Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

[mike64]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

Mike-

Whatever you decide, good luck. I wish I had the time to build something like this!

I wish I had the time too!

Thanks for the advice, arks, and thanks a lot for that clcboats link! there's some great resources on that site. You have a very good point-- getting the design right would be the hard part. I wouldn't be against getting a plan and then maybe customizing it a bit.

Still kicking around whether I'd go with my original idea of fiberglass or make a wood one like those Chesapeakes. i386 and oops have given me some great advice about how to make it out of glass, but I like working with wood and I really like the look of those Chesapeake kayaks. Maybe I need to build 2 kayaks

I have my requirements figured out:

* Mostly for smaller lakes around my house that don't allow powered craft, or slow-moving rivers-- no sea kayaking or whitewater for me.

* Not going to be racing-- speed and weight is not a huge issue. But I want a one-man craft, something I can hoist on top of my Jeep and carry short distances by myself.

* Want to be able to fish from it, so it needs to be stable and able to accommodate gear.

This is a real left turn from my original idea, but after poking around the clc site, I'm kind of liking this Annapolis Wherry:

http://www.clcboats.com/boatbuilding_classes/17.html

Might be a little heavy to lift onto a Jeep though. Maybe I could scale it down a little(?)

 

[mike64]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

On second look, you can't buy just the plans for the wherry. Got to buy the precut parts for that one.

Getting back to kayaks on that site arks told me about(thanks again arks), in the boat plans section, I like something like this:
http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/plans/stitch_glue_designs/CLC-MILLCREEK-13.html
or this:
http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/plans/stitch_glue_designs/CLC-WOODDUCK-12.html
I really like the look of this 18' monster, but probably more kayak than I need:
http://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/plans/stitch_glue_designs/CLC-CHESAPEAKE-18.html

I like the idea of starting with a plan and customizing it to make it my own. Like arks said, I don't want to reinvent the wheel and end up with a flawed design I'm not going to be happy with. I'm really liking the look of those wood kayaks. Maybe it's time to change the title of this thread

 

[i386]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

The longer they are, the easier they are to paddle in a straight line. Speaking of paddles... Cheap paddles are heavy and will wear you out. Figure in about $200 for a decent fiberglass paddle. Get someone who knows paddles to help you with the sale. Length, offset, and control hand grip are features to look at. I can tell you that a heavy paddle or the wrong fiberglass paddle will make for a miserable day on the water. The PFD that guy is wearing in the pic is a Lotus (looks like Patagonia bought them out). They are very comfortable. Figure another hundred for a nice one like that. Since you're sitting in a confined space, anything you can do to make yourself comfortable is well worth it.

 

[mike64]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

Thanks again, i386. I see a used Lotus PFD on eBay now for $10.50 so far. Got to do this project on the cheap! I'm thinking part of the fun will be to see just how inexpensively I can build a nice looking, dependable kayak-- keep a running total of every dollar I spend.

Marine ply isn't as expensive as I thought it would be. Looks like I would only need 2-3 sheets to build something like that 12' Wood Duck. I might not even need to buy their plans-- they helpfully provide a link showing all the cutouts. Small & low rez, but I could work around that. they even have a gallery with 63 images showing every step of construction.

I'm starting to think maybe I can pull this off...

 

[snowfreak]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

i think this is a great idea. looking at all the ideas has been a great help but me and my friend are wanting to build two kayaks the only problem is that we have no money or very little of it. is there any places where you guys have found places that give away products (i.e. foam, resin, epoxy, cloth....) or samples and cheap places. thanks a lot

 

[mike64]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

i think this is a great idea. looking at all the ideas has been a great help but me and my friend are wanting to build two kayaks the only problem is that we have no money or very little of it. is there any places where you guys have found places that give away products (i.e. foam, resin, epoxy, cloth....) or samples and cheap places. thanks a lot

Thanks for bringing back an embarrassing 2 year old thread of mine about a project I dropped the ball on... :redface:

Just kidding-- welcome to iBoats! I'm actually kind of honored my old kayak thread is your first post. Googled "building a kayak": and came across it, I'm guessing?

If you read through this post you'll see the only reason you'd want to build a kayak yourself is for the fun of it-- if your only aim is saving money, keep an eye on Craigslist-- you and your buddy will probably be able to find a couple kayaks for a few hundred apiece or cheaper.

As for me, I posted the kayak building idea shortly after joining iboats and being amazed and geeked at the resto threads I was seeing. I wanted a project, & was serious about building the kayak, but I had my first powerboat that took all my time that summer (1/2 playing with it, 1/2 working on it ). Figured I'd make the kayak building a fall-winter project. Then the financial meltdown hit, and well... I had other priorities. Still wouldn't mind having a kayak someday-- seen some nice ones going cheap on Craiglist.

 

[ibemonkey]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

hi mike and everyone

i am really excited to make my own kayak and alos this was the first link that came up that was any good.
for me i dont want to buy one i want to build it.
this this what i want it to look like---http://jacksonkayak.com/jk-kayaks/whitewater/rockstar/rockstar-carbon/
i know this is extreme but my parents are willing to pay for costs. so i kind of have free rain.
i was going to go down the carve it out of Styrofoam then glass fiber it then scrape out the foam.
what do you think???

 

[emoney]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

I think this is the thread that will never die..........Mike, you're going to have to build a kayak because otherwise, this thread will keep coming back to haunt you....lol

 

[mike64]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

I think this is the thread that will never die..........Mike, you're going to have to build a kayak because otherwise, this thread will keep coming back to haunt you....lol

LOL...hey Ibemonkey, welcome to iboats and good luck with your kayak project. If you do build it, be sure to start a post about it with lots of pics and info on the progress. Good luck!

 

[ibemonkey]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

hi

just one thing you sugest to use Styrofoam and epoxy resin and i was just wondering are you sure that epoxy resin will not melt the styrofoam???

 

[mike64]

Re: Building a fiberglass kayak--crazy idea?

Not sure who you're asking the question to, ibm. If you read the thread you know I never actually built a kayak. It was i386 who had the advice with the styrofoam and epoxy.

Your best bet is to start your own thread- you'll get much more help and advice there than in this 3 year old zombie thread ;-)