Update June 2024: Four & a half years since the building – How’s she holding up? Adaptations and Repairs. (scroll down). (List of materials suppliers is at the end of the blog, below.) Preparations: Oct/Nov 2019 After nearly three months of researching local sources of supply, negotiating access to large enough workshop space (not enough room...
"Chris’ F1 kayak build, Stirling, Scotland"Continue reading
Starting at the End (30Nov2019) First paddle. Very quick. Huge amounts of reserve stability. Note that I over bent the coaming and ended up with a recurve. Brian suggested a way to fix that, and I will. It seals better than a commercial coaming and skirt that I have used, but after being upside around...
"Ivo’s F1 Build, Campton Hills, IL"Continue reading
5/29/2020 It floats! Love it! Getting in was a big of a challenge, but once in it felt great! What a fun project 🙂 5/16/2020 It took longer than expected, but it’s finally done! Can’t wait to go out on the water. 🙂 5/9/2020 After a long break finally completed the urethane coating on the...
I am Jukka Olanterä from Finland. I live near Lahti and I have paddled for many years over 1000 km every year. I have paddled all over Finland on lakes and sea. But also in Sweden, Estonia and Russia. I am starting to build F1 skin-on-frame kayak. Now I am making preparing for the project....
"Jukka’s F1 build, Finland"Continue reading
This is my third build using Brian’s system. I love building this way; the freedom and flexibility to play with the formula and manipulate the shape of the boat is liberating. It is also the first time that I’ve made any attempt to really record my build process. I was surprised at how hard it...
"Matt’s 13-7 pack build, Burlington, Vermont"Continue reading
I have nearly no woodworking experience and didn’t have many tools when I started this project, so it has been a slow start. I’m using fir since all the red cedar I have found is knot full. Finding green oak locally has been near impossible, I found some white oak that was cut late last...
"Ryan’s 66 Large Touring Double-Paddle Canoe, Houston, TX"Continue reading
Started building a kayak in Tiilerilaaq for the pupils to use. The builders are Max – school headmaster and Kamilla – teacher and writer of this blog. Our school has about a dozen of pupils. Tiilerilaaq is a traditional fishing and hunting settlement on Sermilik fjord and has about 70 inhabitants. Kayaks are used here...
Finally starting My West Greenland boat, I have been waiting for wood supply at the hardwood store and they finally got it last week. I have been converting a lot of the measurements from imperial to metric, which i Hope wont affect too much for My build. Since the hardwood store do not have much...
"Building a West Greenland kayak in West Greenland"Continue reading
November 24th, 2018 While attending a Winter Camping Symposium at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. I saw for the first time in my life a skin on frame canoe. I was intrigued by how simple and beautiful it looked. Having made a lot of my own back country camping gear I knew that...
"Rob’s 14′ Solo Canoe 66 Build, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada"Continue reading
Hi Folks, I’m Thorsten, 34 years old, living in Regensburg – Bavaria/Germany, building a LPB. After two months looking for straight wood that would properly bend for the ribs and coaming, I finally was lucky to get a whole tree of ash (1.000 kg = 2.200 lbs). The problem here was mostly timing. Usually, trees...
