Kayak Kit??

[smallboatshop]

A man dropped off this kayak for canvassing. It is from an antique shop which said it was from the 1930's. It has a flat bottom and flat decks, is 14' 6" long, 28 3/4" wide and 12" deep. It looks like an unfinished project.
We'd like to know if anyone has seen this type of home made kayak and if so, we'd like to know what it is supposed to look like when completed.

Thanks,

Linda & Dan

 

[sandpiper]

Allo . It looks like a Skin on frame type of construction. I built one last spring. It wasn't the same model and it was covered with balistic nylon. I think there is a member of WCHA who specialises in skin on frame construction. It is a project for sure. Bye for now. Sandpiper

 

[Paul Scheuer]

The Folbot skin on frame kayak kit that I have was sold in the 60's. I think it still is, and I have no idea when it was introduced. I'll see if I can get a pictutre to show. The plans and directions called for a contrasting "king plank" layer of fabric running down the center of the decks. I believe that there was a Popular Mechanics design published in the 50's.

 

[Charlie]

I checked the old designs from the '50's and '60's that are on the internet and nothing is even close. Most of them used some amount of plywood and were mostly shorter and broader. More like a decked canoe than a kayak. The plans could have come from a magazine or been offered by folks like the Boy Scouts.
I hope your customer didn't give to much for that boat. SOF's are the cheapest thing to build in the boating world. Some experienced builders claim thay can put a boat on the water for $100.
Charlie

 

[yelnif]

skin on frame kayak

Hi Linda and Dan, yes you have a "'SOF' - skin on frame " kayak. If you visit 'www.traditionalkayak.com' - Harvey Golden has probably built more of these than anyone and has a wealth of information on his site. bye for now.'.

 

[smallboatshop]

Thanks! The traditionalkayaks.com is loaded with information, and they have a link to QAJAQ the organization and journal " dedicated to the study of Northern native watercraft" (qajaqusa.org). We met the editor of the QAJAQ journal, Vernon Doucette, this past summer when he bought a canoe from a friend. He too is a wealth of information and he openned our eyes to the amount of interest there is in building traditional kayaks.

 

[aamapes]

Help from Qajaqusa

I posted a question about this boat on the Qajaqusa.org forum - I expect we'll get some ideas there. I've built two skin-on-frame kayaks, and can tell you that this one is not done in any sort of traditional native style. Check out the Greenland Kayaking Forum to see what they come up with:
http://www.qajaqusa.org/cgi-bin/GreenlandTechniqueForum_config.pl