Re: building wooden kayak costs?

Melissa wrote:

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On Fri, 14 Nov 2003 02:45:02 GMT, Sue Goddard wrote:

  

But I have a concern.... just how durable is a fabric boat?
    

Hi Sue,

They can be remarkably durable. I know people who routinely grind 
their skin boats over oyster shells and bump them into rocks, and 
while they will get some scratches and gouges in the coating, in most 
cases, the skin itself isn't damaged. The frames are really strong as 
well. 

Damage is always possible, but in relatively normal usage, probably 
no more so than punching a hole or crack in a glass or wooden boat. 
For the type of water you're expecting, I shouldn't think you'd have 
much of a problem at all with catastrophic damage. 

You can also get different weights and types of skin (nylon, canvas, 
polyester). The heavier weights will naturally be more resistent to 
incidental damage than the lighter ones, but the lighter ones are 
quite good anyway. 
  

The more rugged fabrics (13 & 16 ounce polyester) and coatings (Gaco UA-7000) tend to be a pricy, but you can still keep the cost to under $300. If you don't have to buy all the stock for building the frame, you could easily do it for under $200.

I would suggest that you look into the books by Morris and Starr, in addition to Cunningham's book. Morris' construction is simpler and faster. Starr's is probably the most foolproof. Cunningham's is beautiful and strong, but the most complex. All three will produce a good boat. Bill Low's skinning method is the best I've seen for the heavier polyester fabrics.

If you're interested, I've got some SOF construction photos at:  http://community.webshots.com/user/brian_nystrom

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Regards

Brian