One of my boats...

[Ed Delabama]

Good morning to all-

I was looking through some old files and found this photo of me working on one of my wooden kayaks. The recent post here about cutting planks reminded me of this boat work. These wooden kayaks are not terribly hard to make- the work is "picky" more than anything else, and it does require some accurate cutting and trimming.
But the wooden boats do look very nice when finished, and they are quite effective for fishing and just paddling around.
The wood is western red cedar with some tropical hardwood trim. It's all covered with fiberglass and epoxy inside and out.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[Yvonne Smith]

That is a beautiful Kayak, @Ed Delabama ! Back when I lived in Idaho, I had one of the sit-on-top kind of beginner kayaks, and my friend Pat also had one, so she and I would load the kayaks into my Mazda pickup and go kayaking at some of the mountain lakes up in the area where we lived. I really enjoyed being out with the kayak, and just paddling around and looking for fish or whatever else we could see as we went along.

 

[Ed Delabama]

Good morning to all- Yep, kayaking is a fine thing to do, no matter where the water might be. I've kayaked from the Florida Keys to the Ozarks to way out west in Arizona. and this spring, I got to go kayaking and fishing in the Sea of Cortez in Sonora, Mexico. It's all good in a kayak.

Of course, most of my kayaking is done here on the Gulf of Mexico coastal waters- I don't have to go far to find some great water.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[Marie Miller]

Ed, how did you get started in making wooden kayaks?

 

[Ed Delabama]

Good afternoon to all-

Marie Miller- I have built a number of different boats. I designed and built a deep-keel 18 foot wooden sailboat- started with a blank piece of paper, sketched a design I liked and took a couple of years very much part-time to build the boat. It worked quite well.

I read an article about "strip-built wooden kayaks" and thought it was a very clever way to put a kayak together, so I ordered plans, bought some wood, and in a fairly short period of time, I had a very functional, attractive wooden kayak .I then went on to build several wooden strip-built kayaks through the years.

I don't want anyone to think that I am a skillful builder or a craftsman- I am not. I just enjoy working with wood, and I enjoy going on the water in small boats, so....

you all be safe and keep well- Ed