefully by the end of next week it will be in the water.

Wow. Nice work. Is that a gut wrapped joint in the last shot?

artificial Sinew, basically wax covered polyester twine.

So yes, just the modern cruelty-free version. Awesome. 

On the website it shows the 'skin' as a clear plasticky looking stuff...what is it? (No I didn't read it in depth) That (actually all the) plan looks like a hoot to build and use...I don't need another project, I don't need another project

that particular canoe was done in clear plastic.  Mine will be in painted canvas.  Between the green seawater and the black tannin freshwater around here, there is nothing to see under the water in these parts.

On to the next part.  How to Skin a kayak.  Used 13 oz polyester weave canvas.  Yes, it is heavier than recommended, but should hold up to all the snags found in our almost black and murky waters off in the pine barrens.

Pardon my basement,  this was the last corner not currently inhabited by a boat or boat parts.

Nice!

Living vicariously through you, so post more updates whenever you can.

Inspiring work

few more pictures for you.  Part of the build is sewing up the canvas that makes up the skin of the kayak.  I got the bow done today.

Started with this:  Clamps holding the fabric tight and in place.

Then using a big leatherworking needle, I made the initial stitch up the bow to hold it tight and closed:

afterwards came rolling up the excess and putting a neat whipstitch around it:

And finally done: 

tomorrow I will get the stern done and then I can gently heat up the canvas to shrink it to fit.  Then I can start with painting, adding flotation foam fore and aft, then I can put the canvas deck in place.  If all goes well, by this weekend, I will be afloat.

well, Stern is all sewn up as well. Next is shrinking the fabric:

That is awesome, we love kayaking bet you will have a lot of fun with it 

What's the total cost of this, assuming you already have some decent woodworking equipment?  I'd love to do a project like this with the kids.

Oooh, they have Kidyaks (kayaks small enough for kids). 

https://www.duckworks.com/product-p/dg-kidyak.htm

That'd be fun...

WonkoTheSane (Forum Supporter) said:

What's the total cost of this, assuming you already have some decent woodworking equipment?  I'd love to do a project like this with the kids.

my costs so far.. 

$100 for the fabric: 13oz polyester canvas

$55 for the plans

$100 for the marine plywood

$15 for the Sinew

$48 for the paint

I already had the plywood, so I did not need to buy more.  Yes, it equals out to the price of a cheap kayak from walmart, but I like the idea of not having a rotomolded yak like everyone else.  As far was specialised tools, if you have a jigsaw, that is all you need for woodworking tools.  I would highly recommend a tablesaw for ripping down the cedar boards into 3/4 by 3/4 strips.  I am sure you could do it by hand, but that sounds like too much work with far too much room for error.

Thanks!  That seems totally doable.   Yeah, I have a table saw and such.   What type of paint do you use on the canvas?

I bought my oil based paint from  http://www.kirbypaint.com.  I get all my boat paint from them.

Thanks again!

Are their plans simple enough for a mechanically competent person to follow if they've never been into seems propelled watercraft before?  I've been in a canoe, just never built one..

If you buy the plans, it comes with full sized patterns for the frames.  Just paste them onto the plywood and cut around the lines.  If you buy the kit, all the frames are already cut out, but you still need to supply wood for the keel and all the parts that run fore and aft like the stringers and gunwales.  One thing you may want to get a lot of is glue.  The gunwales are 1.5 inches high and .75 wide, but because you do not want to bend that nor you do want to bend the keel due to bending that, It is recommended you make it in two parts of .75x.75 and glue them together in place.  I went with six .25x.75 to more easily shape them into place.  I forgot to mention epoxy in the list of supplies, I tend to buy it by the gallon, so I always have some around.

You can order marine epoxy from either Jamestown distributers, their amazon store,  Westmarine if you have a store near you or from DuckWorks.

almost done, had no urge to finish over the winter due to the 40 degree weather in my basement.  All that is left is to screw the coaming to the cockpit, attach the rubrails, and liberally oil all the wood.  Then all I need is the water around here to get up into the 50s.

Yes, my basement is a disaster.

While she still needs the deck bungees to hold stuff on, I can declare this project finished.  Yes, it's a boat, so it is never finished, but you get the idea.  Next week I actually get to put her in the water to give her a spin (but hopefully not a roll!)

That looks great!   Sorry if I missed it in one of the earlier posts, what are the plastic fixtures ahead of and behind the cockpit for?  Fishing rod related?  

The front one is also a cleat,  but both can be set up for almost anything, holding  a fishing rod, camera, "running light", or in the case of the stern one.. a 6' tall orange flag so some speedboat does not run me down.  I am not into fishing, so the front will be used to hold a gopro or something similar

In reply to mad_machine (Forum Supporter) :

Ok, cool.  The flag is a great idea.  

If you ever needed proof that the Most Densely Populated state in the Union is mostly swamp and forests at the southern end.  Here you go.   LIttle tidbit,  all the underground water in New Jersey flows from North to South.  Most of it comes up in the Mightly Mullica River and the rest in the Great Egg Harbor River.  Unlike the Mullica, the Great Egg is dammed half way down it's length forming a small 100 or so acrew lake called "Lake Lenape". 

I made the mistake of going 6 miles today, leaving the comfort of the lake for the winding waters upriver on the Great Egg Harbor River.  It was a nice time if a mile too long.  I just wish my fellow Kayakers didn't need to blast their music when going through such pristine looking areas.  I bet the people ahead of me never saw the Bald Eagle at the end of my short video.

Can't imagine having music playing in such an awesome place, not to mention loud.

Beautiful, thanks for sharing