Skin on frame kayak building
Belong to the water
You will design your kayak for your body and personality, just as the Aleuts did. Like all other creatures who inhabit the sea, your boat will be individual and different from others. Extremely light and portable. Outsiders ward off marine life with stiff fiberglass and plywood kayaks. We glide silently alongside dolphins, sea lions and whales. When the seas become rough and heavy our frame flexes and absorbs shock. Structural flexibility means strength and durability.
Building with a Partner There's no extra charge to build your boat with a partner. You and your partner learn the skills together while saving time in building the boat.
Register for Skin on frame kayak building
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Ages 16-Adult
$875
Payment options available Weekend Program Begins April 10, 2010 5 weekends 9am-6pm 5040 Milwaukee Avenue, Portland, OR Map It |
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Schedule of Classes
Adult Weekend Course Begins April 10, 2010 9am-6pm This course takes place over 5 weekends. You build your own paddle and have your choice of boat design (see below).
Course dates...
April 10-11, 17-18, 24-25
May 1-2, 8-9
What we Build
Atka Island Biadarka
This boat is inspired from a boat found on Atka Island in the Aleution Islands, Alaska in 1934. The original is at the Lowell Museum in Berkely California. David Zimmerly took extremely accurate lines and construction details from this boat in 1976. One of the most evolved of the Aleut Designs it has bifurcated bow (two parts) to keep buoyancy high on the bow while keeping the profile low to help with cross winds and a special stern that increases the top speed of the boat and allows it to catch waves easily. We make this boat in lengths of 16 feet to 18 feet depending on your size and what you want in a kayak. The beam ranges from 20.5 inches for skinny hipped people to 23 inches for larger hips. Weight is 25-35 pounds finished kayak. It is easy to roll and has plenty of room to pack gear. This Biadarka is very stable, fast, sleek, and easy to maneuver, plus the one of the kind can’t get anything like it in a store look!
The Viper
Designed by Trackers Boat Builder Henry Stanley this boat has a modern sleek look. It is stitched down one side of the boat for a very clean look. It is designed to be stable, fast, efficient, and easy to maneuver making it a great beginner or intermediate touring kayak. It is less involved to build than the Biadarka and weighs a little less. Length is 15.5 feet to 17 feet long and beam is 20.5 to 23 inches wide. Holds a decent amount of gear.
The Paddle
Each participant in the class will make their own paddle also. We use a solid piece of clear western red cedar and make a paddle according to your body size. Your choice of the very sexy and high performance traditional Aleut design and a basic traditional Greenland design.
Apprentice with a Master
Design and build your own Skin-on-frame sea kayak. Become versed in the essentials of boat design, wood bending, knot work and joinery. Our simple method of construction relies on hand tools, and is accessible to all people. We keep our classes small and select. Masters personally instruct apprentices.
Skin-on-frame boats have evolved and been put to the test over thousands of years of heavy use on some of the most dangerous seas in the world. There are many styles and designs of vessels. In this class we create a Baidarka, a millennia old design from the natives of the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea. It is possibly the most sea worthy human powered boat in history. This design evolved from a need to hunt distant game in the middle of one of the most challenging seas in the world. A specialized bow and stern help make this boat able to move beyond its own theoretical top speed.
We go over the basics of boat design and evolution. The first step of construction is building the bow and stern. Laying out the shape of the hull, the Gunwales are fit to our desired beam. The deck is completed, the keel installed and the stringers give the exact hull shape. Oak ribs are steamed and bent to the shape of the stringers and fitted into notches in the gunwales. Every joint is lashed with knotwork as old as the hills. Next comes fitting and sewing the skin with the final waterproof urethane coating. When your done, take your finished kayak home.
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