Skills

As the paddling season winds down and the cool breezes of fall start to blow reminding us that winter not too far away some find themselves looking for a way to occupy their time that would have otherwise been spent paddling. Why not build a boat?

Although we may not give up paddling all together in the winter there is definitely less opportunity to sink your blade. Days are shorter, the air is colder and the seas and waters we paddle, not so friendly.

Adventure Kayak in there most recent edition talks about building your own boat. The four page feature touches on the types of boats you can build, the tools needed for the job, the kind of skills required and even where you can pick up a kit to make part of the process much easier.

Contrary to popular belief you don’t need to be a master carpenter nor do you need to quit your job to have the time to do so, building a boat is an attainable goal and at satisfying one at that.

So what kind of boats can you build at home? There’s actually quite a selection right from skin on frame to stitch and glue and even cedar strip. To top it all off there are even courses available to walk people through the process. A few weeks of evening classes or a week—long workshop and presto, you’re well on your way to be the proud owner of a hand built craft.

Another popular but untrue myth is that hand built boats are delicate and need lots of care and maintenance. Josh Thomas and J.J. Kelley’s movie Paddle to Seattle is all about building a pair of stitch and glue boats and paddling them all the way from Alaska to Seattle. Guess what. The boats held up just fine and they sold them right at the end of their trip.

To find out more about building a boat this winter check out the Summer/Fall 2010 issue of Adventure Kayak magazine.

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