Greenland Kayaks
Just a couple examples of "generic" Greenland style kayaks I've built. Both are to the same design, more or less, but they clearly differ in outcome!
The first is skinned with #10 cotton duck canvas, the second with heavy gauge transparent PVC. Both paddle and roll very well, and have more thigh room than traditional boats. They are, roughly, 17'x20" and weigh
around 30lbs or less.
---------------------------
This boat is, at this stage, merely bare canvas. It was later painted
(salmon!), and the deck rigging was installed by the new
owner.
Canvas is a miserable fabric to work with, FYI, with many bloody
knuckles to show for it! It holds up well, however, and takes
various coatings easily. It is prone to rot, eventually, and is not
quite as tough as polyester or nylon, so I rarely use it to skin
boats with.
-----------------------------
This was my first transparent boat, and it taught me a few things, for sure. One is that every launch will take at least a half an hour after you've gotten the boat off of the car. This is due solely to having to answer questions from every person who sees it!
Another lesson learned is that a see-thru kayak is not particularly see-thru once condensation takes over - hence my preference for building canoes this way, instead.
Finally, I learned, also, that one must take a lot more pics and to use a much higher resolution!
Here are the few that I got:
That's glare, not condensation - but the effect is similar
A little copper inlay on the coaming
The first is skinned with #10 cotton duck canvas, the second with heavy gauge transparent PVC. Both paddle and roll very well, and have more thigh room than traditional boats. They are, roughly, 17'x20" and weigh
around 30lbs or less.
---------------------------
This boat is, at this stage, merely bare canvas. It was later painted
(salmon!), and the deck rigging was installed by the new
owner.
Canvas is a miserable fabric to work with, FYI, with many bloody
knuckles to show for it! It holds up well, however, and takes
various coatings easily. It is prone to rot, eventually, and is not
quite as tough as polyester or nylon, so I rarely use it to skin
boats with.
-----------------------------
This was my first transparent boat, and it taught me a few things, for sure. One is that every launch will take at least a half an hour after you've gotten the boat off of the car. This is due solely to having to answer questions from every person who sees it!
Another lesson learned is that a see-thru kayak is not particularly see-thru once condensation takes over - hence my preference for building canoes this way, instead.
Finally, I learned, also, that one must take a lot more pics and to use a much higher resolution!
Here are the few that I got:
That's glare, not condensation - but the effect is similar
A little copper inlay on the coaming