Building an Aleutian Kayak

Introiluutlon
There is pretty good evidencethat the type of kayakyou're about to build was made in the Arctic for at least z,ooo years.The Aleuts who built these boats called them ikyax; the Russians that It alsoappears who colonizedAlaskacalled them baidarkas. skin boatsof somekind have been usedby Aleuts for g,oooyears or more. Kayaksand umiaks, made of wood and skin, donlt survive for long, but the stone and ivory partsof hunting gear used and with theseboatsdo. Since the hunting gearusedwith kayaks from boats of these the age to deduce it's possible umiaks differs, gear. remnantsof their associated were usedas hunting craft Baidarkas were in in the Aleutian Islandsiust askayaks Russians Before the Arctic. the rest of the arrived, baidarkascoexistedwith the large - the Aleuiian version of the open baidaras umiak. Umiaks were used to haul gear and make family migrationsfrom the winter villages to the summer hunting and fishing grounds. The Russians confiscated and destroyedmost of the baidarasto prevent the The Aleuts from escapingtheir enslavement. sincethe boats promotebuilding baidarkas did, however, Russians were essentialto the seaotter hunt, the prime reasonfor the presence. Russian the Russian While the designof the baidarkaprecedes no doubt influenced in the Aleutians,the Russians presence baidarkaconstructionby providing the Aleuts with steeltools.
Amodelof an early Figure1-1. EastSibeia. kayak fromEkven, years old and It'sabout2,000 umiak. resembles a decked-over
lntroductionI
Figure1-2.Thebaidarka in winter.
(Martin Honel photo)
Steel tools no doubt made the building of baidarkaseasier. According to George Dyson, author of Baidarka, the Russians also homogenizedthe baidarka's designby forcing large hunting parties to undertake extendedvoyagesin search of sea otter pelts, thus bringing togetherbuilders from previouslyisolated islands. The first drawings and written accountsof baidarkas were "discovery" made afterVitus Bering's of Alaskain ry4t. Though baidarka specimens now in museums were collected mostly between the mid-rgth and mid-zoth centuries, many of the drawingsand accountsproduced during the one hundred previousyearsof European contact show and tell of boatsthat are in many waysdifferent from the museum specimens. Most notably,the drawingsshow much shorterboatsthan are in museums. Did the Aleuts actuallybuilt shorterboats,or were the artistswho drew them and the writers who describedthem simply inaccurateobservers? I don't know, but I'm inclined to think that thoseearlyobservers were careless, perhaps biasedby their knowledgeof small Europeanboats, which were much beamier for their length. In any case, the designof the baidarkawe'reconcerned with here is basedon museumspecimens from the earlypart of
2 The Aleutian Kayak
and a much better this century.I think theseare sound designs descripiionsrecordedby example to follow than questionable r8th-century explorers.
WhyBuilda Kayak?
The only way to know what it feels like to paddle a skin-onframe kayakis to build one and paddle it. You can't very well go to a museum and check one out. There are people who will boat, but I think a good part build you a custom skin-on-frame of the appreciationof a skin boat comes from having built one yourself. If you'regoing to spend8o to roo hoursbuilding one, you might want to feel that your skin boat is in someway superiorto a plasticboat you can buy in a store.I feel no personalneed to of building and paddling iustify building skin boats.The pleasure my own boatsis lustificationenough.I do feel that skin-on-frame When boatsare superiorto plasticboatsin sometangibleways. you build your own boats, you'll have your own reasonsfor here'smy believing that skin boatsare better, but for starters, list. Use it, if you want, to defend skin boats-or your decision to build one. Skin boatshave more spirit than plasticboats.Objects reflect their creator's spirit, which you impari to your boat asyou it. The longer you work, the more of your spirit the boat work on the whole will have.Plasticboatshavevery little spirit because point of manufacturing is to keep costsdown by minimizing human effort. At best,plastic boatswill have very little spirit. At worst,they'll have a negativespirit, which comesfrom the boredom and hostility ofien found in factories.I'm not sayingthat you can't improve a plasticboat'sspirit.As you paddle it, its spirit but I don't think a plasticboat will evermatch a will develop, handmadewoodenboat in spirit no matterhow much time you spendwith it. The history of the parts that make up your boat contributes to its spirit just as your attitude doeswhen you build it. The materialscomprisingyour boat are all so simple that with a little research,you can find out where each of them came to how much violence you need to do from. If you are sensitive to othersand the environmentbeforeyou get out on the waterto
lntroduction
paddle, making your own boat and controlling the sourceof the materialsis the perfect method. For instance,you can make many of your boat partsfrom recycledlumber, assuring yourself that you're not a party to cutting down any new trees,even if the lumber you are using may originally have come from an oldgrowth stand. The deck beamsof my lastfew boatshaveall come from lumber recovered from home remodelingprojects. I havea friend who getshis wood for deck beamsby visitingbuilding sitesand recovering lumber scraps from dumpsters. I am no purist about building materialsand will use synthetics when it makessense. I do think, though, that my boatshavea strongerspirit if I can feel that all the materialswere collectedand assembled in the proper manner. While the essence of massproduction is that one sizefits all, you can tailor a skin boatto fit your own body and discover the pleasure of havingsomethinguniquelyyour own-a pleasure normally reserved for the wealthy in the form of a tailored suit or handmadeshoes. If you are of average build, fit may not be a big issuebecause it is for you that manufacturers makeboats.If you're very small or very large, however,a boat that fits may not be within your reach unlessyou make your own. You can tailor a skin boat to your temperamentand to the temperamentof the waters that you paddle.Your first boat may be somethingof a shot in the dark, but asyou take it out and use it, you will think of waysto improve it. Maybe you'll want to make it largerto carrymore gear.Maybe you will want to make it lighter or shorteror longer or with a bigger cockpit or with a flatter bottom or with more V. You might want to paint it to blend in with your paddling grounds,or bright orangeso the CoastGuard can seeyou better. "tune" You can a skin boat, and if you build more than one, the quality of your boatswill improve.You will become sensitiveto the properties of the materialsyou use,and to the tension of the skin and the lashingsand the flex of the wood, and you'll learn to balancethesefor optimum effect.Plasticboatsare not tunable. They come in one stiffness for fiberglass(stiff) and anotherstiffness for polyethylene(limp). If you'reshorton moneybut long on time, you can build a skin boat for a fracticinof the costof a olasticboat. I don't think
that the costof plasticboatsis prohibitive for someonewho really wantsto paddle,but when you think of all the other things $z,ooo can buy, the idea of building your own boat may become even more attractive.
Why Build anAleutian Kayak?

I have built both Greenland and Aleutian kayaks,and I feel the Aleutian kayak is a better cruising boat becauseit has more spacefor gear. It has more parts than a Greenland kayak so it takesa little longer to build, but the shapeof the hull is simpler and it is a little easierfor the first-time builder to get right.
How Strong is lt?

Skin-on-frame boatsare quite strong.I would rate them somewhere betweenfiberglass boatsand polyethylene boats.I wasonce picked up by a waveand surfedinto a big rock that brought me to a deadstop.Based on the forceof the impact,l expected to be picking splinters out of my thighs,but to my surprise the boat wasnot damaged. A skin-on-frame boat responds to force much the sameway that a tree does.It bendsout olthe way and returns to iis restingpositionwhen the force is removed. Of course, a baidarka is not indestructible. If you shouldexit your boat in the surf and have it fill with water, it will weigh severalhundred pounds.And, if crashedinto a rock, the force of this weight might crack some ribs. But even if your boat has crackedribs and stringers you can paddle it, since the skin and the lashingare still holding the brokenpartsin place. Another common concern seems to be the skin's strength.Peopleworry that a sharpstick or rock might poke a hole in it. I have yet to seea sharpstick where I paddle,and I avoid sharprocks,usuallya concernonly when landingand launching. In either case,a canvas skin will at most losesomepaint where a fiberglass boat will get a deepgougeor crackedgeicoat. When I have to make an emergency surf landing on a rocky beach,I much prefer skin to fiberglass. Canvasdoeshaveits limits and will get puncturedor torn. If you desirea skin that is strongerthan the frame of your boat or
Introducti
if you expectyour boat to take a lot of abuse,look into using synthetic materials.
Building Experience
You don't need woodworkingexperience to build a baidarkasuccessfully. If you can learn to use a handsaw, a block plane, and a drill, you can build a baidarka.(l haven't included detailed instructions on usingand maintaininghand tools,but there are plentyof goodbookson the subjectin public libraries.) In any case, you will learn asyou build, and a good deal of the teachingwill be done by your tools and materials. As you get a senseof what your tools can do and how your materials respond, the building process becomessimpler and more pleasurable.
Paddling Experience
I assume that if you build a kayakyou will alsowant to paddle it. If you have never done any kayakingbefore, be warned that you may need a little practicebefore you feel comfortable in this boat. Most U.S.-made seakayaks havebeamsof anyrvhere from zz,Ioz6 inches and relativelyflat bottoms.Contrastthis with the zr-inch beam and relativelydeepV-bottom of the Aleutian kayak that you will build. I think that the wide beam and flat bottom of commercialboatshasto do with the economicrealitythat people will not buy kayaks that they cannot paddlewithout practice. If you plan to paddleyour kayakonly in protectedwaters, are building it mostly for the pleasure of building, and don't expectto paddle it more than a few times each season, by all meansmake it wider.You'll havea boatyou can useand feel comfortable in. It?sbetter to have a boat that deviatesfrom the Aleutian norm if you useit than a faithful replicathat gathers dust in your garuge because you don't feel comfortablewith it.
Building Time
If you have never built a boat before,give yourselfabout four months to finish this one. Buildine the baidarka's frame takes
TheAleutianKayak
r
l
about trvo months of sparetime, and sewingthe coverand painting it takesanother few weeksor so. The first skin boat I built took me almost six months from startto finish, the result of having a manual that was pretty sketchyabout a lot of the construction details. I've attemptedto write TheAleutianKayakto allow you to build stepby step,without losinga lot of time on experimentation and trial and error. If you have never built a boat or worked on a will be your most imporlong-term project before,persistence It is easyto hit a roadblockand want to give up. If you tant asset. in boatbuildingor have any friends even marginally interested woodworking,you might want to take one of them on as a building partner. With a partner to give you moral support,you're much lesslikely to quit if you encountera problem.
Whatlt Costs
You can buy all the materialsneededto make the boat for under $zoo in 1995U.S. dollars.If you decideto build anotherboat, you can build that one for under $roo. The cost of materials breaksdown roughly asfollows: Lumber, $3o Paint,linseedoil, and turpentine,$4o Canvas(wholesale), $35 Canvas(retail),$7o Thread,lashingtwine, rope,and needles, $zo This all addsup to a maximum of $16oif you haveto pay If you want to keep your costsunder the retail price for canvas. $zoo,you have another$39.99to spendon toolsor to coverthe costof lumber. increasing
of theProcess The Steps

dependThere are a number of differentwaysto make a baidarka, ing on the materialsavailable,the kind of tools you have,and so on. Ratherthan try to deal with differentconstructionmethods at the sametime, I havechosento presenta singleway of building
lntroduction1
a lot of the building process the boat.This makesthe presentation Alternative construction methodsare dismore straightforward. in appendices. cussed
Things GoWrong to DoWhen What

saythat somethingwill go wrong when you I won't categorically build a boat. I've made it through whole boatswithout any probthat lems. On the other hand, building a boat hasso many steps The there is a good chanceyou will run into someproblems. most imporiant thing when encounteringone is not to get disThere is no rush.When I can't immediatelyseea solucouraged. tion, I usually back off and wait a day,which givesme time to think-and I alwayscome up with something.Talk the problem over with your partner,if you have one. But don't quit. tips.Thesewon't Appendix r hassometroubleshooting go wrong,but you that could possibly covereverything necessarily will get a flavorof the generalapproachto dealingwith problems.
Outside of theU.S.A. Baidarkas Building

in this manual are specifiedin English units All measurements of feet and inches since this is still the prevalentsystemin the U.S. For the benefit of buildersoutsideof the U.S., metric equivIncheswere convertedto cenalentsare suppliedin parentheses. timetersby multiplying by 2.54.Poundsbecamekilogramsby dividing by z.z. into three categories. I have divided metric conversions you may use the exact conversions-the In the first category, actual dimensionsof the boat, such as length, width, and depth -as they are. or the conversions, is approximate The secondcategory metric conversionsof approximateEnglish dimensions.For instance, if I suggestthat you make a boathook from a stick approximately5 feet long, you don't'haveto make it exactly152.4 centimetersin length.Any stickfrom r4o cm to 16ocm will probably do. is conversions of cut lumber dimenThe third category 1/o inches(r.9 inch x 714 as in the U.S. may be sold A board sions. have any may not cm x 19 cm) in crosssection.Your lumberyard
Kayak Aleutian 8 The
possible getthe closest If this is the case, size. this exact boards equivalent. of the U.S. out a peculiarity Finally,I wouldlike to p'oint the U.S. to builders outside lumbertradethat maybe confusing evenwhen by its sizebeforeit wasplaned, Lumber is described Sor x zsarereallyt/oinish condition. it is not soldin an unplaned usedfor conthick and rl incheswide.The z x 4s universally inches wide. thick and 3i4 arereallyrl4inches shuction I havetried to avoidconfusionby givingfinisheddimento if yousee anyreferences However, sions of lumberin all cases. I'm about. talking you'll knowwhat r,x2sor z x 4s,
lntroduction I
The Natilro of Boilt the

To getsomeideaof the kind of boatyou'reaboutto build you kayak's shouldunderstand theAleutian properties andbehavior.
Figure 2-1.Replica of an Aleutian baidarka fromAtka, oiginally suneyed by David and lohn Heath.
The Parts of the Boat

The namesof the kayakpartsshownbelow are keyedto Figure zr, though I'm not surethere are any standard English namesfor
qTr
l P
,^
Kayak l0 The Aleutian
boating tetms. traditional I haveused Wherepossible, mostparts. improvised. I have terms don't apply, traditional Where by Aleutiantermsfor partsof the boathavebeenrecorded Sndiesfor details. to Kayak seeContributions Knut Bergsland;
a. gunwales b. deck beam c. backrest d. knee brace e. foot brace f. bow crosspiece g. tail crosspiece h. rib i. keelson,center section j. keelson, bow section tail section ,k. keelson,
joint l. keelson m. hull stringer n. bow o. lowerborrJ p. upperbowpiece q. bowslit r. tailfin s.frontdeckstringer t. reardeckstringer u. cockpitcoaming v. coami+g stanchion
0riginof the Boat _ The

The boatyou'll build is an Aleutiankayakusedby huntersin the latter part of the rgth centuryand the earlypart of the zoth
replica Figure2-2.Baidarka covered with canvasskin.
o @rr
Ihe llatureofthe Boat | |
t !9!0 t
l 114 l
Standard dimensions
Length Beam, Depth to sheer,
-5282mm (L) (B max) at3 048 mm 496 mm (Ds) 235 mm at 3 048 mm -
(D max)at 2 705 mm o/a Depth, Cockpit length Cockpit breadth 0 to cockpit Nb. These are all survey dimensions
319 618 420 2 769
mm mm mm mm
bKr- 005 (a)

BAIDARS,BRUSH MUSEUM, &EU DEM., ETENOGMPflICAL BURLINGTON GABDENS. LOPON WTX 2EX, ENGhND.
Figure 2-3.An Aleutian baidarka in the BritishMuseum. Courtesy of lohn Brand.
century. The boat in Figure z-r is a replica of a boat in the HearstMuseum (formerlythe Robert H. Lowie Museum) in Berkele;r, California. It was collected in Atka by MargaretLantis rn ry34.Figure z-z showsthe samereplica boat with its skin on. The boat in Figure z-3 is in the British Museum in London. Note that even though No information on its origins is available. theseboatscome from different islands,their shapeand dimensionsare remarkablysimilar. George Dyson attributesthis similarity to the homogenizingeffect of the Russianpresencein the Aleutians.
The Baidarka hanges withTime

A kayakmade of natural materialschangesover time, settling if usedfreand adjustingitself in the first six months,especially on the ribs. skin will tighten and put pressure quently.The canvas Ribs that stick up a littlq higher than otherswill be pushedforward or backward,eventuallyleveling with their neighbors.In time, all the ribs will flatten somewhat.You'll notice that the slightly and subtly.Its keel might drift off to boat'sshapechanges one side or the other for a while, but eventuallyit seemsto straightenitself again.The paint will wear,the nosemay droop a little, the cockpitcoamingwill elongate, and so on. Keeping all this in mind, realize that the drawingson the following pagesshow somewhatidealizedversionsof real boats.Your boat will look pretty much like the boats in the
that but with the lumps,bumps,and irregularities drawings resultfrom usingnaturalmaterials.
Form andFunction
preIf you are iempted to tinker with the designof the baidarka sentedhere, I'11give you a list of what I feel are key baidarka and their functions.If you decideto modify any designfeatures of them, you will at leasthave some idea of how it will affectthe in a detailedtechnicaltreatmentof boat. If you are interested "Form and Function of the paper, this topic, readGeorgeDyson's in ContriThe Frameworkof Design,"which aPPears Baidarka: butionsto Kayak Studies. The Aleutian kayakwasdesignedto be paddledon the the North Pacific oceanaround the Aleutian Islandsthat separate thereare some from the Berins Sea.The winds and the currents haveto the Aleutians Not only did world. of the most r.u.r" in the be very good paddlersto surviveunder theserough conditions, they alsohad to have a boat designthat wastuned to thesecondito me that the designthey evolvedover the centions. It seems turies is not likely to be improved upon. Any grossmodifications seaworthiness. to the designare likely to give you a boat of lesser
of Seaworthiness Elements
of aboriginal After having read much about the seaworthiness I built one and took it out paddling on Lake Michigan kayaks, on a windy late-Marchday.After a shorttime paddling,I capsized and spentthe next r5 minutesswimmingthe boat backto shore. So much for seaworthiness. Luckily, I waswearingmy drysuit.As I carriedmy boat from with grapplingpolesapproached back to the car, firefighters water. from the land as a Coast Guard boat approached Someonehad seenme swimming.After that incident, I spentthe everytime I went out on the water next year practicingmy ro11 and eventuallygot good enough that I didn't have to swim my boat any more. of a kayak The moral of the storyis that the seaworthiness has asmuch to do with the skill and experienceof the paddleras it doeswith the boat itself.No matter how goodyou or your kayak
i
I
Thel{ature of the Boat 13
be weatherthat can get the better of you. are,there will always respect are the proper attitudeswhen you put your Humility and boat in the water.When you paddlein rough water,you soonrealize that the key to survivalis cooperationand grace,not domination. You needto know your limits and thoseof your boat,and you need to get off the water or stayoff the water when you get close to thoselimits.
Paddling Speed Potential

GeorgeDyson haspromotedthe idea that Aleutswere capableof at ro miles an hour (16krnih). There are paddling their kayaks historicalaccountsthat they did. However,don't be disappointed when your kayakdoesn'tgo that fast. Speedin a kayakis a lot like seaworthiness-it depends asmuch on the paddlerason the of Aleut skeletalremainshaveshown boat. For one thing, studies that the bones in their arms were quite a bit bigger in diameter or other peoplesof today. than those of contemporaryRussians quite a bit The implication is that the heavierbonessupported more muscle. The norm for Aleutian paddlersmay well have been strength and stamina found only in Olympic-classpaddlers today. The normal cruisingspeedfor a kayakwith a r6-foot(488 length is about4 milesper hour (6.4km/h). People cm) waterline in racesof some distancehave averaged 9 miles per hour (r4.4 km/h). Paddlingall day against a headwindwith a heavilyloaded aslittle asz milesper hour (3.2km/h). boat,I haveaveraged While the speedof a kayakdependsa lot on the paddler, ofthe boatthat affect builder you can controlcertainaspects asa flexibilityof the frame,and speed: skin friction and tightness, width and weight of the boat. A rough or bumpy paint finish more skin friction than smooth paint does.An Aleutian causes of the light weight of kayak's frame is intrinsicallyflexiblebecause the frame members.However,looselashingsor looseskin will causea kayakto paddleasbadly as a rubber raft.Tight lashings to good performance. and tight skin are essential length, If you increase the width, or weightof the boat,you the amount of surface areain contactwith the water, alsoincrease resistance to forwardmotion. Increased which in turn increases the weight alsocauses you to expendmore energyaccelerating
Kayak 14 The Aleutian
r
that'severytime betweenstrokes, boat-and sinceit decelerates you apply power.
of Volume Thelmportance
by your boat,and Volume is the total amount of spaceenclosed it must be enough to keep paddlerand cargoafloat.In the case of an Aleut, this wasprobably16opounds (Zl kg) for the paddler and another75 pounds(18kg) for gearand seaotterpeltsor balThe volume should be sufficientto give the boat 3 to last stones. the between or clearance (7.5 "- to ro cm) of freeboard inches 4 waterlineand the sheerline. the deck meansthat waterwill washacross Lessfreeboard meansthat more of the boatwill be more often.More freeboard can make An inch (2.5cm) of freeboard affectedby wind pressure. wind and in a strong betweenmaking progress the difference still. standing SinceAleutswent on long trips and had to haul their gear and pelts in their boats,they probably built their boats with enoughvolume to handle well when loaded.This meant that the boatsprobablysata little high in the waterwhen empty. The width, length, and depth of the kayakall relateto volvolthe boat's any one dimensionwill increase ume. Increasing (82 to kg) and you want ume. If your weight is under r8o pounds make the boat wider to give it more stability,you might alsotry making it shorterto keep the overallvolume from going up. Another aspectof volume is affectedby the part of the hull that sits in the water. If you make a high-volume boat you'll have more of the bottom and lessof the sidesin the water.If you makea low-volumeboat you'll havecomparablymore of the sides in the water.Two boatswith roughly the samehull shapewill behavequite differentlyif one sitshigh in the waterand the other siislow.
WidthandStability
Ifyou have neverpaddleda kayakbeforeor ifyou have only padkayaks with a beam of z3 inches dled one of the wider recreational kayakwith a zrfind an Aleutian (58 cm) or greater, might you way to make your inch (53 cm) beam a little tippy. The easiest
fhe ilatureof the Boat 15
kayakmore stableis to make it wider. The questionis, should you? My answeris no; at leastnot without good reason. There are some good reasons why you may want to make your kayak wider, and we'll come to them later,but let'sbegin with a few reasonswhy you should not. This may not make sense at first,but a narrowkayakwith a deep V-bottom is more seaworthy in rough water than a wider, flat-bottomedkayak.I first h{d ihis explainedto me in a seminar given by Frank Goodryan, thidesigne! of the Nordkapp kayak. With a zr-inch (l; c-) beam,the Nordkappoften is accused of being tippy, and so requiresits designerto have a readydefense. What makesa wide, flat-bottomedkayakstablein flat water is the tendencyof the bottom of the boat to stayparallel to the water's surface. A narrow,V-bottomedboat would just assoon lean over,and so is perceived asbeing tippy. A narrowboat needs the agility of its paddlerto keepit upright. In rough water,the flatbottomed boat still tends to stay parallel to the surfaceof the water,only now the surfaceof the water is tilting and the paddler needsto lean to one side or the other to keep the boat from capsizing. The flat bottom also makesthe kayaksusceptibleto sliding sideways, especially in breakingwaves. In rough water,the narrow boat needsto be kept upright by its paddlerjust asit doesin fat water,so rough waterdoesn't causeany new anxietyfor the paddler.The rough water doesnot tilt the narrow boat to one side or the other, so the paddler does not haveto lean to stayupright, but simply paddlesand keepshis or her body vertical. H. C. Petersen in his book,The Skinboats of Creenland, tells of a specialstorm kayakthat huntersthere once built, which wasnarrowerand had a deeperV-bottom than the normal fairweatherkayak.This boat was so unstablewithout a paddler ihat it would tip to one side if you laid a paddle on the deck off center. There are stories of similarlyunstableAleutian kayaks, supposedlybuilt beforethe coming of the Russians. One windyday,I stoodbythe shoreof Lake Michigan and watcheda largeCanadagoose and a small diving duck swimming in the breakingwaves. The Canadagoose with its largebuoyant body surfedand slid a few feet sideways everytime a wavebroke. The small diving duck, which sata lot lower in the water,wasnot moved around by the breakingwavesat all. The wavessimply
over it and it kept right on swimmingwithout any lossof washed that are good in stormsare like the diving duck. ground.Kayaks why a narrowkayakis better in Having given you reasons why you might stormywater,let me now give you somereasons want to build a wider, more stableboat.After you spendall that time building a boat, you should feel comfortablein it. While mostpeoplecan learn to paddlea narrowboat,somewill never feel comfortablein one. If you are one of thesepeople,make the veryathleticpeoplehavebad balance boatwider. Someotherwise are unstableand and need a wider boat.And ultimately,all kayaks needa paddlerto keep them upright. Don't build a narrowboat just because you think it is more sporting.Build a boat you can feel comfortable in. Incidentally, women and children do better they seemto havea lower centhan men in narrowboatsbecause ter of gravity. Ifyou have never been in a kayakbefore and are wondering whether a zr-inch (51 "-) boat is too narrowfor you, go to a kayaksymposiumor to a boat dealerwho lets you take boats out on the water,and try a narrowboat. If you feel comfortable with that width or think you could learn to feel comfortablewith it, go aheadand makeyour boatzr inches(51"-) wide. If you aren't comfortable,make your boat wider. An inch or hvo makes Avoid making the boat wider than z3 inches(58 quite a difference. it, because you will pay with cm) unlessyour hips necessitate reduced performance. Of course,if your primary concernfor the boat is not or you aren't concernedmuch but carryingcapacity, sportiness about speedor never intend to go near any rough water,by all meansmakethe boat aswide asyou need.
Length
The length of the HearstMuseum boat is 16feet 9 inches(5ro.5 cm). The length of the Oregon StateMuseum boat is r7 feet r inch (5zr cm). Both of theseboatsare roughly zol inches (5r.9 cm) wide. There isn't any point in making the boat any longer unlessyou want to turn it into a cargobarge. I made one replicaof the boat in the HearstMuseum, which ended up at r8 feet 6 inches(56+cm) sinceI didn't want A r7-foot(5r8 cm) to shortenthe lumber I usedfor the gunwales.
fhe Natureof the Boat
17
versionof the sameboat is noticeablymore responsive and has a livelier feel because the shorterboat pivotsmore quickly when going over waves.The longer boat has more inertia. It starts climbing a wave earlier,but it alsowaitslonger to pivot over the top of the wave-and when it finally does,it slamsdown on the othersidelike a breaching whale.
TheEffect of Depth
Depth from the top of the gunwalesto the bottom of the keelson is about 8l inches(2r.9cm). Don't make the boat any deeper unless your kneeswon't fit under the kneebrace.Unlessyou are quite heavyor carry a lot ofgear, greaterdepth to the boat translatesinto more boat stickingout of the waterand more surface areafor the wind to useasa sail. The more a boat protrudesfrom the water,the higher its center of gravityand the lessstableit becomes. A taller boat is harderto paddlebecause the higher deck forcesyou to lift your paddlehigher.
Cockpit Position
The cockpit in an Aleutian kayakis positionedmore than halfway back so that there is more boat in front of the paddl'erthan behind. It may seemthat the boat is not balancedcorrectly, but
Figure 2-4. When the baidarka is afloat its deck idge and sheerline dre more or lessparallel to the surfaceof the water.
(Martin Honel photo)
it is.When the boat is sitting in the water,the deck ridge,which is almoststraight,is pretty much parallelto the water.When viewed from the side,a baidarkalooks a lot like a floating log. The extra length of the boat in front of the paddlermakesit riseto a wave and keepsthe paddlerdry. sooner
of aV-Bottom TheEffect
sectionof the boat in the vicinity of the keelsonis VThe cross The V helpsthe boat maintain a straightcourse.It also shaped. makesit harder to turn, but on open water the ability to turn quicklyis rarelyrequired. The amount of V in the vicinityof the cockpitis someupwardfrom the horizontal.The wherebetweenro and r5 degrees if make the boatwider and increases if you V decreases of amount narrower the boat making If are you makethe boatnarrower. you peryou arebuildingit for a smaller thanzr inches(51.-) because the depth of the keelsonto son,you might alsowant to decrease keeothe amountof V from becomingexcessive.
VFigure2-5.Thepronounced gives i a bottom of thebaidarka better grip on thewaterthan flat aks. ial kay commerc bottomed
Deck? Whya Ridged

waterslidesoff on either rough, breakingwaves, In moderately to waterwashing sideof the centerdeck ridge,which is preferable alongthe deck and slammingyou in the chest.But if the waves breakhard enough, you get slammedin the chestan)^vay.
Frame of the Internal Drawback

boatsis that the frame of skin-on-frame One of the few drawbacks boatof a sizecoma plastic means that This inside. up space takes If you capacity' storage will havegreater to your baidarka parable you may feel with peoplewho haveplastickayaks, takeexcursions a bit guilty about not carryingasmuch stuff.If it reallybothersyou, ascompanions. paddlers you can stickwith otherskin-on-frame
Boat ofYour The Strength

which lasteda their boatswith animal skins, The Aleutscovered This meansthat year,maybehvo, beforethey had to be replaced.
of the Boat 19 TheNature
the Aleuts had frequent access to all parts of the frame. This allowedthem to build boatsaslightly aspossible since repair and replacementof crackedor broken ribs and stringers was not a problem. A canvas skin, on the other hand, lastsat leastfive years and if treatedcarefully,can lastfor ro. This increases the chances that you'll cracka rib or stringeror otherwise damagesomepart of the frame long beforethe skin needsreplacing. 1f you want to male a repair, you'll need to removethe skin, repair the part, and replace the skin. A crackedrib or stringeris not a big deal on an Aleutian boat, which has4o ribs and eight hull stringers. A breakhere and there will not incapacitate your boat. However,if you do much rough kayaking,thesebreakswill accumulateand you'll have to slit the seams on the boat long beforethe skin is worn oui. If you want to save yourselfsomemaintenanceand don't mind the extra weight, make the ribs and stringers heavierand stronger.
Parting Comments
The designof a boat is inevitably a compromisebetweenconflicting requirements such asstabilityand speed,or strengthand light weight. I found that my first boat took a long time to build because I,spentmore time agonizingover variousdesigndecisionsthan building. The building process will be a lot easier if you can acceptthe idea of not making a perfectboat the first time out. Build the bestboat you can, then take it out and paddle it for six months. Without a doubt you'll think of waysto make your next boat better.Go to kayakingsymposiums and meet otherbuilders. Trade constructiontips and stories. Paddleas many other boats asyou can. and learn.
20 lhe Aleutian Kayak
r-
fiffiingtheBoat
up featured in this manualshouldfit people The Aleutiankayak (82kg) in weight. If you to 6 feet(r83cm) tall and r8o pounds you mightwantto change smaller, or substantially arebigger, dimensions. the boat's
Dimensions Traditional
Traditionalkayakbuilders recordedthe dimensionsof their boats length of forearm, width of handspans, in terms of armspans, hascome down thumb, and so on. One such setof measurements Robert-Lamblin. by way of Bill Tcheripanoff to us from foelle she recordedwasfor a two-holekayak. The set of measurements which into centimeters, She alsotranslatedthesemeasurements makesit possibleto take the dimensionsof a one-holekayakand The resultsof this dimensions. translatethem into body-based translationare shown in Figure 3-r. If you are thinking of using your own body asa yardstick
Figure3-1.Thetraditionalwayto size an Aleutian baidarka, . to Bill Tcheipanoff according (161.9 cm). is 64 inches Armspan is 17 inches Elbowto fingertips (43cm).Handspan, thumbto (20 cm). middlefinger,is 8 inches of middlefinger Thumbto knuckle (14cm) is 5%inches
Fitting theBoat 2l
(Opposite Page) Figure 3-2.Your boatmustbewideenough and deep enough to fit yourfeetat the position. foot brace
for building your boat,here are a few wordsof warning.First, if your armspanexceeds 64 inches(163cm), you will get a boat longerthan r7 feet (5.r8m). I havebuilt longerboatsbut find that I prefer the r7-foot(5.r8 m) length. If your armspanis less than 64 inches(163cm), you can probablyusethe body dimensionsdescribed above. Second,boatbuilders settleon boat dimensions after much trial and error. This meansyou should first build a boat accordingto the recommendations of this book. Then if you like the way it handles,recordthe dimensionsof the boat in terms of your body dimensions. Third, a good boatbuilderwill not build a boat strictlyto one set of dimensions. If you build a boat for someoneelseyou need to fit the boat to that person.If you build a boat for yourself,you will varythe basicdimensions to makea fastboat or a stable boat or a strongboat or a light boat. In other words,a set of dimensions is only a starting point.
Intended Use
If you intend to useyour kayakon open water,in wind and waves, your bestbet is to make it just large enough to fit you. Excess size will work againstyou when you haveto fight difficult conditions. If you plan to use your kayakmostly on riversor small inland lakes,you can afford to make it wider or with a bigger cockpit without too much lossin performance.
Interior Height
The spacebetweenthe ribs and the deck beamsforwardof the cockpit must be large enough to accommodate your legs.The spacein the vicinity of the foot brace must be large enough to accommodate your feet and footgear. These measurements are more critical if you paddlein cold climates,sinceyou alsohaveto allow for several layersofclothing.
Theldeal Width
The Aleutian kayakis at its widestat the knee brace.The suggested width in this manual is zr inches(51"-). The width of
r
I
Fitting the Boat 23
Figure 3-3. The cockpit must be Iong enough so your rear end clears the back of the cockpit coamingwhen your knees are up against the kneebrace.
the cockpit is r8 inches (46 cm). If your hips are wider than r7 inches (43 "tn), add an inch of width to the boat for each additional inch of width of your hips.You should alsomake the cockpit at leastan inch wider than your hips. If you makeyour boatwider without makingit deeper, it will be more stableon flat waterbut more difficult to roll. If you've neverpaddleda kayakbeforeand are more interested in flat-water stabilitythan rough-waterperformance,adding an inch to the width won't do much harm, but it makesquite a differencein feel.
Cockpit Length
The cockpit must be large enough for you to enter and exit without too much difficulty. If the cockpit is too short, you won't be able to get into the boat.If it is too long, breaking wavesare more likely to punch through the sprayskirt and fill your boat with water. I suggest a cockpit length ofz4 inches (6r cm)-long enough for people whose length from the bottom of their feet to the small of their back when sitting is lessthan 48 inches(rzr.9cm). To measure this distance, sit on the floor wiih your back againsta wall and your paddlingshoes on your f!et. Measurethe distancefrom the wall to the balls of your feet. Increase the length of the cockpit by the amountyour measurement exceeds 48 inches (rzr.9cm). If your measurement is closeto 48 inches (rzz cm) and you have stiff knees or your kneecaps stick out, add z inches (5 .-) to the length of your cockpit.
Figure3-4.To measure the length of yourlowerbody,sitagainst a waIIor doorand measure fromthe wall to the ballsofyourfeet.
lr
makethe waters, If you'll paddlemostlyin protected to worry having gntry without for easy longer cockpitopening sprayskirt' your through punching abouibteakingwaves
of the Boat Length

on how long the boatshould-be' Yoursizereallyhasno bearing you'll needbigfustrememb.ith"t if you makeyourboatlonger, to ger armsto paddleit. An overlylargeboat is not-aPleasure feel you unless (5r8 len$h cm) r7-foot basic the iaddle. Stickwith the needto carrya lot ofgear
the Boat 25 Fitting
Tools ilnd tIatoriills

Traditionalkayaks were made with a few simple tools.Modern reproductions of traditionalkayaks can be made the sameway. Here is all you'll needto build a kayak.
Tools You'll Need

Not all thesetoolsare essential-someare iust handv and make the job go faster.
Figure4-1.Power drill (top)and handdill (bottom). Thepower drill can be used one-handed, leaving theotherhandfreeto hold thematerial.
Saw Crosscut Hand

teeth per inch), z6 inches(66 cm) saw(seven Get an eight-point long. Thii is a goodsawfor cuttinglumber to size.More teeth in a sawgive you a finer cut but alsomake for slowercutting'
Saw Dovetail
This is a small sawwith fine teeth, used for sawingthe ends of and cutand for trimming dowels deckbeamsto tight tolerances, ting tenons.
Bits and Drill

the following use any kind of drill you like aslong as it accepts (o'5 mm) inch tl64 be sizedbits. Drill-bit sizefor dowelsshould a tightfit: thanthe dowelto ensure smaller % inch (ro mm) for round rib mortises ',1oinch (6 mm) for lashingholes '%"inch for y'*-inchdowels '%o inch for y'rinch dowels
Plane Block
while The blockplaneisa smallplanethatyoucanuseone-handed set blade the with one I use hand. you hold the work with the other
Figure4-2.A collectionof small planes,all of which can be used The laPanese one-handed. Plane in the centeris Pulled,the other two planesare Pushed.
Tools andMaterials 77
Figure4-3.Topviewand bottom t'iewof some spokeshaves. The middlespokeshave hasa rounded sole, makingit suitable for shaving insidecunes.Thebottom spokeshave hasa flat sole.
at a zo-degree angle.I sawone recentlyat Sears for $rs.you can payup to $5ofor one of these planes, but that isn'tneceJsary.
Spokeshave
You'll need this tool for rounding the cornersof your chine stringers and for shapingribs. Spokeshaves come with both fat and roundedbottoms. I useone with a roundedbottom.
Hammer
You'll need a hammer to drive dowels. You'll alsouseit to drive in nails during deck setupand to pull them out afterward.If you have to buy a hammer, get a fairly small one. A heary carpenier's hammer is more likely to do harm than good.
Crooked lhife
This is my all-round utility knife, capableof carvingfat, convex, and concaveparts.It's like a one-handed drawknife,and I preferit to a straight-bladed knife for shapingparts.The crookedknife has alwaysbeen part of the aboriginal tool set:Kayakbuilders would split their wood from logs,shapeit with ^n ^drr,then finish it with a crookedknife. In North America, carvers usedbeaver incisorsfor the bladesof their crookedknivesbefore they had access to steel. you're right-handed,hold the knife with your palm up . .' ff and the blade pointing to the left. To carve,pull it towardyou. In
crooked Figure4-4.Left-handed knife(top)and right-handed knife(bottom).You crooked Pull you like a toward knives these drawknife.
hooves,so daysgone by, farmersusedtheseknivesto trim horses' that from places them or order fairs yor J"n get them at antique in unusualhand tools. specialize
|(nife Straight
You can get by without a crookedknife if you havea straightone, but it must have a fixed blade and a handle that won't give you when you useit. blisters
Adze
to carvewood ratherthan split it. The adzeis like an axeshaped The one I havehasa flat bladeon one sideand a scoopon the With a little pracother,and it's one of the besttoolsI've acquired. line, thenuseyour (r.5 of a mm) inch tice,you canworkto within /,e crootedknife or plane to do the final finishing.The adzeis a little piecessuchas in cutting irregular-shaped than a bandsaw slower cheaper' about and portable more lot $4oo but it's a deckbeams,
(toP) and A chisel 4-5. Figure Thecuned sloyd knife(bottom). part of the knifebladeletsyou shaPes. caneconcave
andMaterials 79 Tools
Figure 4-6. Combination adze/axe (top) and small caning adze (bottom). The adze is useful for removingexcess wood quickly.
If need be, you can do somerough trimming with a small axe, but the headson axesare consid-erablv heaiier and will fatigueyour arm much more quickly.
0amps
clamps of all sizes and typesare handyto havebut not essential. You can trial-lashwith string or temporarilyassemble things with nails if need be. Still, if you have clamps,you'll use their. For
Figure 4-7. You can neverhaye too many clamps. I use the smaller onesthe mostoften.
clamping'hinch(r.gcm)lumber, 1i1ch (7.6cm)C-clampsarea use4-inch (ro cm) clamps' For largerpieces, good'site.
Chisel Wood
A sharp 'Linch wood chisel is handy for trimming wood off the you'rewithin y'*inch (r mm) .nd of" deckbeam if, for instance, of your final length. It's alsoa good tool for cleaningup mortises y'cinch(r.9 cm) width to be a good ,nd t"r,or,r. I hai,efound the size. all-round
Needles Sewing
needle,both of you'll need both a straightand a curvedcanvas Varietystores houses. which are availablefrom boating supply needleand somesmall curved may haverepair kits with a canvas order. mail a you save will which needles,
Saw Electric
whether table saw,circular saw,or radialarm saw, An electricsaw, of ripping long piecesout of a plank' up the Process will speed Electric ,r*, "r. drng.to.,t tools.If you haveneverusedthem, who has' from someone lesson and a safety geta demonstration
Gauge l'|arking
A marking gaugeis a fastway to run a line down the length of a
of Figure 4-8. An assortment The needles. cuned straightand bottommostneedleis a doubled pieceof wire usedto thread twine through lashing holes.
andl'laterials 3| Tools
Figure4-9.A marking gauge. The singlepin (bottom) is used for suchtasks asmarkingcenterlines. Thedouble pin (top)is used for markingmortises.
boardat a fixeddistance from the edge. You can do the same thingwith a pencil, though.
Square
A.squareis handy for drawing lines at right anglesto the edge of a board,but if you trust your eye,you can get by without it.
Sliding Bevel
A sliding bevel lets you mark a line at a fixed angle and also lets you checkthe angleofyour gunwales. For this boatyou can get by with simply cutting the end of a short length of wood of linch (r.9 cm) by rl inch (3.8cm) cross sectionat the right angleand using that for both marking and checkingbevels.
Figure 4-10.Asquare (top) and sliding bevel (bottom). Both tools are used to mark wood accurately. If you have a good eye,you cdn probably do without them.
a
Workbenches and Sawhorses
is all the bench you'll need.The sawhorses A pair of sawhorses will supportthe frame of the boat, with spaceleft over to support pa*s .hile you'reworking on them. A sturdybench aboutknee i,igt, i, alsohandy.At knee height, either yolrr knee or a foot can .li-p down on a piece of wood while you're working on it, with no time lost to clampingand reclamping'
Tools Hand Sharpening

and planesin the your knives,chisels, You may need to sharpen do not knives, of building the boat.Many tools,especially course ha'e a usableedgewhen you buy them and requiresharpening to sharpnrior to use.Theie are whole booksdevotedexclusively and tools ".ri,'rghand tools. If you intend to sharpenyour own hau""r,"u".done sobefore,read one of thesebooksor havesomejnto showyou how. Many peopleturn goodtools one experienced ihey kno* how to sharpenthem' Don't be bad tools by assuming one ofthesepeople. If your handsawis sharpwhen you startbuilding the boat, to,sharpen it will still be sharpwhen you are done. It is possible your own saw,b.rf it is generallymore convenientto take it to a hardwarestoreto have it done'
WorkSPace
20 feet (6ro cm) long and 8 feet (z44.cm) You'll need a work sPace wide. Wher"u", yorr spaceis, make sureyou can get your-boat out of it when you'redone.I currentlybuild my boatsin_my.basewindow.This limits ment and get ihem out through a basement me to boatsno more than 3o inches(76 cm) wide and r4 inches (36 cm) high. For a kayak,there'splenty of room to spare'
Materials
with the exceptrionof the skin, the baidarkacan be madefrom and lumbermaterials,e"dily availableat local hardwarestores for.sewing twine lashing, for shing frame, the yards-lumber ior the skin. and frame the ihe skin,and linseedoil and paint for sealing
andMaterials 33 Tools
a
Figure4-11. Minimum work spacerequirements. More spaceis better becauseit lets you step back and spot inegularities in the shapeofyour boat.
@a1 l f I
]r4&LE
WORK BE-NCH
g
(z++"nl
(e to cm)
20'
An0verview of Lumber Requirements

Ideally,you can get all your boat lumber in a singletrip to the lumberyard.To help you with your shopping,I have laid out a list of materialsin pictorial form.
Selecting the Lumber

Your boat'swood should be knot-free,which meansbuying clear lumber, though a knotted piece with sufficientlength beiween the knots can be cut up for someof the shorterpieces,such as deckbeams. The boat-partdimensionsin this book assumesoft wood of some sort.According to Joelle Robert-Lamblin,Aleuts preferred sprucefor most of the frame and yellow cedarfor the iibs. Yellow cedar,aftersoakingin waterfor several days, could be bent cold with somehelp from the builder'steeth.Aleutsalso had access to red cedarbut didn't use it because they preferredthe greaterstrengthof spruce. Unless you want to orderlumber from a specialty marine lumber dealer,you will haveto make do with the lumber available inyour area.Building-grade sprucewith knotsin it is readily available in my area, but clearspruceis not. With somejudicious cutting, I can get knot-freepieceslong enough for deck beams.
white I usewhat clearlumber I canget- Eastern Forthe gunwales, a-s is as good which of cedar-none red and pine, yJllow pine, soft are cedar and red pine and white rprn"". Yellow pine is hearry, you can comHowever, than spruce. and more prone to damage a little deeper. strengthby making the gunwales foi lesser pensate and the gunwales for the lumber your When you buy Aygid grain' other long pieces,find wood with the straightest pieces*ith ih" grain running at an angle to the long facesof the board. and keelsonpartscan be cut from 8-foot Deck stringers are bestcut from r6-foot(488cm) pie-ces lengths.Chine stringers buicatt be made from shorter lengths scarfedtogether' (See Chapter 5 on basictechniquesfor detailson how to make scarfs') should alsobe cut from r6-footlumber. Gunrvales x7y'-inchx r6-foot(r.9 cm " t? c-ry If you buy two y'o-inch x 488 cm) piecesof knot-freelumber, you will have enoughfor and the keelson' the deck stringers, the stringers, the gunwales,
t
I
Figure4-12.Your lumber at a glance.It maY requirements Iook like a lot of wood but it amountsto no morethan about one plank in the average suburban deck.
2 EA B EA
6,uNwALas
zdx
t"/4
'
tz
(t-9 cn x 4'4cmx45z
cm)
Hur-l srn.tr.tG e-e.s V/6t' x7/6" x t78"
( tcm x t cm x {52-crn)
KEjLsaN
r>c)W.s.acrt}rl
7/4'tx5l7/ x 72tt ZEA ( (,g cm-x t4ctnr le>scrn)
D+/LR 5TRING'ERS v/4/t X 17/82t 96 (.9cnx}>inxZ+4cn)
'(1.)[i{^Sc.6x
tlaz-.c-m)
(t.)cmx3bem\<
244'm)
ll-r=.e
(t.Jcn
x24cn
v/+"rg't/'* l{
x=e.Een)
:r/4er7,/4'/ x l4-" ( t.gcrnx le'E c.mr3is.d cm)
BO\
PL-ATE_
ZEA
PEJX.BE.AIwI
vr sl<,cll( lt/zlt x3t/zt'x 96't (> , .E ac cn nx9 ac 4m / 4 . Qx cz -m )em x. 9 44 ec .g
cocKpr7-
aor'g.z1lNG |ly't x lt,/y'tx 6d' (LDcnx3.bcmxl5ztunl --
: .5o EA Rte.s v/e,,/orAxzg',
(tcmDtA* 7,cn)
BoW&TAIL /zo'-1.'1.
CROSS
| A5SOR-ED SCRAP FOR. SPRE-APEP-S
e1 7y7\su7yx i)'-'-A- z'7.s

'
BOW R-A7" L.OW.R >7 7 /. 4trt' ! x,7 xt 3 t , i' 1 i t66 ,, tt
PART-
(t .9 ci
r. C H & & n<c H x7. 6 cm x 4o-6cm) ( l' 9 .-
3,/(a 3 ty ! l/rx Tla % zt x 3' E <-^)
Tools andl'laterials 35
Two rll-inch x3y'-inchx 8-fooi(3.8cm x 8.9 cm xr44 cm) piecesof spruce or fir are sufficient to make the deck beams. Someknots are all right if they are spaced at leastzo inches (5r cm) aparton the average. A z-foot (6r cm) long, r/-inch x 5y'*inch(3.8cm x r4 cm) piece of construction-grade lumber should be suificientto make the bow and sterncrosspieces.
Some Wood Numbers

The following numberswill give you some basisfor comparison when you selectwood for your boat. The numberscome from the Wood Handbook,which is put out by the Forestproducts Laboratoryin Madison,Wisconsin.The propertiesof wood vary
Strength andWeight of Some Common Woods

Wood TYP" Westernred cedar Specific Cravity
Modulus of Elasticity o.94

l.ll
o'3r o-32 o.)4 o.]5 o.37

o.40
Eastern whitepine
Sitkaspruce Longleafpine
o.9g o.24
r-23
o.54 o.59 o.5, o.6o o.16 o.6)

o.6o o.68
r-59 1.gB
1.44 r.74
White ash
Red oak
r.)5 r.8z
r.25
rzR
Whiteoak
l"
from tree to tree and from forestto forest,so hvo setsof numbers are given-a high and a low range.Thesenumbersare intended for rough comparisononly. Additional factorssuch asbrittleness, tendencyto split, spacingof annular rings,and so on all affect of wood. Most important for long piecessuch as the properties and keel partsis straightgrain. gunwales " The first number is the specificgravity,which is the density of a material as comparedto water,which has a specificgravvolity of r.o. Higher numbers mean higher weight for the sa-me will weigh of spruce made ume of wood. fn. frame of a baidarka made aboutz3 pounds(ro.4kg).A frameof the samedimensions would out of yeilow pine, of which longleafpine is an example, if you that see (,2 can kg).You pounds or weigh'4x(.56138) 38 frame the of the size reduce ur" h""ui.t lumber, you may want to membersto keep the weight down. The secbndcolumn of numbersis the modulus of elasHigher numbersmean stiffer ticity-basically the wood'sstiffness. the strengthof the wood' wood. The numbers can also represent you c-oulc of spruce, So if you were to use yellowpine instead by a factor wood the of area cross-sectional the back cut probably height or the either back cut can that you of r3lt.7. This means the width by this factor,but not both.
RibMaterial
willow twigs' I make baidarka ribs out of two- or three-year-old They are supposedto be at their besi when harvestedin the winter months, though I've collectedthem at other times. In the spring or early summer, the outer layer of newly grown willows ii stlll brittle and not firmly attachedto the inner layers.If you have to do extremebends,the outer layer tendsto crack more than if you were using winter wood, but the problem isn't easily so bad that it should stop you from building in the spring or ihe bark peelsmuch more easilyin summer months. Besides, and summer when there is more sap in the wo9d. the spring ' white ash and I have also made ribs out of steam-bent frown on red oak builders red oak. Traditional wooden-boat it is prone to rotting; white oak is better.The use of rotbecause in a kayakis not ascritical asin traditionalwooden resistant\Vood kayaks are not left to sit in the water. boatssince
andl'laterials 17 Tools
L*
Lashing Materials
Lashingstringshould be roughly y',a inch (r.5 mm) in diameter. You can use nylon aswell as jute, hemp, or flax. Cotton isn't very strongso I would avoidit. fute is adequately strongif it is polished. Hemp and flax are even betterbut hard to come by. The problem is that syntheticsare cheaperand generallystrongerthan natural fibers,so they have displacedthe natural fibersin all but low-grade package-wrapping string. Traditionalkayakbuildersusedwhateverlashingmaterial wasavailableand convenient.Beforethe adventof trading posts, they usedbaleenor thin stripsof animal hide. Later they tended to use string. Most of your lashingholeswill be'/sinch or )dinch in diameter. The rule is that you keeplashinguntil your lashinghole is about half filled, and if your stringis too fine, you need too manyturnsof lashing. You might alsowant to get a cakeof beeswax and drawthe string across it until it getsnice and sticky.This makesfor tighter lashings because the stringdoesn'tslide back if you'reforcedto release tensionwhile lashing. For lashingthe ribs, flat ribbon material is good because it doesn'tleavea lump under the skin.TandyLeathersellsa product calledartificialsinew,which is unbraidedwaxednylon.Two strands of this will do the job for ribs.
Where to GetTools andMaterials

Here'sa list of companies that sell hand toolsand boat construction materialsby mail order.All of them have catalogs, and some may chargea small fee to sendthem. If you live outsideNorth America, you might want to find other sources.
Hand Tools
You should be able to get most of your hand tools from the local hardwarestore.If not, the placeslisted below can supply all your hand tool needs.All have catalogs of woodworkingtools and will sendthem to you eitherfree or fo?a few dollars.If liou live outside the U.S.,you areprobablybetteroffgettingyour ioolslocally.
Co. GarretWade of the Americas 16rAvenue NewYork,NY roog-r299 ComPanY Brothers Reinhold Ave. Lisbon West z4oz e, W 532o5-t499 Milwauke Woodcraft zroWoodCountyIndushialPark P.O.Box1686 WV z6roz-1686 Parkersburg, andantique fleamarkets, sales, If you like goingto Sarage you can ofien pick ,tp hand toolsat goodprices'4!th: shows, andmy friend knives lastoneI wentto I picled up threecrooked Bobpickedup somehandPlanes.
Canvas
but if you shops, or-tent locallyat awning Youmightfind canvas in many offices needto'orderit, try the AstrupCo., which has one, get in touch with their headcities.To locatethe nearest quarters: AstrupCo. z5Sr. zg37W. OH 44n7 Cleveland, (n6) 696-z8zo
lwine and lleedles

andtwine' I've listedbelowboth haveneedles The businesses brrtif youareinterested boughtmy twineandropelocally, always BoatShophasit' Wooden the line, tarred sdfflike in exotic Crafis Canvas Ave. Harrison Fort N. 5or FL 346t5 Clearwater, and and curvedneedles Craftshasboth straight Canvas or sewing before thread your for waxing is handy which beeswax, lashing. ' BoatShoP The Wooden roozN.E. BoatSt. WA 98ro5 Seattle,
andl'laterials 39 Tools
|(its
BoucherKayakCo. r9o7 Ludington Ave. Wauwatosa, Wl57226 Bob Boucher sbllskits with almosteverything(exceptfor the long piecesof wood) you need to build your own boat,including rib material,coaming,canvas, twine-the works. Dyson, Baidarka& Company 435WestHolly St. Bellingham,WA g8zz5 (zo6) 74-9zz6 GeorgeDyson sellsneedles, lashingtwine, and highstrengthsyntheticskin materialsaswell as skin coatings.He also distributes plansfor baidarkas of his own designto be constructed out of aluminum tubing and syntheticskin.
0rganizations
If you are looking for more information about skin boatsor if you are simply looking for other skin boat makersto talk shop with, or to go paddling with, join an organization. Here are two: BaidarkaHistorical Society P.O. Box 5454 Bellingham,WAgSzzT The Baidarka HistoricalSociety itselfexclusivelyto devotes baidarkas. It hasan annualmeetinsand distributes baidarka-related booksto its members*heneuer su"ch booksbecomeavailable. Native WatercraftSociety P.O. Box z6rzr Wauwatosa, Wl57226 The Native WatercraftSocietycollectsand distributes information about all kinds of native boats,including kayaks. They put out a newsletter three times a year and have an annual rendezvous.
I I
Baslt Tethnlquo$
in Ratherthan interrupt the flow of the constructionsequence such aspeggingand I'll explainbasictechniques later chapters, you can experience, here.If you haveprior woodworking Iashing probablyskip this chapter.
of WorkmanshiP Standards
wasroughedin of woodenobiects In mostof the Arctic,the shape with an adzeand finishedwith a crookedknife, giving a characfinish to items made of wood. teristichand-carved let woodvarnishes In our culture,powertoolsand glossy As a matter on woodenobiects. put machinelikefinishes workers to be the hallmark of good of fact,a machinelikefinish now seems craftsmanship. on a replicaof a I feel a machine finish is inappropriate If you get the originals. finish of I preferthe hand-carved baidarka. do so and emulate in museums, a chanceto look at somekayaks the spiritof their construction.
Wood Marking
where The point of markingwood is to indicateunambiguously you want to cut it. You will be fitting most of the partsof your kayakto other
Techniques4l Basic
Figure5-1.Thefatteryour pencil Iine,thefartheroff your mark will be. MARK SHOULD
partsthat arealready in place.If you usea pencilto markparts, remember thatthepencilline hasthicknesi. To minimiz. inr"curacy, keep yourpencilsharp andmake yourmarkasclose to the
BE HE.IRF-
MARK
IS HE-RF-
edgeasyou can. The drawine at left showsin an exaggerated manner how lines you mark can be offfrom where you want them. When marking wood for trimming to length, make an X on the part you're goin! to trim. This is_especially important if thl piece to be cut off is about the sameleneth as the piecethat you'll use.By the time yJu get the wood backto ihe bench to cut it, you'r.lik"lu to forget which half was the eood half and which half wasthe cutoff.
Cutting offWood
A sawcut has somewidth to it. When you cut, cut on the side of the line you markedwith the X. If you centeryour sawon the line, the piece will end up too short. Many of the partsof the boat, such as the deck beams, . havecompound angles. Until you becomemore sureof vour cutscut abo'rt '/s inch (r.5 mm) longer than you ,,"ed ,rrd trim the piece to fit.
Figure 5-2.Cut on thesideof the linewith theX on it (top).If you cut righton theline (bottom) your piece will tum out too shor-t.
Using a Marking Gauge

-:A_:-_l---'
The marking gaugeis a handy tool for marking a line a fixed dis_ fr9- an edge.Sincethe mark is madebi a sharpsteelpin, 1,"":: the line is generallymgre precisethan a pencii line. Kayaku,jirJing doesnot demand this kind of precision, and the marking gaugeis not essential, but I recommendit simply because it ii handy for suchthings asmarking the centerrines on the edgeof a piece of wood for a paddle,and the centerlineon the boitoof the gunwales for drilling rib mortises.
Drilling PilotHoles
If your drill wandersawayfrom the mark, try making a smail hole that your largerdrill bit can follow.you canpunch a'smallstarter
l'-
gauge is a Figure5-3.A marking handytoolfor marking centerlines.
holewith a nail or drill itwith a smalldrill bit. The pilot hole does not haveto go all the waythroughthe piece.Pilot holesareesPeciallyimportant if you intend to drill wood that hashard ringsor Without a pilot darkwood with softer,light wood in between. wood. hole,the drill tendsto slideoff the hardwoodinto the softer
Figure5-4.A smallpilot holewill yourdrill fromwandering. keep
Holes at anAngle Driffing

When drilling angledholes,your bit will tend to slip and hole will not end up where you want it. To avoid this, start hole with the drill bit going straight into the (3 mm) start wood, and when you have a y'r-inch or so,tilt the drill and continue the hole at the angleyou want.
Through-Holes Drilling
When you drill a hole through a board,the wood on the back face tendsto tear out. For the most part, this doesn't matter on a boat, but if you want to avoid this problem, back the boardyou are drilling with a piece of scrapwood. The back of the hole will then be as clean asthe front.
Techniques 43 Basic
Figure5-5. A dill coming out of the backof a piece of woodcauses tear-out (left).Backingup the holewith a smallpiece of wood prevents thisproblem.
Drilling Doweling Holes

when drilling holesto dowel two boat partstogether, such as a deck beam to a gunwale,immobilize the trvo piecesfirst by nailing them togethertemporarily. If you leavethe head of the nail stickingout, you can removethe nail afteryou'redone drilling. If you just hold one piece of wood up to the other and drill, th"e secondpiece hasa tendencyto slideto one sideor the other when the drill goesinto it.
Planing Wood
Figure 5-6.When drillingholes temporarily immobilize fordowels, thetwopiecesof woodwitha smallnail Leavesomeof the headstickingoutsoyoucan withdraw it later. Use a block plane to do final shapingof boat partsand to remove sawmarks from plank edges. A block plane can be worked with one hand,leavingthe other hand free to hold the piece you are working,with its end restingon a bench or sawhorie. The block plane eliminaies the need to clamp your stock,which saves a lot of time.
Gluing up Parts
Aleutsusedglue on their hatsbut probablynot on their boats.If you are a purist and don't want to useglue,then don't. It is not essential in the construction of the baidarka. I sometimesuseit because I find it easier to glue up a large part like the upper bow piece than to carveit out of one piece.Sometimes I'll glue up wider pieces such as the tailfin because I
haveonly narrowpieceslying around and don't want to make a specialtrip to the lumberyard. If you decideto glue up parts,usea waterproofglue such asresorcinolor epoxy.Epoxy is probably a better choice since it requireslesscareful clamping to make a strongbond'
Parts Pegging or Doweling

of what size dowelsyou use, use a drill bit that is %o Regardless inch (o.5mm) smallerthan your dowel.When you drill holesby hand, the drill tendsto wobble and the holeswill be slightlyoversized.With an undersizeddrill bit, you get a good tight fit on the dowels.But don't make the hole too small or you could breakoff the dowel when you try to pound it in, or split the piece you are trying to dowel. In general,doweledconstructionin the kayak doesnot useglue, which allowsthe dowel ioints to do somemoving under stress.
yourlashing . To thread Figure5-7 make a smallholes, stringthrough over a needle by bending Iashing piece of wire(top).Lashingholes beltainchto %inchin should (bottom). diameter
Lashing
The preferredlashingmaterial in aboriginaltimes wasbaleen, which waselasticbut did not stretchwhen wet. Stripsof sealhide were alsoused,but only when baleenwasnot available. just about anythingcan be used.I haveused Nowadays, nylon stringaswell asjute. I preferthe feel of plant fiber overnylon. Plant fibersgenerallyswelland sotighten up when they get wet. But they will attractmildew and rot if you leavethem wet. They don't stretchasnylon does,and if you soakthem with linseedoil for a long time. afterlashingthey should be water-resistant When you lash two piecesedgeto edge,Iike the keelson to the tailfin, you need to drill lashingholes,which should be y'* Your lashingcord inch (4 mm) to linch (6 mm) in diameter. y',uinch (r.5 mm) in diameter;take about six turns should be about with the cord. To get the cord through the hole; makea needleby doubling overa 6-inch (r5 cm) pieceof wire. 3 -4! (z- rocm)
'{tl;#t
Scarf foints
My hull stringers. Museumboathassomescarfed The Hearst (+51 lengths " lumberin r5-foot is thatstraight-grained guess )
45 Basic Techniques
Figure5-8. Youcanioin sections of hull stinger by usinga hook scarf. Lashingaroundthescarf keeps it immobilized.
was hard to come by and was reserved for the gunwaleswhere strengthwas more critical. Hull stringer,,r"rrit primary structural membersand could be scarfed togetherfrom shorterpieces. The scarfsused on the hull stringers were hook scarfs. whosesteppedconstructionlocked the t'wi sidesinto each other and kept them from sliding apart. The scarf joint was held togetherwiih several turns of stringlashing. It is alsopossible to useglue scarfs to make long boards
out of shortboards. This is onewayto getr5foot(457cm) gunwales (244cm) out of 8-foot boards. Glue scarfs are usedin traditional
wooden boat constructionand are apparentlyeffective.Epoxy is recommended for glue scarfsbecauseit doesn't have to be clamped very carefully.The planksto be scarfedneed to overlap by 9 inches (23cm) when glued face to face.The rule is that the overlapmust be rz times the thickness of the boardto be effective. Gardner inThe Dory Book gives a very thorough treatment fohn (seeReferences, of glue scarfs page168).If you intend to useglue scarfs, you will find his book very helpful. You can alsoscarfplanksedgeto edge,which I've seenon a rgth-centuryGreenlandboat.The main advantage of this technique is that it letsyou reinforcethe joint with dowels,an asset when you don't haveaccess to a lot of clamps.
THICKN E.SS
Figure5-9.Twopieces of wood can bescarfed faceto face(top)or edgeto edge(bottom).The edge scarfcan be heldtogether by dowels alone,whilethefacescarf is best glued.
c
6
I
I
I
(488 youdon'tneedglue cm) planks, If youcangetr6-foot thatyou canonly chance I mentionthemon the outside scarfs. on someskinch x get shorterlumber. I've usedglue scarfs whereI hadto cut a knotout of an i-inch (r.9cm x 2.5cm) pieces clearpieceof wood.Not usingthe pieceof woodwith otherwise trip to the lumberyard. theknot in it wouldhavemeantanother
the BoatAligned Keeping

is that thereis hardly The problemwith a kayak a right anglein the wholething. Mostof the parts at odd angles. are curvedand come together requirement one important Thereis,however, line from the midfor a boat:If you run a straight dle of the bow to the middle of the tail, there of amountof boaton bothsides be thesame must the line. The bestway to makesureyour boat is to run a stringfromthe meets thisrequirement bowto the sternwhen you areputtingyour deck staythe and makesurethe gunwales together You from the stringon bothsides. distance same the on diagonals measuring by check canalso the deck and definedby the gunwales spaces will the diagonals If the deckis square, beams. be equal.
is square Figure5-10.Ifyour deck (top), diagonals deck between will be equal.lf yourdeck beams (bottom),diagonals is iot square will notbeequal.
4l BasicTechniques
The Paddle
isa good thing to make at the beginningof your boatI Raddle blilding odyssey. For one thing, making a paddle giu., yor, " chanceto becomefamiliar with your tools.For anotf,er,if gives you a-completed product in a matterof days, and you'll get a feeling of accomplishment right offthe bat. Aleut builderssoughtto makepaddleslight and strong, whichthey did by usinga lightweightwood,keepingthe paddl-e bladethin, and putting a stiffeningridgeon the backolthe paddle.
Figure6-1.Yourpaddle should reach ashigh asyourarm with extended. fingers
(Robert Boucher photo)
Sizing the Paddle to FitYou

The paddle, like everythingelseon your boat, is fitted to your body. If you have any doubtsabout size,make the paddle " iittl. oversized for starters. You can alwaystrim it down iater.you can alsomakedifferentpaddles for differentconditions. A smalrerpaddle is like low gearon a bicycle and is effectivefor paddlinginto a headwindor with a hearyload. To determinethe length of the paddle,measurefrom the ground to the tip of your fingerswith your arm stretchedoverhead.That measurement is the overalllength of your paddle. But if you've made your boat wider than zr inches (53 cm) you will need to makeyour paddlea little longersinceyou'll have fartherto reach to get it into the water. The width of the blade at its widestpoint should be such that it comfortablyfits your hand for rolling or bracing,or inches 3 to 3'/o inches (1.6 to 8.2 cm). The width of the paddie shaft between the blades shouldbe aboutz5 inches(64 cm), or shoulder width plus two hand widths.Another way to sizethe paddle
is to makethe distancebehveenyour handsthe sameasthe width of the boat forward of the cockpit. This spacingoptimizespower If you and minimizesmovement of your arms betweenstrokes. makeyour boat wider than zr inches(ll .-) you may alsohaveto the blades. increase the spacingbeh.veen
hands 6'2.Withyour Figure positioned at theroots ofthe paddle the space between blades, of the beabout width them should (RobertBoucherphoto) yourshoulders.
Blank a Paddle Choosing

You can either get a piece of wood thick enough to carveyour paddlefrom without any gluing, or you can get somethinner to obtain the right thickof wood and glue them together pieces Startingwith one thick Both methodshave advantages. ness. pieceof wood meansyou have more carvingto do and you waste a lot of wood,but you don't need six or eight clampsto hold the while the glue is drying. together pieces Awood such on whatisavailable. Choiceof wooddepends it gives you good it because can get ifyou best is probably asspruce light in are red cedar pine and with light weight.White strength thicker you makethe blades but morelikelyto breakunless weight Yellowpine is strongbut hear], soyou thanyou would with spruce. to bring down the weight. needto reducebladethickness the boardyou you choose, of which thickness Regardless startwith should be free of warp and 8 feet (244 cm) long and yy'. (8.2cm) wide. inches
of the Figure 6-3.Dimensions
for Carving Blank the Paddle Preparing

on both the front and you startcarving,mark centerlines Before
p version paddleblank. A glued-u is shownbut you can alsousea singlethickerpieceofwood.
9e
" (24{am)
6o// (tsz cm)
3'/*" (e z.*)
t t l( z . s c m )
( z.t cn)
l 7q"
3/+"
(t.r9 cn)
ThePaddle 49
87
lt
(zzt cnn)
Z s t r( 6 4 c n )
tt'(2.5 cm)
L'/ (s cn)
z//'@Lcn)
t/2" (r.z.n)
Figure 6'4.Dimensions ofthe paddle. Aleutian finished
tt'(z.scn)
tt/4/'(2. t c-)
back facesof the paddleblank, and the shapeof the paddleon the top face of the blank.
Carving the Paddle

Startby removingwood so the paddlehasthe right shapewhen viewedface on. Powertoolsare fastest but not necessarv: I use an adzefor the rough shaping. Once your paddlehasthe right shape, usea spokeshave and a plane to shapethe shaft.The cross sectionof the shaftis like a triangle with the cornersrounded off. Usinga hand planeand starting wherethe bladewidens, taper the thicknessof the blade toward the tip. Use a crooked knife or curvedwood chisel to removewood on either side of the center ridge, which runs down the length of the blade.
Finishing andPainting thePaddle

Finishplanethe paddle and sandit if necessary-rough edges on theshaftquicklyraise blisters. Before you do the final painting and sanding, givethe paddle a try on the waterto makesure it feelsright.(The correct wayto hold an Aleutianpaddle is with theridgeon thefaceof theblade facing back.) Makealterations as needed. When you areh"ppywith the shape of the paddle, paint it red and black,the traditional Aleut colors. If you useoil paint,
you do not geta glossy Figure6-5.Atypical Alautian with turpentine.so lute it sufficiently paint scheme. Thedarkpartsare on the shaft. especially dangerous, and is slippery ish,which
blackand the light.pa* arered
Alterations
your paddle feels too cumbersome in action, cut an inch off rh., *d and try it again. If it still feels too long, cut off some
ocnef.
andyou think you canlightenit without . If it feelstoo heavy takea planeto it. itsshength, icompromising
Paddle A Different
patternfrom a paddlewith a slightlydifferent Figure6-6shows closerto a and is symmetrical This one the Aleut model. padfirst-time for the model,and its main advantage Greenland anddon't require haveonly flat planes is that the blades dle carver be completed paddle can ,any This knife. a crooked with scooping onlya planeanda spokeshave. using
paddle Figure6-6.An altemate to pattem,whichis a little easier Aleutian than thestandaril came battem.
Ihe Paddle 5l
Buildingth ry
llerk J
Figure7-1.Viewof theends of threeplanksshowingthekinds of grainyou arelikelyto encounter whenlookingforgunwalestock. View I shows quafter or vertical grain,whichis best for gunwales but hardto come by.View2 shows a plain-sawn plank,whichisyour second-best choice. View3 shows a slash-sawn plank,whichshould beyour lastchoice because it is the leastlikelyto giveyou two matched gunwales.
The deck consists of the gunwales, deck stringers, and the bow and stern crossblocks.As part of its construction,you will also drill the mortises for the ribs in the bottom edgeof tire gunwales. The instructions in this chapterassume that you want a y-foot (5r8cm) boat.If you want to go with a length ot-her than r7 feet (5r8 cm) you will need to adjusfthe dimensilns accordingly. Thicknessdimensionsfor the lumber assumethat you "r. ur"irrg softwood. These instructionsalsoassume that you will dowel the deck beamsto the gunwales. If you want to usemortise-and-tenon constructionfor the deck, seeAppendix 3 for details.
Cutting theGunwales
You need two piecesof wood, eachrlinches (+.+"^) wide and i4 feet ro inches (+St.gcm) long. Thicknessshould be anywhere betweenI inch (r.9 cm) and r inch (2.5cm), dependingon
t. l
ilUt(l
l
ta'tt-t:
whetheryou bought planed or rough lumber. This length of gunwalestogetherwith the bowpieceand tailpiece will give you the overalllength of r7 feet (5r8 cm) for the boat. The gunwalesmust be the samesizeand each must have the sameflexibility as the other, in both verticaland horizontal If the gunwalesflex differentlythe deck will tend to directions. turn out lopsided.The most reliableway to get matchedgunwales is to cut both from the sameplank. The plank will ideally have straightgrain running parallel to the edges of the board,called lumber. vertical-grain or quarter-sawn lumber is ideal but may be hard to get. It's Quarter-sawn more likely that you'll get plain-sawn lumber, which hasthe grain running at differentanglesalong the board. If you cut your gunwalesfrom plaingl inches sawnlurnber, use a.piece at Teast (24 cm) wide, which will allow you to get enough piecesout of the plank to have at leasttwo with matching flexibility.You can then cut up the leftoverpiecesfor stringers. Cut two piecesrl inches(+.+" ) wide from the centerof the plank. These pieces will have their grain most cloself matched.Check them for straightness and more or lessequalflex. It is possibleto cut piecesfrom a straightplank and have them bend after they are released from the neighboringwood. If eitherof the piecesyou cut is not straight, cut somemore from the remainderof the original plank. If you startwith a straightr x 8 piece of lumber, you should be able to get at leasttwo good gunwalepieces.If you can't, go back to the lumberyard.You will be out sometime and maybesomemoney,but this is nothing
Figure planks 7-2. Avoid where thegrainruns outof theface of theboard asshown bycircular pattems (top). planks Select with parallel the grain running to the (bouom). edges
plank Figure 7-3. Cutyour as pieces shown. The two in the middle aremost closely matched andwillbethebestcandidatesfo gunwales.
Building the Deck 53
Figure7-4.Check yourgunwales equal and symmetry. This for flex pair wasnot a goodmatch. The gunwale on the left bowed away the one on the ight. from
comparedwith the time you'll lose if you try to build a straight boat out of warpedlumber. I've only once had trouble gettingmy gunwales to match, and that waswith yellowpine whosegrain wasn'tverystraight. I've neverhad any problems with white pine or Western red cedar. The gunwaleson Aleut boatswere taperedso that they wereabout linch (6 mm) deeperin front than at the back.I suspect that this wasdone to balancethe amount of flex in the hull from front to back.If you taperthe gunwales, cut the length down to the final r4 foot ro inch (45r.9cm) dimension beforetapering. Whether you taper the gunwalesor not, put them face to faceand make surethat both are the samedimension.If they are not, clamp or nail them faceto face and use a plane to correct any differences. Remember,any asymmetry will give you a warped boat. Also mark the outside of each board "front" and "up" so you don't changetheir orientation later.
Spreading the Gunwales

Beforeyou mark the gunwales for the positionsof the deck beams and the rib mortises, spread them to makesurethey havethe same amount of flex.If theydon't,you mustplanedown the stifferboard. You will needfour pieces of scrapr x z (r.9 cm by 3.8cm crosssection)lumber to set up the shapeof the deck. These piecesof wood are your spreaders. Cut their endsat the angle shownbelow,the angleat which your gunwales shouldslope. If you havea slidingbevel,setit for this angleand useit to
Figure 7-5. Clamp your gunwales face to face. The end grain of one gunwale should mirror the end grain of the other. Mark "fonuard" "up" and on eachgunwalesoyou don't reyerse or inyert them later.
R IGHT
WRONG
If you don't, transferthis angleto mark the endsof the spreaders. a 4-inch(ro cm) piece of r x z and cui one end at this anglewith a fine-toothsaw.Use this piece of wood asthe and beveltemplateto mark all the spreaders gunwales. laterto checkthe angleon the should be The length of the spreaders the outsideof the suchthat the distanceacross is the dimensionshownbelow. sunwales with the size If you label the spreaders
of the Figure7-6. Cut theends shown. angle at the spreaders
vtt(zeem) 6t/^"(ts.su,''1
Sg//(zz+..-m) (arz.n) 178//

of the boat and the distahcefrom the end, you can reusethem on your next boat.When you are done with them, bundle them up and put them in a safeplace. Otherwise,they tend to look lite scraplumber and will end up in the scrappile.
Figure7-7.Position four spreaders Thebowendof thedeck asshown. is to the left.
L/ " Ak"cP 7-* (
97rca1e.' ?2' o.z
s/+'G-,,*,,
in place with somesmall finishing Nail the spreaders heads all the way in, you will be able the drive don't nails.If you drill somepilot I generally later. to pull ihem out more easily it hoiesusing one of the finishingnails asa drill bit. This rnakes to removethe nailslater. easier and run a line from uP on sawhorses Set the gunwales end. Smallnails bow of the the centerof the tail end to the center will help with this at the top centerof each of the four spreaders within X inch (3 --) of the cenThe line shouldpass operation. If it is offmuch fartherto one sidethen ter of the middle spreader. one gunwaleis stifferthan the other and you havesomecorrecting
Figure7-8.If you markthe of using yourchances spreaders, on yournextboatwill themagain increase.
Building theDeck 55
Figure7-9.Nail thespreaders in placewith smallnails.Leaye the headssticking ou,t soyou can remoye thenailseasily when you're done.
to do. Ifthe two gunw'dles are just a little off you can try to limber up the stiffer of the two by flexing it back and forih a few times. If that doesn'thelp, you might have to plane the stiffer of the two gunwales. Whgn you think the two gunwalesare close enough, reassemble them with the spreaders and check the centerlineone more time. If afterall your effortsyou still aren'thappy,you might want to make another trip to the lumberyard and get some straighter lumber. After sawing, one or both gunwalesmay decideto take on sometwist, which you'll note by a gapbetweenthe gunwale and the spreader. Don't worry about this as.long asthe gunwaleshave equalf ex and lie fat on the sawhorses. Your rib moitiseswill be at slightlydifferentangles, but this is easy enoughto compensate for.
Figure 7-10. Twisting of the gunwaleswill show up as a small gap betweenthe gunwalesand the spreaders. Some twisting is normal and not a concem. However, make sure that the twist is not induced by unlevel sawhorses.
Fitting the Foot Brzf;, andBack Brace

If you number the deck beamsor)h*rrt of the Aleut kayakstarting at the bow, beam number 3 ii the foot brace,beam number 4 is the knee brace,and beam number 5 is the backbrace.To setthe position of thesebeamsto fit your body, fix the position of the knee brace and then position the foot braceand bick brace relative to the knee brace. To find out where to positionthe foot braceand the back
l-
brace,measurethe distancefrom the balls of your feet to the back from the balls of your feet to the of your kneesand the distance of rxz aboutz feet (6r smallof your back.You'll needtwo pieces and a 4-foot(rzz cm) piece cm) long, a tape measureor yardstick, of rope or strongstring. When you measureyourselffor fitting into the kayak, wear the shoeand sock combination you'll wear in your boat. In the surnmer I paddle barefoot.When it's cold I wear the type of neoprenebootiesyou can find in kayakor dive shops.Don't plan sanwith pronouncedheelsor strap-on on wearingtennisshoes dals in a boat with ribs. These can get caught on the ribs and makeentry and exit problematic.Getting trappedin your kayak of can be potentiallylethal.Also keepthe thickness aftera capsize can add and a iacket your clothing in mind. A couple of sweaters a half-inch or more to your back. stuff together,sit on the When you have all the necessary havebaseboards, (Walls usually a door. floorwith your backagainst off.) Slidebacksothe small which will throw the measurements of your backtouchesthe door,and moveyour legstogethersoyour heelstouch and your feetflop to eithersideat a comfortableangle. Yourkneesshouldbe straightout but may be slightlyflexed. Tie the rope around the centerof one of the r x zs.Position the r x z at the balls of your feet and hold it in place with the rope. This is your pretepdfpotbrace.Now you can from your foot and reedrdthe distance measure braceto the small of your back.If your feet are largerthan sizerr you may alsowant to measure the distancefrom the floor to the tips of your your feet to make across toesand the distance surethat your feetwill fit in the boat. Now put the other r x z iust behind Hold it down with one hand your kneecaps. and push up with your knees to simulate bracingagainstthe knee brace.If the r x z is touching your kneecapsmove it back half an inch or so until it feels comfortable. Now measurethe distancebehveenthe back of the foot brace and the front of the knee braceand record it. The positioningof the knee brace is important if you expectto roll your kayak.
against Figure7-11. Seatyourself thedistance a wall and measure the ballsofyour your back to from distance as the 1, as well feet, fromtheballsof yourfeetto the Ifyou will ofyourknees,2. back or boots, shoes bepaddlingwith when wearyourpaddlingboots youwill end otherwise measuring, boattootight. up makingyour
theDeck 57 Building
Figure 7-12.Deck beamsare numberedfrom I to 7, with bedm number I closest to the bow. Deck beam 3 is the foot brace,deck beam 4 is the kneebrace,and deck beam 5 is the back brace.LettersA through F are keyedto the text.
positions Marking theDeck Beam

Once you're satisfied that your gunwaleswill give you a symmet_ rical deck, take out the spreaders, clamp thi gunwalesface to face,and set them on sawhorses for marking. The instructionsthat follow assume you have decided not to alter the length of the boat. If you have decidedto cut the gunwaleseither longer or shorterthan the standardr4 feet ro inches (45r.9cm), you need to proportion the measurements that follow. The instructionsthat follow are keyedto Figure 7_rz. A. Measure88 inches (zz4 cm) from the back end of the gunwalesand mark it. This is the back of the knee brace.Mark r/ inches (3.8cm) in front of this mark for the front edgeof the knee brace. B. Measureforwardfrom the front of the knee braceand mark the back of the foot brace position that you measuredoff your body.Mark the front of the foot braceril inches (3.gcm) aheadofthat. C. Mark z4 inches(6r cm) behind the back edse of the knee braceto be the front of the back brace.If the distalce from the back of the knee brace to the small of your back as mea_ suredearlierexceeds z4 inches(6r cm) mark that dimensionto the rearof the backof the knee brace.Mark rlinches (3.gcm) behind that for the back of the back brace. D. The distancefrom the back of the foot brace to the front of the back brace must be at leastas greatas the distance from(the feet. {mall of your back to the balls of y-our beamnumberr is positionedz5'/.inches peck (65cm) .E. from the fiont end of the gunwales. F. Deck beam number z is positionedhalfwaybetween deck beam number r and ihe foot brace. G. Deck beam number 7 is positioned z3 inches(5gcrn) from the end of the gunwales. H. Deck beam number 6 is positioned halfwaybehveen deck beam number 7 and the back brace.Mark both the front and the back of each deck beam position so that later you don't end up putting the beamson the wrong sideof a mrrk. if vou ur" z x 4s (lumber with 3.8-cmx 8.9-cmcr"oss section)for volr deck beams, space the marksr)4inches(3.8cm) apart.
BOW
Figure7-13. Mark the position of thedeckbeams on thetopsand sides of theguiwales.Dimension Arepresents thewidth of the deck beam. Mark bothfront and back of eachdeck beamposition soyou don'taccidentallyinstall a deck beamon thewrongsideof a line.
Marking the RibMortises

There will be one rib centeredon each of the deck beams,with the remaining ribs spacedevenly in between about 4 inches (ro cm) apart. Ribs start4 inches (ro cm) from the front of the gunwalesand end 4 inches (ro cm) from the back. With the gunwalesstill clamped together,turn them over so the bottom edgesface up. Use a squareto make a line across both gunwalesat each rib mortiseposition. . Startby marking a line centeredon eachdeckbeam.Ribs in betweenthe deck beamsshould be spacedabout 4 inches (ro
Figure7-14.Mark theposition of ib mortises on the underside of thegunwales at thecenter of each A. of thedeckbeammarks,
Building theDeck 59
cm) apart.In beh.r,reen the back braceand the knee brace,which will be_where you sit, put in an extrarib to give you a spacing more like 3i4inches(8.9 cm). This will -ake fo, more co-fortl able seating. If you_get an odd distance like r8l inches(47 "^),which . doesnot dividenicely_by-4, space the ribs a little'closef th".,4 inches (ro cm) apart.Ratherthan doing elaborate arithmetic to decidewhat r8l inches(47 cm) dividedby comesro, usesome 5 part of your hand that is slightly lessthan inches (ro cm) and 4 mark off five equal spaces. once you havefound the right part of your hand to use,makeyour marksand then go backaid ,emark them with a square. Once you have marked all the rib positions, set your scribefor half the thickness of the gunwales, iome*here around % inch (r cm). Run down the lengthof eachgunwaleand mark the centerof the gunwaleat each rib positiJn.Make sureyou m_ark both gunwales by running a scribealong the outsideiace of the gunwales in case your scribemark isn't e-xactly centered or your gunwales varyin thickness alongtheir length.
Drilling theRibMortises
Onceyou have markedthe rib mortisepositions, you are ready to drill. Rib mortises are holes% inch (ro mm) in diameterand 2 inch (r3 mm) deep.wrap a piece of tape around the drill bit to mark the y'*inch(r3 mm) depth.
Figure 7-15. Youcanuse your handto space ib mortises evenly
F
i
you marked.Keep the at the positions Drill the mortises vertical. holes
lr
of tape Figure7-16.Usea piece to on yourdrill to markthedePth youwill drill therib which mortises.
i)
the SpiritLine Carving

of earlyconstructionhad spirit or life lines carvedon Aleut kayaks The spirit line is like the digesthe insideface of the gunwales. of an aniand the nervoussystem tive tract,the circulatorysystem, mal all rolled into one. Sincea kayakis a living thing, it needsa that runs the length spiritline. The spiritline is a shallowgroove from the bottom of (r.9 up cm) l/oinch about of the gunwales, gunwales. the built in the zoth centuryno longer that baidarkas It seems to go of the spirit line seems had spirit lines.The disappearance the boats. on in decoration decline hand in hand with a general However,I put them on my boatsand you are naturallyfree to put them on yours.
(r.3cm) Vztt
Again SetUpthe Deck

You are now done working on the gunwalesand are readyto start the deck. assembling up back in placeand setthe gunwales Put the spreaders as before Run a string down the center of the boat on sawhorses. to check for symmetry. are parallel.More imporAlso check that both sawhorses are level. If they sawhorses tant, check that the tops of both aren't level aren't, shim them up to level them. If the sawhorses you will put twist into the deck, whicl'ryou will tend to lock in with the deck beams.
. A viewof the spirit Figure7-17 of the Iinecanedon theinside gunwales.
Building theDeck 6l
Figure 7-18.Lay the blank for the bow cross block across the gunwalesand mark on the insideof the gunwales,A. Cut away the shaded portions shown in drawingB.
FR'NT ,,rifo
B'o'm)
tt (2.o.^)
'+'(s'n)
BCTTTOM VILW
The Bow andStern Cross Blocks

The bow and stern crossblocks join the gunwalesat either end of the boat. Each is made in one piece ani then cut in half. The halvesare then lashedback together.It would seemsimpler just to leavethe crossblocksin onepiece, but I suspect they were cut and then relashedto let them move as the hull twisted in a heavysea.
Figure7-19.Bottomyiewand block front viewof the bow cross with theunderside scooped out.
Shaping the Bow Block

cut the bow block from a pieceof lumber with at/-inchx q/-inch (3.8cm by r"4 cm) cross section.Cut a slightlyoversized pi6ce and it. acr.oss the gunwales for marki"g. isee Figure 7_rgfor ql".:, details.)When marking the bow block, i,,rt. ,ur""vou lav it on top of the gunwales, which is wherethey areat their widest.' Make the block just a little wider than you markedit to compensate for the width of the centersawcut. Cut or carvethe board so it hasthe right shapeasviewed from the top. cut ihe taper on the sidesof ihe block to match the angle of the gunwales.Scoopout the undersideof the block. Mark and drill the lashing holes. Make sure they are aligned,because if they aren't your gunwaleswon't line up. Once you have drilled the holes,cut some channels _ betweenthe holesboth at the top and at the bottom of the block. These channels will ensure that the lashingsstay below the
l-
I
I
I
f\ l
of the block. If they stick up, they will surface be cut through by the deck stringer. Peg the bow block to the gunwales using/o-inih (6 mm) dowels.Do not cut the bow block in two halvesYet.
Block The ltern

blank from a piece of lumber with a rL cut a slightlyoversized inch by 5Linch (3.8cm by r4 cm) crosssection' and mark it' Notice that the gunwales i'utthe bfank across inch (z'5cm)' gunwalesbyaboutr end ofthe pastthe thisblockgoes
.5cm)
Figure 7-20. DriII lashing holes in block 2 inches(5 cm) the bow cross from the front edgeand dowel it to the gunwaleswith three dowels. Figure 7-21.Bottom view of the with the blank for the gunwales them stem crossblockslaid across on blank the Mark marking. for the inside of the gunwales,A. to leave1 inch (2.5 Remember cm) of overhangat the end Figure7-22. Dimensionsof the stem wiII needto cut it in block.You cross es to half beforedoweling the halY the gunwales.Unlike the bow cross
sy/ (t4.m\
- -
Cut the block so it hasthe right shapewhen viewedfrom above.Do not taper the sidesto match the angle of the gunwales the wayyou did with the bow block. The angle which will on the sternblock is go degrees, make each half stick up at the angle of the gunwales. of the block' Scoopout the underside Mark the centerlineand cutthe block in equal Make Pegthe halvesto the gunwales. halves. aligned. stay surethey wood sothe facesof Cut off the excess Drill holes,cut a chanthe cut mateup evenly. and lash' don't protrude, nel sothe lashings
the block,which has slo Ping sides, block hasstraight sides. stem cross
--A-
z" (5.-lcrn)
(,( .e.n)
Block Bow the Cutting

With the sternblock in place,you can cut the bow block in half. Once cut, you need to lash
theDeck 63 Building
Figure 7-23. View of the stem cross blocksafter doweling to the gunwales.The gap betweenthe blockswill disappearafter the mating surfaces have beenplaned
tofit flush.
Figure 7-24. View of the finished installation of the stem cross blocks.The endsof the cross block have beenplaned so they mate up
flush.
the halves together. Again,makesurethe lashings don't stickup abovethe channel you cut for them.
A Few Words aboutDeck Beams

There are h.r,ro waysto join the deck beamsto the gunwales: mor_ tise-and-tenon constructionor doweledbutt ioinl construction. Both are diagrammedin Figure 7-26. I have used both and prefer the doweled butt joint
Figure7-25.Viewof theflnished of thebow cross installation blocks.
method becauseit is faster.The methods seem to be equally that you Payconstant strons.The doweledbutt ioint requires attentlonto the alignrnentof the deck beamsand the gunwales, self-aligning' is essentially while tl'remortise-and-tenon below,and is described construction Doweledbutt ioint Appendix in constructionis covered 3' mortise-and-tenon
Beams theDeck Sizing

in With the deck spreadand the bow and stern crosspiecesplace,you are reaiy to put in the deck beams.With the doweled
Figure 7-26. The toP Pair of section a cross drawings shows and an endview of a deckbeam doweledinto the gunwales'The bottom pair of drawings showsthe sameviewsfor a deckbeam ioined to the gunwalesvia mortise-andtenon construction.
\
__
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>
q4
the Deck 65 Building
l*j
gn
( t2.7 cr'.) (3.8c-)
j_
t-" (e.sca)
B
Figure 7-27. Deck beam dimensions. Dimension Ais the elevationof the deck beam above the gunwales.Dimension B is the inside distancebetweenthe gunwales.
construction,each beam is measured, fit, cut, and doweledin place beforethe next one is cut and fit. The dimensions of the deck beamsare shownabove.The elevationof the deck beams is greatest at the cockpit and decreases toward the bow and the siern. The beamsfit inside the gunwales. The top of each beam on the HearstMuseum boat is aboutl inch (6 mm) below the top of the gunwales.You can also locate the tops of the deck beamsflush with the tops of the gunwalesand gain I inch (6 mm) of interior space. Cut your deck beamsfrom knot-freesectionsof z x 4s; that is, lumber with a ty'*inch (3.8cm) by y'/-inch (8.9 cm) cross section.Cut the length of the z x 4 to the widestpart of the inside
Figure 7-28. Mark the width of each deckbeam by laying the stock across the gunwalesand marking from undemeath.
Then mark the 2 x 4sasshownin width at the top of the gunwales. Figure7-28' on the rm dimensions Once you havemarkedthe deck be: adze, use an I wood' unwanted the remove z x 4, you need to lines, of the mm) (r.5 to inch eny',uand% me to behve which'gets 3 then I is" " pla,'," and a crookedknife to do the final smoothing. is much faster' If you have ".""tt to a band saw,the Process all that'sleft is to is removed, wood Once the unwanted of the gunslope the match trim the ends of the deck beam to wales.I use my fine-tooth backsawor dovetail sawto do the cutting, and I doihe final adiustmentwith a chisel or knife' Make end grain tendsto crushor splin,ur! yor' toolsare sharpbecause ter if they aren't. When the deck beam fits, fix it in place with some fourpennyfinishing nails.Theseare thin nails,about rl inches the beamfrom slippingwhen you (3.8lm) long.This will prevent drill the holes for the dowels. Beforeyou drill the dowel holes,sight down yo,ur--deck and make sure it is still aligned.If it is, go aheadand drill two drill bit into eachend of the deckbeam. holeswith your '%*-inch The holesshould go through the gunwaleand aboutz inches(5 cm) into the deck beam' but your l-inch (6 mm) dowel rod slightlylonger than the holes and pound them in place' (If you betweendrill and dowel combina,rr! -"tri" Jrills, experiment just slightly smallerthan your dow-els.) tions until you get a hole O.itt a"a dowel one hole at a time, then drill and dowel the next and so on. If you drill all the holesfirst and then dowel them, you risksomeof the holesbeingmisaligned'You want them to have Do not use glue on the dowels. somefreedomof movementwhen the boat is under stress'
andBackrest Brace the Knee Fitting

The two deck beamsthat function as the knee brace and back bracealsosupportthe cockpit coaming.Both of thesebeamshave ihe topsof the gunwales. "-) above tiz{ inches(S.Z an elevation above.Put the shape them and put them in place as described kr're" br""" in piace first. You'll have to remove the center and nail it in place.Before-you to do this. Fit the backrest spreader betweenthe two deck do*.I it, measurethe inside diagonals
the Deck 67 Building
Figure 7-29. When the first two deck beamsare in place, you dre ready to set the elevationfor the remaining deck beams.
beams'Both diagonals shouldbe the same.If they aren't,slidethe gunwalesforwardor backwardrelativeto each other until both diagonals are the same.Then dowel the backrest.
Determining theElevation of theRemaining Deck Beams

Figure 7-30.After the first two deck beamsare in place, sting a line t/z inch (13 mm) below the top of eachdeckbeam to the endsto set the elevationB for the other deck beams. Position the sawhorses so the elevation at A is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) lowerthan at the ends. Alsomake surethatthe topsof both sawhorses are level.
once the backrest and the knee braceare in place,you can determine the elevationof the remaining deck beams.ivith th. g,r.,walessupportedon the sawhorses, check their sheer.The !un_ wales shouldbe aboutr)4inches (3.8crn) lowerat the cockpit?rea than at the ends.Move the sawhorses if need be to get the right amount of sheer,out toward the ends for more, or in toward t'he middle for less. y-ou are hapll with the sheer,run a stringor a spare . ^Once piece of wood from y''inch below the top of the foot biace to the top of the gunwalesat the bow.At each of the front deck beam
ila
i
nailto [Jse a small 7-31. measurethe distancebehveenthe topsof the gun_wales Figure positions, (13 mm) inch thestringt/z keep and the stringor piece of wood. This will be the elevationof each thedeckbeam. belowthetopof for each deck of thosedecl beams.Write down the elevations hvo deck for the same beamon the gunwale.Repeatthe Process beamsin back of the cockPit.
Beams Deck theRemaining Fitting

of the remainingdeck beams, Now that you havethe elevations mark them, cut them, fit them, and dowel them in place.As you the alignmentof deckbeam in place,recheck put eachadditional out of line as them to make sureyou aren'tpulling ihe gunwales you'repeggingthem in place.
theEdges Breaking
on your deck' Use Now is a good time to breakany sharpedges is the spokeshavewith pass Onb plane. or block the spokeshave of the edge outside upper to the Payspecialattention sufficient. deck beam, which is the edgethat ihe skin will be pulled over' of the knee braceand foot brace Also make surethe undersides
I
I
theDeck 69 Building
important if you aresmooth and well rounded.This is especially oaddlebarefootand in shortsin warm weather. Cut any protruding dowelsflush with the gunwales.If alsoremovethem you find pencil lii'resand other marksoffensive, at this time.
7-32. A Figure (opposite Page) withthe deck ofthefinished view pieces in place cross stem and bow in the highest beams andthedeck theends' toward andlowest center
Beams in the Deck Holes the Lashing Drilling

Once all the deck beamsare in place,you are readyto drill the lashineholes.Drill a /o-inch(6 mm) hole in each deck beam z inches (l .-) from the insideof the gunwales' approx'imately back of the centerof the deck The hole should be positioned will go right overthe rib mortise, your lashings beam,otherwise on the deckbeam' which is alsocentered of the gungroovein the outsideedges shallow a Make them' Do go around will lashings walesat the place where the
to Figure 7-33. Usea sPokeshave on the round sharp edges as weII as on the deck gunwales beams.lust d pdssor htto with the is sufficient. spokeshave
Figure 7-34. Drill the lashing hole in the deck beam off centerso the Iashingswill not go over the rib on the which is centered mortise, deckbeam.
the Deck | | Building
onedeckbeamandlashit to makesureyourholes line up before drillingthe rest.
Painting theDeck Red

Aleuts stainedthe framesof their boah with a red ocher color, as did most of the Eskimoson the westerncoastof Alaska.My guess is that the red color represented the blood of the boat. Boais"were considered living thingswith spiritsof their own, so it would seem appropriatethat they should alsohavetheir own blood. I mix my own stain by squeezingan inch or two of Venetian red artist'soil color out of a tube and mixins it with an ounce or two of turpentineand boiled linseedoil. Actually,anv reddishearth tone is appropriate.Red earth tonesderive their color from iron oxide;so doesblood. On"e you have mixed the stain, wipe it on with a rag. _ Ragssoaked in linseedoil will catch on fire spontaneously, sotak"e them cjutside when you're done and discardthem in a metal garbage can awayfrom your houseor shop.
Lashing the Deck Beams

Once you havestainedthe deck,you are readyto lash the deck beams. Thkeaboutan armspan of stringand pult it across a cake
Figure7-35:Thefirst loopof the lashing.Notethat the lashings do notrun over therib mortise.
keepsthe string until it is nice and sticky.The beeswax of beeswax Tie lashings. in your tension the to keep helps and from slipping (zo cm) 8-inch an Double a smallloop in one end of the string. pieceof wire. This will act asthe sewingneedlefor the string. Run the needlethrough the hole in the deck beam from the botand through the loop in the other tom, go around the gunwales end olthe string.Tighten up and run a few more turns of string throueh the hole and around the gunwales. When the hole is about tolf fill"d, tie off the stringand Now you know how much stringyou need for cut off the excess. eachlashingand you can adjustthe amountyou cut off for most sinceyou efficientuse. I usuallycut enough for two lashings need some extrato tie the knots when you get to the end. always
theDeck 0iling
both the wood and the lashings.For Oiling the deck preserves the first coat, mix two partsboiled linseedoil and one part turto dry' Use weeks rentine.Do not userawlinseedoil sinceit takes Turpentineis realturpentineif you can and not mineral spirits. than minbetter wood so penetrates and sap from pine derived on both the mixture turpentine and eral spiritsdo. Paint the oil on anotlter When the fiist coat is dry' put woodand the lashings. coat of straightlinseedoil. If you are concernedwith long-term
Whenyouhave Figuie7-36. tie off the tumsof lashing, enough hitches and of endwith a series cut theexcess.
theDeck 73 Building
durability,you might want to replacethe secondcoat of linseed oil with a waterproofvarnishsuch asa yacht sparvarnish. You could leaveoff staining and oiling until the whole "accessible boat is done, but the partsare more b'"for" the ribs are in place.Besides, the stainingand oiling givesyou a chanceto handle the deck and absorbits shapeand admire its beauty.
Checking theFit
Once you have all the deck beamsin place, you can check whetherthe spacing and elevations of the knee braceand the back brace will allow you to get into the boat. To do this, iake the deck off the sawhorses and prop it up on the ground with someblocksof wood so the tops of the gunwalesin the cockpit areaare 7 inches(r8 cm) off the ground.Tie a r:/*inch(3.8cm) piece of wood to the top of the back braceto simulatethe height of the cockpitcoaming. Now stepinto the spacebetweenthe knee braceand the back brace,sit down on the back brace,and supportyour weight by placing your handson the gunwales.Straightenyour legsand slideforward.Justasthe topsof your thighsstartjamming into the underside ofthe kneebrace, the backofyour rearshouldclearthe back brace and you should be able to lower yourself to the ground. If at this point your rear end is still sitting on the back brace,the cockpit isn't long enough.If you absolutely can't fit, sawthrough the pegsor the tenonsthat hold the back braceto the gunwales and move the back braceback far enoughso you can get into the boat. Also, asyou're sitting on the ground with your kneesjust forward of the knee brace, you should have enough room betweenthe boitom of the knee braceand the topsof your legs. Ifyour legsin backofyour kneesarebeingsqueezedby the knee braceyou need to make your boat a little deeper.
74
TheAleutianKayak
Hull Thc
Now that you've finishedthe deck, let'stake a look at the hull. and The componentsof your kayakhull arethe ribs,the stringers, a keelson. of three parts, to consist The keelsonis usuallyconsidered of but in my opinion, the bow plate,which lookslike an extension the deck, is structurallya part of the keelson.You'll notice that it ratherthan with the deck. So installing moveswith the keelson, the bow plate and the tailfin of assembling the keelsonconsists aswell asthe three sectionsof the keelsonitself.All five partsare to eachother and alsoto the ribs. lashed arelashedto the ribs.This Finally, the eight hull stringers the frame is the to complete left completesthe hull. All that's and the cockpit coaming;we'll get additionof the deck stringers to that in the next chapter.
Figure 8-1.Detailed dimensions
the Frontof the Gunwales Notching

to a depth Notch the front rl inches(3.8cm) of the gunwales (r.9 cm)' The ot'/oinch plate, the bow of equalto the thickness prowithout the gunwales not"h"t let the bow plate sit on top of trudingabovethem. SeeFigures8-r and 8-zfor details.
at the bow end of of the notches Depth of the the gunwales. shouldmatch the notches of the bow plate. thickness
andTailfin TheBowpiece
As a matter of fact, the bowpieceand the tailfin aren'treally neededuntil all the ribs are in place and the is readyto be lashedin place.I me-+i^keelson W makins them is "i"";i;'; them now because
The Hull 75
Figure 8-2. Use a small saw to cut the notchesat the front of the gunwales.
Figure 8-3. Detailed dimensions for constructing the bow plate. Glue up the pieces as shownat the top and then shapethem as shownat the bottom.
s//(23.'n)i
75 lhe AleutianKayak
work,which you can do if you run out of ribs and can't go to get any more until the next day or the next weekend.
Bowpiece l'laking the

The bowpiecefinishesoff the front of the deck The Aleuts and joins the deck to the keelson. mostlikely carvedthis piece out of a single block of wood. However,gluing up the bowif pieceout of smallerpiecesof wood is easier you have some clamps.This method of constructionis shown below. Startwith a piece of wood that is as at the the gunwales across wide asthe distance notch, about r4 inches (36 cm) long, andf inch (r.9 cm) thick. Mark it so that it forms a smooth transition from the gunwalesto its to the point. You can make fine adiustments shapelater. Cut the piece that goesunder the bow plate as shown in Figure 8-3.Glue it to the undersideof the bow plate.If you don't nails,peg it, and haveany clamps,glue it, drive sometemporary then wrap it in string or bungee cordsor anything that will keep on it long enough for the glue to set.Use ePoxyor somepressure glue. otherwaterproof Glue two blocks on either side of the vertical piece' When the glue is dry, carvethem asshown in Figure 8-4.
Aview ofthebow Figure 8-4. plate in place at thebowcross Note thematching blocks. thetwopieces.They cumatureof asthe each other wiIIslide against boatflexes.
Tailfin l'|aking the

The tailfin joins the deck to the keelson.This requiresa rather myselfa to save wide piece of wood. I usuallyglue up two pieces trip to the lumberyard. Carve the tailfin asshown in Figure 8-6. The bottom of the tailfin needsto be matchedto the top so don't do a final shapinguntil the keelsonis in of the keelson, place.The notch at the front of the tail matesup with the stern on the block. The height of the tail abovethe notch depends cross will that you of wood of the deck stringer.Laya piece elevation usefor the deck stringeron top of the deck beams.Seewhere it meetsup with the tailpieceand mark the height of the tailpiece
TheHull 77
Figure8-5.Youcanglueup the blankfor the tailpiece from pieces nanower if you have enough clamps.
Figure8-6.Cut the tailfin as shown. An optionalfour-fingerwideholein the middleof the tailfin reduces overallweight.
p!
tfug.ecn)
gtt(2o.zcm)
t*-
ntt(so'sc^)
accordingly.F igure 8-7 showsthe completed assembly, which givesyou an idea how it will look after all the piecesare in place.
TheShape of the Hull

As you put ribs into the boat, you'll see the outline of a hull appearing.Keep in mind that this is not the final shapeof the hull. The skin will be held another z/a inch farther out by the stringers. In the area betweeh the keelson and the bottommost stringerthe skin will bridge the gap to form a broadV. When the
Y-I
I
Figure8-7.Thetop of the tailfin stringer wiII line up with thedeck mate uPwith will andthebottom thekeelson.
of the waterwill push on the skin boat is in the water,the pressure and make this a concaveV. Figure 8-8 showsa completedhull to you are giveyou someindicationof the shape working toward.
Thisis howthehull Figure8-8. wiII lookby theendof this chapter.
of theHull Stren$h The

The hull of the Aleut kayak is a wonderful exampleof economicalengineering.It's just enoughto do the iob-and no stronger. strong You'11 see that the longitudinal strinsersare lashed to the ribs, which are rp"."d roughly 4 inches (ro cm) apart.The diameter of both the ribs and the stringersis % inch (ro mm). When the hull is subjected to stress,it is important for both ribs and stringersto have the same amount of flex' If you make the ribs substantiallystrongerthan the stringersor vice versa,the weaker of the is applied.If you two will break when stress make the ribs and the stringersroughly the same strength, the two will have a greater chance of flexing out of the way of harm as a unit. That way, individual componentsare lesslikely to get damaged.
I I i-
Hull 79 The
-TErYPoR'A
Ry _st-R I N6E|a
1
BOW E_Np
Ls7{
6uN:wALE- ,61-6cn)
Figure8-9.Elevation of the temporary stinger shouldbeas shown. Make sure sawhorses are levelbefore starting.
Setting upa Form fortheRibs

With the deck invertedon the sawhorses, check once againthat the sawhorses are level and parallel.Check againthat you have about rl inches(3.8crn) of sheer. With the deck invertedand the sawhorses far apart,the sheerhas a tendencyto disappear, so you might haveto move the sawhorses closertogether. Using a r6-foot (488 crn) length of wood, possibly some left over from cutting your gunwales,set up a temporary stringer that will mark the elevation of the ribs. It should be about I inch x rl4 inches (r.9 cm x 3.8 cm) in crosssection. Its elevation should be as shown in Figure 8-9. Measure elevationsfrom the underside of the eunwales to the top of the support as sho*-n irt Figure 8-ro. You should set the basicshapeof the stringer, usinga block of wood at the front of the foot braceand one block at eachofthe end beams.Clamp supportblocks as shown in Figure 8-u. Put additional support at the other deck beamswithoui disturbinethe curvature of the stringer. Several wrapsoTstring at each deck beam should be sufficient. When you put in the ribs,they will be pushingup at the stringer,so you need somethingto hold it down.After you haveaddedall your support, sight down the stringerto make sure it doesn't haveany dipsor bulges.If it does,adjustyour supports or lashings as necessary. Now that you've got all the supports in place,measure from the gunwales to the stringer to makesureit is centered. Alsocheck
Figure 8-10. Measure theheight of supports for the temporary stringer of fromthe top of a piece woodheldundemeath the gunwales.
the Figure8-l 1. Support of with blocks stringer tempordry beams. to thedeck clamped wood
you are now ready because ofthe stringer, againthe key elevations ribs. in the putting to start
RibMaterial Choosing
section. with a round cross Aleutsmadethe ribsof their baidarkas get the you branches, slender or other If you usewillow shoots sectionwithout further effort.But if you cut your rib round cross
8-12. With all thesuPPorts Figure stringer the temPorary in place, cune. a smooth should form
TheHull 8l
L
stockwith a table saw, the ribswill naturallybe square or rectangular in cross section.If you do it this way,you'll haveto round off the edges with a spokeshave to get a round or oval cross section. In this chapter, I'll describe ribs made from willow branches sincethis is the easier way to go. Steamingand bending of sawedribs is describedin Appendixz.
(Below left) Figure8-13. Hamesting in thewillowpatch.
(Robert Boucher photo)
Gathering RibStock
I usewillow shoots of / inch (r3 mm) diameterfor my rib stock. Basketmakersgatherthem in the winter, when the wood is most stable.In the springtimeand early summer, new wood on the outer layer of the t'wigis not yet firmly attachedto the inner layersand tendsto delaminatewhen you bend it. Nevertheless, if you are readyto put ribs on your boat,gatheryour stockand bend
(Below ight) Figure 8-14.Ideal size of ibs isr/rinch(13mm) diameter at the thickendwith the
bark on. (Robert Boucherphoto)
The nice thing aboutspringribs of the season. yourribsregardless is that the sapis flowing and the bark peelswithout any effort. or Don't pick your twigsmore than a week in advance theywill dry up and becomebrittle.You can setthem upright in a bucketof waterto prolongtheir usefullife' But if you leavethem for two weeksor more, they'll send out rootsbelow the waterline and sproutnew branchesabove.That doesn'tmake for nice, smoothribs. My adviceis to pick a few more hvigsthan you will need to do half a boat.When you haveusedthoseuP, go pick some more. any twig, branch, or shoot that is reasonably Actr-rally, for rib stock.I have used straightand bends uniformly is sr,ritable The only twigsyou should all klnds of tree and bush branches. avoidare hvigswith largepith coresor too many sidebranches. Even if a twig isn't completelystraight,it usuallyevens needabsoout quitea bit when you bend it. You don't necessarily lutely straightstock.Experiment and seewhat worksfor you. your twigsneedto be at least%inch (ro mm) Remember, when peeled,so pick them thickerto startwith. Also in diameter rememberthat tl'risis the minimun'rdiameterat the thin end of the stick,which meansthat other end of the stickwill be thicker. but theyarealsoharderto of course, Thicker ribswill be stronger, (r3 mm) is the upper linch I find that shape. bend to the correct
Figure 8-15.You can use iust about any stickfor ribs. However, ifyou have a choice,avoid sticks with a large pith core (top). Sticks with a smaller pith core (bottom) are preferable.
FIexthe ribswith the Figure 8-16. themuP andto barkon to limber check for stiff spots.
The Hull 83
Figure 8-17.Beforeyou peel the rib, seehow long it needsto be, and trim it slightly longer than you need.
limit on a peeledtwig.Any thickerand it getsreallyhard to work. Take my adviceand stick to peeleddiameters behveen%(ro mm) and / inch (r3 mm). You won't regretit.
Putting in theRibs
Start insertingthe ribs in the cockpit areaof your boat. Expectto replacea few, especially sinceyour worst work will be at the beginningand mostvisiblein the cockpitarea. Selecta twig of suitablelengthand with the barkstill on, bend it in place.You'll takethe barkoff beforethey'repermanently installed.Startwith someskinniertwigssincetheseare easier to bend to the right shape. Useyour thumis to work the tight bendsto avoid crackingthe ribs. If you have not let the bark dry out, the twig should bend easilyand not requireany steaming. Bending without steamis the main appealof greentwigs.The downsideof greenhvigsis that you haveto peel them-but eventhat can be an enjoyableactivityif you'rein the right frame of mind. If you pick your hvigsin the springor earlysummer,they will havea lot of sapunder the bark and you will be able to peel them almostaseasilyasa banana.If you pick your twigslaier in the year,the bark may be a little harder to get off. I use a crooked knife to peel them. I find that a slightly dull knife seemsto work better than a really sharpone. It's important toget all the bark off, not just the dark outer
(Opposite Page) Figure8-18. Peel theribsusinga knifethat is not toosharp.Ribsgathered in spring and earlysummer peelmoreeasily than ribsgathered at any other time.
84
TheAleutianKayak
TheHull 85
Figure8-19. Afteryou have trimmed the rib to length,inserl theends in theirmortises and pushtherib intoan upright position.
bark, but alsothe light-coloredinner bark.Any bark left on the ribs will eventually peel offon its own. If you varnishyour ribs,the peelingbark will carrythe varnishwith it and your ribs will lose their waterproofing. That will shortenthe life of the boat. After you have pre-bentyour rib and peeled it, trim it so it's evenwith the bottom of the gunwaleor maybe'/,inch(r3 mm) longer. Whittle the endsdown to fit the mortises and do the final
Figure 8-20. Whenyougetthe place, go to theendof first rib in theboatand check it for symmetry. Ribsnearthe cockpit shouldbefl.atin the middleand cumed at the sides.
l-
Twoibs downand 8-21. Figure 40 to go!
As fitting. You don't have to jam the ribs tightly into the mortises. Aleut the original that rib diameteron , -"[t.t of fact, it appears If they fit inch (r.5 mm) lessthan their mortises. boatswasabout y',0 too tightly, they'remore likely to shearoff or get fatiguecracksas Nter you've fixed the end of the rib in the boat flexesrepeatedly. its mortise,go to the end of the boat and check the rib by eyefor symmetry. Your greentwigshave sometaperto them, so you can either whittle them down to uniform diameterwith the spokefrom side to shaveor put them in so the thicker end alternates side.If you put all the ribs in with the thick end to the sameside, you'relikely to get a lopsidedhull. The shapeof the ribs in the center of the boat should be flat in the middle and rounded at the sidesasshown in Figure 8zo.As you get closerto the endsof the boat,the ribs becomemore archedasshown in Figures8-zzand 8-27. Make sureyou haveenough flat areain the centeror you will end up with a boat that is tippy. Put in a few more ribs on either side of the first one and check your work by eye again. Not only doeseach rib have to be symmetrical,but it must also make a smooth transition with the ribs to make the other ribs. Use a flexible batten laid across sure some of them don't stick up higher or sit lower than othor replacethem. ers.Either trim the nonconformists
Hull 87 The
Figure822. Theshape of theibs looking from thecockpit, fonuard.
Incidentally,here'sa tip I've found helpful: When you put in ribs, try to give yourselfenough time to do at leasteight in a batch. They tend to be more uniform if you do them together. Take time to assess your work after each sessionand don't be afraid to redo a sectionof ribs if they don't look right to you. On the other hand, don't be too critical of small irregularities. Remember,you're working with natural materials.No matter how skillful you are, your boat'snot going to end up looking
Figure8-23.Theshape of the ribs the cockpit, looking from backward.
(Opposite Page) Figure8-24.All ribs the except the lastfewat either endarein place.
88 TheAleutianKayak
TheHull 89
like inf ection-moldedplastic.But that doesn'tmean it,s in any way inferior in terms of strengthor seaworthiness; and it wiil your boat will have be vastlysuperiorin termsof aesthetic appeal. a soul. Work outward in both directionsfrom the center. put in all but the last four ribs on either end. Wait until you have the keelsonin place beforeputting theselastribs in o. Lith., end, to make sure of the correctelevation. Green stickswill shrink someasthey dry. So, if they're tight up againstthetemporarykeel batten when wet, they might be loosewhen dry. Keep this in mind when you go a day o, ti"o betweensections of ribs. Don't put the green tibr in iooseto match the dry ones.Put them in snug and they'll shrink to the sameheight asthe dry ones. When you haveall but the few end ribs in place,remove the battenyou usedas a templatefor the height of th" ribs and stainthe ribs red.
Setting uptheKeelson
Once the ribs are in place,you are readyto installthe keelson. It comesin threepieces that you assemble with dropleaf scarfs held-together by lashing.The scarfs are aligned so they are supported by one of the ribsthat is centered on a deckbeam. Some peoplewho build baidarkas make the keelsonin one piece,sincethis saves labor.I always make my keelsonin three piecesbecauseI believe that the Aleuts knew what thev weredoing. They would certainlyhave made a one-piece keeison if they had felt it wascleverer,or stronge.,or safer. A three-piece keelsonwith lashedscarfs will definitely behavedifferentlyfrom a one-piecekeelson.The lashedjoints have some freedom of movement and so will not propagate stresses along the bottom of the boat in the sameway that-aonepiece keelsonwould. You can testthis for yourself.When vour "trvist frame is all done and lashed,pick it up by one end. Flex it, it, shakeit, and you will seehow the keelsonreactsto stress. I must admit I've been tempted to make a boat with a one-piece keelsonso I can seeif it makesa boat behavedifferentlv on the water,but sofar I haven'tdone sofor fearof endingup with an inferior boat. Perhaps somebraversoul out there would like
of boththe Figure8-25.Theends of the bowand tail sections endin a little tail that keelson rests on theib, whichis centercd beam deck the second on from eitherendof theboat.
to experimentand let me know how it weni. When I put in a keelson,I generallyshapethe centerand tail section first becausethey're fairly simple. I also make them longer than they need to be and don't trim them to their final length until I fit them in place.Then I fit and shapethe bow section in place and lash it. When it's in place I put in the centersection and then the tail section. Given the way that the center sectionof the keelsonis it could be dropped into place afterthe bow and tail secshaped, tions have alreadybeen lashed.The length of the centerpiece could then be adjustedto fine-tune ihe amount of rocker and sheerin the boat. A shortercenter sectionwould make for less rocker and sheer,while a longer center sectionwould make for more of both. Cut the centersectionof the keelsonfrom a straightpiece with a ry'*inch(3.8 cm) xt/o-inch(i.9 cm) crosssection.Cut it slightlytoo long until you can do the final fitting. The centersectio-nmust r.""h fro- the seconddeck beam from the tail to the seconddeck beam from the bow. SeeFigure 8-26. The centerpiece is the longestpart of the keelsonand has the requiredcurvature.However,the bow enoughfex to assume
details Figure826. Construction of the keekon section of thecenter (top)and thetail section (bottom).
.:Y+x(s.z,^)
(=.Bcm)
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Ihe Hull 9l
(::3^'
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Figure8-27.Remove shaded portions to put d %-inch (6 mm) cunatureinto the tail section of the keelson.
Figure 8-28. Detailed dimensions of thebowsection of the keelson.
and tail sections of the keelsonneed tobe shaped to the correct curvature. Cut the tailpieceto the requiredlength and a cross sec_ _ tion ofu I inches(+.+"^)byr',inch (r.9cm). fh.n, usinga plane or knife, take'/rinch (6 mm) off the top at the e.,d a.,i /*inch (6 mm) offthe bottom in the middle-,Sei Figure g-27. The bowpiecehas even more curu"t,r." than the tail_ pj:.": It is most easilycut from a plank that is the right length and I inch Q.g cm) thick try 5)1 inches (r4 cm) or 7,/,iltches(19cm) wide. If you go with the narrowerboard,you will haveto add a piece on the noseof the keelson.If you go with the wider board, you don't have to. The long, skinnytail part of the bowpiece shouldstartout at z inches(l "-). i"rue /" inch (r3 mm) of "ur_ vatureinto it using the sametechniqueyou usedfor the tailpiece. The depth of the bow sectionof the keelsonincieases toward the front so that the first two or three ribs from the bow are shallowerthan the ribs following. This makesfor a more gradual transitionof the hull from the convexcrosssectionof th"erib areato the concavecross sectionin the bifurcatedareaof the bow. Carving the front of the bowpieceis a little more tricky sinceyou haveto match itup to thebow plate.I do this by putting the bow plate in place and then holdingthe unfinish"d io, ,ecl tion of the keelsonup against it so I can mark where I needto trim awaywood. It generallytakesme several fittings to get it right.
st'(2.6 cr.,)
(s.o.n) zl/(d.+c^) q//(s.tcm) lt/2"
lrW'4
(z+cm1.1
Sn (t?.7 c-m)
Once you havethe top of the keelsonmatchedto the bow plate,you will also need to carvethe bottom edgeof the-keelson gracefully upward at the bow' Remove into a curve that sweeps and put the bow sectionin place on the keelthe wood in steps of your work. Stopremovingwood when sonto judge the progress the curve looks right to your eYe. If you went with the narrowerplank,you will now haveto aboutz inches(5 to the bow.This pieceproiects add a nosepiece crplabovethe top of ihe bow plate.I usuallyattachthe nosepiece with two dowels.If you make the nosetoo tall, it will have a tendencyto breakoffwhen you turn your boat overon the beachand lift the tail to drain water out of the boat. Once you are happywith the profile of the bow sectionof your keelson,you need to carveit so its crosssectionis as shown in Figure 8-28.The crosssectionof the keelsonin the areaof the This shapeprevents bolv is like a diamond with concavesides. waterfrom being trappedunder the skin and causingrot.
it AllTogether Putting
th-9 Lay-itinplace.on with thebowpiece. starts Fittingthekeelson ribsaid matchthe front up to the lowerpartof the bowplate'If
youhave a 8-29.When Figure thebowPlate goodmatchbetween of the and thebowsection two together. the lash keelson,
Hull 93 The
Figure 8-30. Keelsonscarf detail. If distanceB betweenthe lefthand lashing hole and the edgeof the keelsonis too small, the keelson has a tendencyto split when under stress. Removesomewood in area A of the keelsonso the Iashingsare recessed and don't form a lump under the skin. Figure 8-31 . Lashingsaround the scarf hold the two sectionsface to face. The heavierlashings through the holespull the two sections together.If your keel is made of soft wood, the hea.rylashingssaw away at the holesas you flex the boat and the keelsonsectionsstdrt to separate.
the match isn't exactlyright, make your final adjustments now. Lay the keelsonon the ribs and seewhere the end lines up in respect to the rib that is centered on the second deckbeam. Trim it so it extends aboutlinch (6 mm) pastthe rib. Cut the scarfinto the tail asshown in Figure 8-3o. Lash the keelsonto the bow plate as shown in Figure
d-20.
Cut one end of the middle keelson sectionto match the end of the bow section. clamp it to the bow sectionand cut the other end to length.Cut the scarfon it aswell.
Figure8-32.Trim thetailfin to and trial mdteup with the keelson lashthehuoof themtogether.
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Now drill holeson eithersideof the scarfiointsasshown in Figure 8-3o.Make sureyou don't drill the holestoo closeto the edeeof the wood or the keelsonwill have a tendencyto split is put on the boat betweenthe hole and the edgeif enough stress keelsonso the of the in use.Beforeyou lash,carveawayenough will not makea lump under the skin. lashings togetherasshown in Figure 8-3r.It Lash the two sections you lash around the scarfand then pull to to mieht seemeasier that when you You must realize,however, thJtwo halvestogether. of the lashinghasa tenthe pressure lasharound the keelson, the halvesapart. So, first do the lashing that dency to squeeze You will haveto useyour lashingneedle together. pullsihe halves to get under the lashingalreadyin place. Finally, match the tail sectionof the keelsonto the center sectionand lash the two together.If you cut the tailfin oversized, the keelsonand cut it to match. Trialmark it where it overlaps together. lashthe hvo pieces Finally,installthe remainingribsin the bow and tail secwhich is now in place. tionsofthe hull to mateup with the keelson,
the Keelson Aligning

betweenthe gunand centered The keelsonneedsto be straight if your deckisn't But be. it will If your deckis symmetrical, wales. you shouldlay the keelsonin a straightline rather symmetrical, both gunwales. curvebehveen ti'ranhavingit follow an equidistant
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The Hull 95
Figure 8-33.If your hull is straight, as in A, your keelson should be straight when evenly spacedbetweenthe gunwales.If your hull is slightly warped,it is better to run the keelsonstraight, as in C, rather than equidistant from both gunwalesbut cumed,as in B.
At least, you should try to lay it in a straightline. In my experience, the keelsoneventuallyseems to go where it wants, and there'spracticallynothing you can do abou]t it. I had orr. bo"i where the tail section wanderedoff to one side after about a month of use and then recentereditself a few months later. I believe that if the partsof a boat are allowed to move relativeto each other, as they are in an Aleut kayak,they will eventually align themselves in a desirable stateof naturalequilibrium.
lashing the Keelson

The Aleuts usedto lash the keelsonto the ribs by lashing over the ridge of the keelson.The advantage of this lashingmetlod is that it allowsthe keelsonto slide on the ribs as the bJat flexesin the waves. The main disadvantage is that sandgetsbetweenthe skin and the keelsonand tendsto wear through ihe lashing. Another disadvantage is that it allowsthe ribs to"creep out of position over time. This wasn'ta problem for the Aleuts because they could realign the ribs when they repraced the skins of their boatseveryyearor so. It becom., " probl.*, though, when you havea canvas skin that can lastin excess offive u"rir.' there's an alternate method of lashingth! keel_ -Luckily, son to the ribs: Simply run the lashings through holes"drilled in
over' A:Traditional 8-34. Figure B: Lashing lashing. the-keel dilled in the throughholes as C: Thelashing keelson. Pattem hull. of the inside the seen from
the keelson.This method avoidsthe problemsof creepingribs as Admittedly, it doesiend to fix the well as abrasionof lashings. Aleut method of lashing' However, the than rigidly keelsonmore sinceit compromise, on the whole it's probablyan acceptable boat offthe you the trouble of strippinga perfectlygood skin saves to realign ribs and redo the lashings'
theHullStringers Making
from a r6-foot(488crn) boardto a %-inch Cut the hull stringers I usuallycut them from rough cut section. cross (ro mm) square of r inch (2.5cm).I cut four %plankswith an actualthickness inch (,o mm) stripsfrom the edge,which will then be r inch (z'5 and I cm) wide. I then cut eachof thosestripsin half lengthwise t/tinch dimension' (ro mm)square havemy round the Once you'vemade all eight of your stringers, to give them a round or elliPtical edgeswith your spokeshave stringerwith one hand and work the hold can You section. cro"ss with you use a spokeshave When with the other. the spokeshave it oneuse you both hands,you draw it towardyourself,but when handed, you can either work toward or away from yourself, whichever feelsmore comfortable. stain them red' When you have shapedall the stringers,
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theHullStringers Lashing
triallash them to When you've finished shapingthe stringers' aboutro inches to the keelson closest the stringers the ribs.Space
Hull 97 The
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tott(zs.4cn)
4/ gto.z"^)
Figure8-35.Space the two stringers closest to the keelson as shown. Space theotherstingers evenly between thegunwales and the bottommost stingers.
(25_cm) apartat the centerof the cockpit, inches (7.6 cm) apart 3 at.the bow, and 4 inches (ro cm) aparfat t:hetail. Arrange,ll'th. other shingers sothey'respaced evenlybetweenthe gunrialesand the stringers closest to the keelson. Trim the stringers even with ihe ends of the sunwales. Thperthe endsof the stringers so they won't havetheir Jdgespoking into the skin.
Figure8-36.Trim stingerseven with theends of thegunwales and roundthemoff sotheydon'tpoke at the skin.
Now lashall the stringers, starting at the gunwales and workingtoward the keelson. Usethe lashlng pattJrns shown in Figure8-iz.Tr" material I usefor lashing ii an artificial sinew soldby TandyLeather, which you shoulJbeableto getat any lumpunder theskin. Actually, anyline thatliesflat,suchas theold*tylebraided bait-casting line, would workjustaswell.Lashings must betightoryour boatwill turn out limp and rlor".Ho*eu"r, evenwhenthey're tight,theywill still allow enough movement to prevent damage, should theboatbesubjected to severe stresses. Every fiveribsor so,run a lashing from thetopmost stringer around thegunwalJ. This helpsto hold the ribsinto their mortises until you getthe skinin place.
leathercraft store.It's waxed,unbraidednvlon. which lies flat and doesn'tcause,nrrch of a
Checking theFit
Now comesthe excitingbit. Now you can try on your boat for fit. Take it off the sawhorses and put it on the ground. Put z x on either 4s sideof the keelson to supporttheribswhile you slideinto the cockpitto checkthe fit. If the boat is too tight, it's not ioo late to changeit.
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over While you're in there imagining yourselfswoopin_g it check the position of the rib near your heels.If sitsthe seas, right under your heels,move it backwardor forwardso it's out of You can sit there and th! way.You don't have to do it right away. a little longerif you like. enjoyyourself
Thepattem 8-37. Figure for stingersto ibs. The Iashing theib. lashing follows
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(Tof Lnft) Figure8'38.An the run around lashing occasional holds the ribsin their gunwales whenthe skinis off the mortises boat. A final (Bottom Left) Figure8-39. Iookinto thebellyof the huII. completed
Hull 99 The
tlnlshing the
trntne
Carving the Deck Stringers
Yo_u're wellon thewaynow.The worst partisbehindyou.AII that's left to do on thehull isto shape andinstallthedeckitringers, and to installthe cockpitcoaming. Afterthat,I'll show youhtw to do thefinaltuningof ihe boat, andstainandvarnish thehull.
Deck stringerscan be cut from a single clear t/uinch (r.9 cm) x 1y'-inch(8.9 cm) x 8-foot (244 cm) long board or from material left overfrom cutting the gunwales. Cut the stringers r% inches(3.5 cm) wide. Lay them on the deck of the boat and mark them ioi cutting r to z inches (z to 5 cm) longer than they need to be. you will do the final trimming later.They need to go from the bow to
Figure9-1.Thetopsof thedeck stringers areshaped to reduce theirweight. Theshape on the ight is theAleut oiginal. The shape on the left is easier to cawe, though.
t 3/e/t(3.s..1
-l-
t7^rt (. 3 cm
the backedgeof the knee braceand from the tail to the front edge are taperedat the top to reduce Deck stringers of the backrest. theirweight. Using your center scribe,run a centerline down the top Run two lines down the length of both edgeof both stringers. y',inch (r3 mm) from the bottom edge.Use a plane to stringers, shape tle stringersso their cross section looks as shown in Figure 9-r.
Stringers Fitting the Deck

check the sheer,or With the kayak upright on the sawhorses, upward bend, of the gunwales.Curvature should be such that at the centerof the cockpitare aboutr/ inches(3.8 the gunwales closertogetheror cm) lower than at the ends.Move the sawhorses fartherapartas need be. Put the back deck stringerin placeso it butts up against the tailfin. Cut the deck stringerso the front is even with the deckbeam (Figure9-l). front end ofthe backrest Put the front deck stringer in place so its back lines up with the back face of the knee brace deck stringer.Cut the front end so it comesto within 7 inches(r7.8 cm) of the front of the bow plate. Round off the front of the front deck stringer as shown in Figure 9-6. Cut the cockpit end of the deck stringer asshown in Figure 9-3.
Figure9-2.Thebackendofthe reardeck stinger buttsup against thetailfin.
theFrame l0l Finishing
Figure9-3.Theends of thedeck stringers siton top of thedeck beams thatsupport thecockpit

coamtnS.
Figure 9-4.Location of deck holes stringer lashing at thebow end.
6 / / (ts.zcn\
3tt ( 7 . 6 c m )
Figure 9-5. Lash deckstringersat each of the deck beams.
Figure 9-6. The angle of the deck stringer lashings lets the lashings when the act like shockabsorbers boat is stressed.
Stringers the Deck Lashing

at eachdeckbeam asshownin Figure9Lashthe deck stringers in contactwith the deck 5. This lashingkeepsthe deck stringers but still allowsthem to slidebackand forth. beams Lash the front stringerat the bow asshown in Figure 96. Note that the lashinghole is about6 inches(r5 cm) backfrom lashingholesin the The corresponding the front of the stringer. bow plate are about 3 inches (ro cm) forwardof the hole in the givesthe bow plate a I believethis arrangement deck stringer. greaterrangeof movementthan if the holeswere alignedright on top ofeach other.
for the Coaming a Form Making

Your bestbet for making the coamingis to cut a form out of y'+-inch (r.9cm) plywood. Cut out the insideof the form sothat it lookslike The rim shouldbe aboutz inches(5 "-) wide.The a doughnut. with the shapeof the form should be oval to slightlyegg-shaped nointier end towardthe front. The leneth of the form should be the kneebraceand the backrest. behveen ih" ,"rrr. asthe distance than the The width of the form shouldbe 3 inches(7.6cm) less the kneebraceand the backrest. behveen width of the kavakhalfivay
Finishing theFrame 103

L
Figure9-7.Steamed coamings are bentaroundthe plywood form until dry. and clamped
Cutting theCoaming
The coamingshouldbe %inch (ro mm) to )4inch (r3 mm) thick, rl4inches (3.8 cm) high, and long enough to go all around the form plus another 5 inches (r3 cm) longer for overlap.The wood can be anythingthat bendswell. I haveusedwhite ash,birch, and oak.Greenwood is preferable sinceyou'll haveto bend it. Thperthe last5 inches(r3 cm) on eitherend of the coaming for smooth overlap.Round off three of the four edges. The unrounded edgewill go to the top outsideof the coaming.
Bending theCoaming
Beforeyou bend the coaming,you'll need to soakit in waterfor a few days. If you soakit for a weekor more, it can becometoo soft and the fiberswill separate when you bend it. If you plan to build more than one boat,you might want to go to the trouble to cap off both endsofan 8-footsectionofrain gutter and usethat asa soaklaid between ing trough.Otherwise, a pieceof plasticsheeting trough. two boardswill makea nice impromptu soaking When you're done soakingthe wood, it's ready to be bent. You can either steamthe entire coaming for r5 minutes and then bend it around the form, or you can ladle boiling water
overshort sectionsof the coaming and bend it around the form a little at a time. Again, the preferredmethod dependson whether you expectto build any more boats.If you are expectingto build more, you might want to make a steambox out of a sectionof of foam insulation.SeeAppendixz on steamor Jheets downspout bent ribs for more detailson steaminq.
Coamings Unsteamed
outof thecoaming if youmake altogether steaming Youcanavoid %of a single (l *-) woodstrips instead of %-inch threelayers %inch (l --) thick, if soaked Figure9-8.If you makeyour inch (ro mm) strip.Hardwood without any coamingoutof multiplestrips, with a little hot water,bends softened andpossibly all around. diII themand lacethemtogether. thickness uniform so you get Layerthe sections effort. Keepthem clampedto the form until dry, Lace thendrill them and lacethem together. (r3 mm) wide by'/ninch inch strip,l another o e a ^ ^ o o top of the (6 mm) thick, aroundthe outside skirt a lip for the spray This provides coaming. to grabonto when you'repaddling.If you want a more proyouhave thisstripof wooduntil after lip, holdoffadding nounced put the skinon the boat.
theCoaming Installing
Lash the coamingto Line the coaming up with the deck stringers. and to the deck beamsasshown in Figure 9-9. the deck stringers
coAf,4rNG
Figure9-9.Thelashingtiesboth stinger and thedeck thecoaming to the deck beam.
t/i ( l . 3 c r n )
Finishing the Frame 105 )
Figure9-10.Thetail of thedeck stringer slides into a notchat the bottom of thecockpit coaming.
Notch the bottom edgeof the coamingto fit over the tail endsof the deck stringers asshown in Figure 9-ro.
Carving theCoaming Stanchions

The coamingstanchions supportthe coamingon either side of the cockpii. Stanchionsshould be three to foui finserswide and reachfrom the gunwalesto the undersideof the coamine.Notch both ends of the stanchionsto fit the edgeof the eun;ale and the coaming.The grain of the stanchiois,houldrun at right anglesto the gunwales.
Figure 9-11. Thestanchions support thecockpit at the sides.
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the gunwales, Drill matchingholesin the stanchions, Keep knotson the inboard and the coaming.Lash them together. sideof the stanchionto avoidlumps under the skin.
of theTailSection Final Trimming

Now you're readyto do the final trimming and lashingof the tail SeeFigure 9-rzfordetails. section.
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Bags Fitting Storage

It's obviousthat any gearyou stow in your kayakhas to go in and out through the cockpit. The bestway I've found to organizethe gear is to pack it into canvasbagstailored to the inside of the kayak.Since the bagshaveto clear the deck beams,the besttime you want to meato fit them is before the skin is on. Essentially, al areaat each of the deck beamsand make surethe cross-section bagsslightlysmaller.I've found that two bagsforward your storage and one aft seemto work the best.
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Seat Slats
You may want to add seatslatsto provide someadditionalsupport for the mat you will be sitting on. The slatsdon't need to be width is z to 3 inches (5 to veiy wide to be effective.An adequate
9-12. Do thefinal Figure of the tail trimmingand lashing section at thispoint.
Finishing theFrame 107
8 cm). I usually cut some y'rinch (r.9 cm) thick boardsin two to give me slatsof /o-inch(6 mm) to y's-inch (ro mm) thickness. Drill someholesin the slats and lashthem to the ribs. Seatslats arebest lashedunder the ribs rather than on top since you'll be sitting lower that way,making the boat more stable. Note, however,that you'll need to keep the slatscloseto the keelsonso they won't poke into the skin.Also keepyour knots small when you lashthe slats to the ribs.Thick knotswiil alsotend to poke through the skin. Rememberthat when the boat is in the water,the skin will be pushedeven closerto the ribs. I've alsoput seatslatson top of the ribs in one of my boats and find that ihis is lesscomfortableon long trips than having them below the ribs.The Aleuts apparently had no ur" fo, se"i slatsand I'm readyto try my next boat without them.
Staining, 0iling, andYarnishing

Now that all the partsof the frame are in place,you should apply red stain to any part of the frame you haven'titained v"t. Afi", about a day,you can apply some sort of waterproofingto the wood. A mixture of about one-third turpentine and two-thirds boiled linseedoil is a traditionalnautical waterproofing medium. Polyurethane varnish,although lesstraditionil, prob-"blygives longer lastingprotectionthan the linseedoil mixture. R.ear;les, of whether you use oil or varnish,you should apply two cioa* for bestresults.
The $kin Kffi

Strangeas it may seem,the skin is not merely a waterproofcovering for the frame of the kayak-it's an important structuralelement aswell. The skin pulls all the partstogetherand limits the bendingof an otherwisevery flexible boat. The first rule is that the skin must be really tight. A loose skin makes for a slow, floppy boat. On the other hand, a kayakwith a tight skin is a thrilling thoroughbred.It's lightrveight thing to handle.You'Il feel the tension an amazinglysatisfying and resilienceof the wood working for you asyou paddle it. were coveredwith animal skins In times gone by, kayaks Even then, they that neededto be oiled to makethem waterproof. would startpicking up water after a day or two, and need to be The dried out. Within ayeat or so,the skin had to be replaced. before the of winter old skin wasusuallyremovedat the beginning kayaks were put up for storage. The canvas with which you will coveryour boat is much more tolerant of moisture.As a matter of fact, if you take a trip of several daysand haveyour boat in the water everyday,you'll find that the skin getstighter day by day.This is good up to a point, but beyond that point the tension will actually start distortingthe frame.This doesnot mean that you should make the skin loose when you first sewit on. It simply meansthat when you storeyour kayakbetweentrips you should give it a chanceto dry out.
Coverings andOther Canvas

although other coverings I've alwayscoveredmy boatsin canvas, and linen is cheaper In someEuropeancountries, are available.
IheSkin 109
more readily availablethan cotton duck. If you live there, get linen, but make sureit hasa tight weaveand not the looser*.iu. sometimes sold for artist's canvases. Other alternatives to canvas are the variousheat-shrink synthetics. Theserangefrom the very lightrveight materialusedto cover airplane wings to the heavier material sold by George Dyson. Heat-shrinkmaterial is attractive because it can be ,.r""d up and then tightenedsimply by passing a hot clothesiron over it. The elaboratestretchingand lacing procedures describedin this chapterfor canvas are not necessary. In addition, syntheticfibers do not undergothe extremetightening and looseningcyclesthat canvasundergoes when it getswet and then dries out again. Synthetics are alsorot-resistant. They're not ideal,though, despite theseadvantages. Heatshrink fabricshavesomedrawbacks that havepreventeJme from usingthem on a woodenframe.In the first place,synthetics are more expensive than cotton.Although this is a consideration, it's not serious enoughto disqualify them asa suitablecoveringfor wooden boats. More serious,in my view, is the strength mismatch betweensynthetics and the woodenframe.The hea'vier synthetics are a lot strongerthan the lightweight wooden frame, which might get damagedduring rough use. To repairany kind of hull damage, you'll probablyhaveto remove the skin. If the skin is canvas, that'sa pretty simple task. You stretchit, lace it back up, sew it, and repaint the seams. But if the skin is heat-shrinksynthetic you may run into trouble. Unlessit hassomeshrink left in it, you may havea hard time gettlng tight again,in which caseyou'll have to throw "rvayihe 1t old skin and put on a new one. If I were to use syntheticskin with a wooden frame, I'd go with the very lightrveightskin and be careful not to damageit.
Choosing the Canvas

Choosingcanvas is fortunatelymuch easier than choosingyour lumber. I have used both #ro and #8 cotton duck, the smaller number indicatinga heaviercanvas. The easier of the two to work with is naturallythe lighter #ro canvas. The #8 canvas is almost like cardboardand is much more difficult to stretchtight, so I
I l0 The Aleutian Kayak
in Figure10-1. FoIdthecanvas half lengthwise and markthe A, with a uayon or a centerline, piece of drawing charcoal.
recommend#ro canvas. The canvas should be untreatedcotton duck-don't buy Get it in a 48-inch (rzo cm) anythingthat'salreadywaterproofed. width, which is wide enough to wrap around the boat exceptin the vicinity of the cockpit, where you need to patch in a piece. The length of the canvasshould equal the length of the boat, rounded up to the nearestfoot, yard, or the smallestunit that your supplierwill let you buy. There'sone thing to be awareof when you buy your cani its vas.When you stretchit to put it in the boat, you'll increase length by at least8 inches (zo cm). And rememberto buy ayard or two extraif you want to experimentwith sewingyour own storgear. agebagsand other canvas
Marking theCenterline
Fold the canvasin half lengthwiseand run a soft pencil, crayon, to mark the centerline. or piece of charcoalalong the crease
Fittingthe Canvas
over drapethe canvas With your boat inverted on the sawhorses, Trim with the keelson. the boat and align the centerof the canvas to length so there are about z inches (l "*) of overthe canvas
Figure10-2. Drapethecan'vas boatand staple oyerthe inverted Becarefulnot to it to the keelson. stapleinto lashings.
TheSkin lll
Figure10-3.Shaded partsneedto be trimmed. Leave some overlap for theseam.
hang on either end of the boat. When you stretch the canvas along the length of the boat,you will get at leastanother6 inches (r5 cm) of overhang, so don't worry about trimming it too tight. Beforeyou canstartsewing the bow,you needto trim iome ofthe excess canvas in thatarea.Figure ro-3shows whatneeds to be trimmed. Leaveabout/inch (r3 mm) of overlap. Trim only a little aheadof whereyou aregoingto sewsoyou don't overtrim.
Sewing the Bow

Figure10-4.Arrows indicate direction of sewing at thebow.
The sewingstarts at the bow,at the verytip. Sew around the horn and into the jaw,trimming as you go along.There will be an openingat least part of the way.Stitch all the way to the end of the jaw to pull the canvas from both sidesinto the middle. Work your way back out of the jaw and stitch up towardthe top of the bow plate. Stop when you get to the top of the bow plate. Figure ro-4shows the direction of the sewing. Figuresro-5and ro-6showsomecloseups of the sewingon the bow.
Stretching the Canvas

Now that you have attached the canvasat the bow, you are readyto stretchthe canvas
I 12 The Aleutian Kayak
You should do this on a dry day longitudinally. to hasa tendency or in a dry room.The canvas shrinkwhen the humidity is high. Ideally,you can have somebodyhang onto the boat while you stretch the canvas. The bestway is for your partner to get under the boat,facethe back, Bnd hang on to one of the deck beamswhile you pull from the back. If you don't have a helper,braceone leg a deck beam while you pull. The easagainst iest way I have found to stretch the canvasis to grab hold of a double layer and pull it with a pair of pliers, preferablysomethinglike with all Pull back on the canvas Vise-Grios. your might. You should be able to stretchit beyondits startingpoint by at least6 inches (r5 cm). The maximum stretchis probably9 inches(23cm). When it is stretched as far as you can get it, make a mark where the canvaslines up with the end of the tailfin. Releasethe canvasand sew the two halves together (2.5 cm) forwardof the mark for at least4 inches(ro cm). r inch Do the stretchingagain and hook the sewn corner of the canvas over the end of the tailfin. If you think you can stretch the
Figure10-5. Thebowseamstarts at thebottom andgoes up. The Iumpystuffat thebottomof the seam is ice.
Figure10-6.Viewof bow Badplanning stitching. and excess trimmingmadea patch necessdry at thetip of thebow plate.
The Skin I 13
Figure 10-7. While one person hangs on to the boat, the other personstretches the canvas Iongitudinally.
canvasmore, unhook it from the tailfin and resewit r inch or so (2.5cm) farther forward.
Lacing the Deck

In addition to being stretched longitudinally,the canvas needsto be stretchedaround the hull. You'll do this by sewingloops into the canvas, lacing somecord through the loops,anJtighienir,g the cord asif it werelaceson a pair of shoes. While the deck is still upside down, staplethe canvasto the keelsonin about a dozenplaces, making sureit is centered. The stapleswill keep the canvasin place rhil. yo,_, stretch it aroundthe hull. Turn the boat over and drapethe canvas over the deck. You'renow readyto mark the position of the lacing loops on the canvas. The lacing will go from both endsof the boat io within a handspanof the cockpit. At the bow end, start markins about r8 inches (46 cm) back from the bow. Spacethe marksi handspan apartand about three fingers'width in from the edge of the gu-nwales. At the tail end, start marking about a handspi'n forwardfrom the end of the sunwales.
Figure10-8. Foldthe skinoverthe deckof theboatand put marks neartheedge a handspan apart. Themarks indicate where you will put the lacing loops.
I 14 The Aleutian Kayak
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Sew a double loop at each dot with somestrongtwine. (6 mm) dowel.Tie Sizethe loops by tying them around a y'*-inch off the endswith a squareknot. Startat the bow and lace up the loopswith some%-inch line. Work your way toward the cockpit and tie off the ends in a knot that you can undo. Then startat the tail and work towardthe cockpit.Tie thoseendsoff too. You can Don't tighten the lacestoo much on the firstpass. The best if not careful. you're of the canvas pull the loopsright out wayto tighten the canvasis with two people.While one person and pulls them towardthe the flapsof overlappingcanvas grabs the slackout of the lacing.Pulling on the otherpersontakes center, than tryingto tightenthe canand safer is more effective the canvas vasjustby pulling on the lacing.After you havemadeyour firstpass at tightening,work back overthe whole length of the boat and see if you can get any more slackout of it. If you havedone a good lob, your canvas should havea tight drum feel to it.
Figure10-9. Tie lacingloops arounda dowel.
Laceup thedeckto Figure10-10. tightenthe skinaroundthe huII.
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:
the Canvas Trimming

canvas at both endsofthe boat and not You should have excess near the cockpit.The idea is to trim off the excess enough canvas some of it to filI in the gaps. near the end and Lrse
be Canvas should Figure10-11. (5 cm)of to 2 inches trimmed overlap.
z//1s cn)
The Skin l 15
Figure10-12. Deckstraps should bepositioned to allowstorage of commonly caniedobiects suchas paddle s and fishin g r ods.
Overlapthe canvas on the deck and trim it so you havez _ inches (5 "-) of overlap.This should leaveyou with four long, skinny,triangular piecesof canvas. Use hvo of them to fill in th! gapson either side of the cockpit. For now, all you will do is sew them to one ofthe edges ofthe canvas adjacentto the gap.
Planning theDeck Straps

As you sew up the deck,you drill holesthrough the skin and througtr the glnwales and pull the ends of ihe deck straps through theseholesand tie them off on the inside.you want to sew pastthe point where the deck strappasses over the seam beforeattachingit, otherwise you will haveto sewunder the deck strap, which is a nuisance. Be careful,though,that you don't sew so far aheadthat you can't reachinsidethe boat to tie offthe ends ofthe deck straos. Early picturesshow that Aleut huntersused the deck straps to hold their darts,throwing boards,and bolas.Deck straps were spacedaccordingto the length of the darts.I spacemy deck straps to hold spare paddles. Deck straps shouldbelooseenough so you can get a paddleunder them but not so loosethatrv"u-", coming over the deck will washthe paddle away.I like leather straps for my decksbecause they lie flat. If you userope,go with a'/qinch (6 mm) diameter. Don't overdo things in this department.An excessive amount of strapping on a seagoing boat is a wasteof time at best and_ dangerous at worst.For one thing, anything strapped to your deck will act asa sail in a crosswind and will tend to puil trretoat upwind or downwind if you don't havethe sameamount of sail fore and aft. If you happen to get into bad weatherand breaking waves, the waves will want to washthe gearoffyour deck.you will thenbecomepreoccupied with saving"your gea,and forgetabout paddling,possibly inviting capsize. If you haveto launch or land in surf, anything just tucked under deck straps and not tied down
Figure10-13. Deckstraps can be tiedoff on the insideof the (top)or fixedwith a gunwales wooden pegif added afterthedeck hasbeenclosed off.
I 16 TheAleutian Kayak
Deckstraps Figure10-14. fonuard of thecockpit with tighteners. Straps aretightened by slidingthe toggles toward thegunwales.
will most likely be washedaway. Anything lashedwill still tend to wash off and dangleat the end of its rope, waiting you ifyou to tangleyour paddleand endanger simple and your So keepthe strapping capsize. deckload to a minimum.
Figure10-15. An example of a gear boatwith toomuch on the Theproblem deck. was that the weather wastoowarmandI hadto to stow clothes that I wasexpecting wear.This caused owrflowof other items ontothedeck.
the Deck Seam Sewing

There'smore than one way to do the deck seam.Two methodsI've usedare a lap seam you simand a rolled seam.In the lap seam, ply overlapthe two flaps of skin by about an sew back and inch and, using two needles, This forth asif you werelacinga pair of shoes. The way to go. stitchis probablythe simplest ing pattern is shown in Figure ro-16. The other way to sewthe seamis more elaborate and time-consumingbut looks in neaterwhen done.This method is covered more detail below.
theFirst Seam Sewing

To closethe hull of the boat,you will need to of the skin togetheralongthe sewthe hvo edges
The Skin I 17
Figure 10-16.Diagram of a lap seam (top) and a folded seam (bottom). A cross sectionof both seamsis shown on the ight. The Iap seam is simpler to sewbut looksmore raggedbecause it leayesa cut edgeexposed.
@
- _ z = _ - d = < - 6 = ) _ 6 _
Figure10-17. Diagramof thefirst seam. Thestitching simply goes backandforth.
Opposite Page: Figure10-18. Sewing thefirst seam.
ridgeline of the boat.You'll needto sewone seam first, trim the excess skin to leaveabout a z-inch (l .-) flap, fold that flap over,and then sew it down on the deckwith a secondseam. Startingat the bow, match the two flaps of skin face to face and sew them as shown below. Work toward the cockpit and stop when you are a few inchespastthe cockpit rim. Start the stitchesfar enough from the seamso that as you tighten up the string,you pull the skin faps toward the middle, leaving about a %-inch (3 mm) gap between them. If the two flaps are touching, you probably aren't pulling all the slackout of the skin. When you sewthe seamon the backdeck,startat the botto-mof the tailpiece and work up and towardthe cockpit. The Aleuts sewedthe bottommostpart of the skin at the tall into a tube. They tied this tube offwhen the boat wasin useand untied it to drain water out of the boat when it was pulled up on the beach.The tube could also be used as a place to tie a rudder. SeeAppendix4 on sailsand ruddersfor details. I" experience,the tube is very slow in draining TI water out of the boat, but fast in leaking water into the boat il it isn't sealedand tied off properly.I dJn't recommendits use unlessyou want it for attaching a rudder.
I 18 TheAleutianKayak
Ihe Skin I 19
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Figure10-19. How to sewtheskin at the tail. Don't bother putting on a drain tubeunless youwantto attacha rudder.
Figure10-20. Thetubein thetail is tied to prel)ent leakage ofwater into the boat.
Sewing the Second Seam

Before you start the secondseam,trim the flaps of skin at the edge of the first seamso that one is about r inch (2.5cm) wider than the other. Fold the faps of skin overso the wider of the two lies over the narrower,then tuck the wider under the narrower. Using a curvedneedle,sewfirst through the deck, then throug! the_toplayer of the overlappedskin, then back through the deckand so on.
Sewing Around the Cockpit Coaming

To kgepthe sprayskirt attached to the cockpitcoaming, the skin needs to be pulledup at the bottomof the coamirs.To accom-
F/t (4.z_cml
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plish this, drill a setof holesin the coamingabout y''inch (r3 mm) from the bottom and z inches (5 cm) apart. Sew from the inside through the hole and the skin, then back through the skin and into the samehole you sewedout of. Next, fold the skin over the coaming and down into the insidethe cockpit soyou cockpit.If need be, cut slitsin the canvas You can anchor your flaps down. can fold it down. Sew the stitchesto the stitching alreadyon the inside of the coaming.
1. After you have Figure 10-2 sewedthe first seam,trim the canvasalong the seamso one side is wider than the other. Fold the Iongerside over and under as shown on the ight.
Rim a Coaming Attaching

Aleuts used to put a rim on the coaming before covering the sewedover the canvas coaming with skin but, in my experience,
Usethecuned Figure10-22. seam. to sew thesecond needle through sewing Altemate between theflap and throughthe skinof Don't attemptto sew thedeck. throughboththeflap and the time. at thesame deck
The Skin l2l
7
Figure10-23. Thetraditional Being Straitsewing pattem.The yiew inside is on theleft and the outside viewis on theieht
rim doesnot createenough of a lip. It lets the sprayskirt pull off in rough water. I've lately switchedto sewingon the rim after sewingthe skin around the coaming.I've not since had any trouble with the sprayskirt pulling off.
Painting theSkin
Whatever type of paint you use for the canvas, it needsto waterproof the canvasand fill the weaveto give you a smooth hull. If you don't useenoughpaint,the boat's"skin'will be rough,which
Figure10-24. Thispattem shows the skinpulledot'erthe top of the coaming and attached to stitching that goes throughthecoaming.
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I am partialto Figure10-25. in animal paintingtheskin to pdttems. ThisonewassuPPosed Iooklikeourcatbut tumedout As a morelikea zebra. looking are matterof fact,thecolors mussel, of thezebra those exactly invaded the whichhasrecently CreatLakes.
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will produce drag and make the boat slow.If you use too much paint, your boat will gain a lot of weightand the thicker paint by putting two coatson I usuallycompromise will crack sooner. the deck and three coatson the bottom of the hull. This way I can havea smooth finish on the bottom where it's neededand light weight on the top where a smooth finish isn't needed. I've usedThompson'sWater Sealasthe first coaton most that the of my boats.I paint it on straightout of the can. I suspect water sealhas a mildew retardantin it since the treatedcanvas does.The only asuntreatedcanvas doesnot developmildew spots daysto dry several it takes is that drawbackof the Water Seal before you can paint over it with oil paints,and severalweeks paints. beforeyou can paint over it with latex-based I have some friends who have usedthinned oil paint for the first coat, and they tell me that if soakedinto the canvasthis alsooreventsmildew. Aircraft dope shrinksand tightensthe skin when it dries. This is a nice feature,but aircraftdope is hard to come by and than oil paint. most likely more expensive rubberpaint and a latex-based I've usedboth oil-based ized roof paint. The roof paint worksprettywell but only comesin black and white. If you are interestedin other colors,go with the to be put on oil paint.The roof paint can be usedasis and needs in sufficient coatsto fill the weaveof the canvas.
The Skin 123
Oil paint needsto be put on in stages. If you haven't treatedthe canvas with a watersealproduct, mix white exterior oil-based primer, linseedoil, and turpentinein a z, z, r ratio for the first coat. If you have usedthe water seal,use the oil-based primer straightout of the can. When the oil paint hasdried to a puddingJikeconsistency, rub the palm of youi hand overthe hull to push the paint down into the weave.This will give you smooth paint a lot fasterthan if you just paint successive"coats. once the paint is dry, lightly sandthe hull and paint it again.euit when the hull is smooth. For a finish coat, I mix linseedoil with some artist's oil paint out of the tube to a fairly translucentconsistency and either paint it on if I want a designor rub it on with a rag if I want a single color coat. The advantage of this techniquJis that it gives you color without adding a lot of weight to the boat. If you Jon't like mixing your own color paint, get somecoloredhousepaint. Don't use high glossenamel paintssince thesedry very hard and crackeasily. If you haveput a drain tube on the tail of the boat,be sure to paint that, too, or it will be a place where waterseeps into your boat on l-ongtrips. Also be sure to paint the skin all the way to the topof the cockpit rim and at leasta little way into the insideof the cockpit.I usedto leaveoffthe paint here and found that water
Figure 10-26. Awooden rubstrip prevents the skinfromweaing throughat thetail endof the boat.
drips off the cockpit rim and rots the canvaswhen the boat is storedupsidedown outdoors.
Strip a Rub lnstalling

yearor every the skinon theirboats the Aleutsreplaced Because In rub strips. your to warrant two,the skin neverworeenough or more,andduringthis the skinwill lastfiveyears however, case, to warof the keelson end the tail at wear get enough you'll time are available for rub ships Two options rantsomekind of ru6 strip. byto you.The first is madefrom a stripof woodand is inspired two of layer.or is iustan extra The second kayaks. the Greenland tail area. in the the skin to glued canvas % To makea woodenrub strip,cut a strip of hardwood peg it to inch (r.9 cm) wide and 3 feet(9r cm) long.Drill and glue or waterproof Usesomeepoxy the tail end of the keelson. leakage minimize help to should This pegs. in the put whenyou piercethe skin. wherethe pegs r/ inches rub strip,cut a stripof canvas Tomakea canvas (3.8cm) wideand 3 feet(9r cm)long.Glue thisto the tail endof 6-inch(r5cm) paint.Glueanother latexroofing using thekeelson reinforcemenl long stripnearthe verytail for extra
The Skin 125
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You won't needyour yachtingcap and blazerwhen you go kayaking. The emphasis in kayakdress is on survival. comiort and looks are secondary, especially in cold water. If you are lucky enough to paddlewarm water,someof this chapterwill be irrelevant, but you'll still need a sprayskirtand you may want to make yourselfa paddle jacket. Yes,you can make a jacket.Once you'vesewnthe skin onto your boat, you'll have the necessary skill and confidenceto make mary of your own kayakclothing accessories. A sewing machine helpsa lot, of course.I bought a new one in 1989for $9! ,nq paid for itself in no time with the savings ot " ,prryskirt, " + paddle jacket,and several dry bags.
Figure1 1-1. Whenyou're paddlingin coldweather, you needto protect yourself with wdrm,wdterprcof clothin g.
(MartinHonelphoto)
Sprayskirt The
to keep water from getting into the cockYou'll need a sprayskirt pit. Most rpttyikittt you can buy are too big to fit your cockpit, tell you how to make your own. so I'11 are shown in Figuresrr-z and rr-3' for sprayskirts Patterns The bottom of the skirt must match the outside diameter of the even coamingrim. Allow maybe 3 inches(8 cm) for shrinkage; that Remember for cotton. more Allow nylon shrinksa little. 3 extrainchesin circumferenceequalsonly about r inch (2.5cm) in diameter,which comesout to about linch (r3 mm) extraon each on the diameterof the side.However,don't go too far oversize materialwill in the excess by cinching skirt.The wrinkles cauied rolls or doing are allow water to seepinto the cockpit when you other underwatermaneuvers. The grabSew a grab loop to the front of the sprayskirt. if coaming cockpit from the free loop lets yo,-tp,tll the sprayskirt loop The grab you should cipsize and need to do a wet exit. shouldbe big enoughso you can pull it evenif you are wearing nylon or from waterproofed You can make your sprayskirt gloves. a mixwith waterproof you which yon "r.r make it from cotton, ture of boiledlinseedoil and beeswax.
(Left) toPof the 11-2.The Figure to fit bemade should sprayskirt be should bottom The yourchest. SusPenders made tofitthe cockPit. to holdup thetopandcanbeused keep water fromPuddlinginyour lap.Thegrabloopin front lets You of thecockPit puII the skirt free to exit. youneed when An altemate (Right)Figure11-3. that is design sprayskirt two-piece cockpits. larger usefuI for
Paddling The facket

that parkas gut-skin usedto wearwaterproof, Aleutiankayakers They worethe raincoats. below-the-knee lookedlike hooded,
Dress l2l Kayak
into their to seal themselves parkasalong with the sprayskirts the botcan size you or approach similar a take You cin toats. jacket paddling Your fit the cockpit. to tom hem of your paddling jacket will then be a sprayskirt as well. The paddling jacket/sprayskirt combination is a Greenland invention. But jacketis more I think the dual-purpose purist, a rt" unlessyo,r convenient and more waterproof. If you paddle primarily in warm or hot weather,the paddling jacket will be too hot and you ought to stick with the the samefunction rpt"frkitt. A waterproofpaddling jacketserved for the modern serves drysuit the for the traditional paddler as recreationalpaddler. The pattern for the paddling jacket is shown in Figure rr-4.Minimum length is just abovethe knee.You needthe length if you're going to do rolls. If the jacketis too shortand you lean back, yourll pull the hem of the skirt right offthe coaming.Fit in the body shouldbe loosesoyou can weara winter iacketand your life vestunder the paddling lacket. Watch the dimensionsof the hood. The fit should be snug so you can make it waterproof,but leave engugh rgom-so you""rn wear a diving hood or somekind of hat under the hood in told weather.Don't make the hood too small or you'll end up supportingthe weight of the jacketon your head insteadof on your shoulders.This is especiallyimportant if you get a wave in your lap. Its weight will be pulling down on the paddling iacket. You can sealthe seamsfrom the outside with a product which is neoprenein solution.When it's dry it's called Aquaseal, very tough. It takesrz hours or so to cure but it's well worth the bother.Aquasealis sold in dive shops.
(OppositePage)Figurell-4.Thi traditionalpattemforapaddling iacketeconomizesonseamsto minimizewaterleakage.Aisthe distancefromthetopofyourhea yourshoulders.Bis tothetopof thedistance ftomthetopofyour shoulderstoiustaboveyourknee Cisthebottomofthearmhole. thetopof D isthedistance from ofthe tothebottom theshouliler PointsmarkedF,C,H, armhole. andlonthebackmatchcone' onthefront. spondingpoints
Yest Life
"personal fotaThe Coast Guard calls this item of kayakdressa one' of these-buy one make to try tion device,"or PFD. Don't in you're up when The fit is important. If it's too loose,it'll slide the front the waterand you'll havea hard time breathingbecause time hard have a You'll also mouth. your cover will vest of the ears' your be around will vest of the the sides hearing because If the vest is too tight, you'll have a hard time breathing becauseyou can't expand your chest. If you paddle in cold
Dress 129 Kayak
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weather,make sure the PFD will fit over your jacket or layersof cold weatherwear.
Dressing for theCold

The rule whenpaddlingis to dress for the temperature of the water,not the air. This meansthat if the air temperature is 8o"F(25'C) andthewater is 5o"F(ro"C) youneedto wear a wetsuit or several layers of clothes anda drysuit. Wearing properclothingwhenpaddling is essential to yoursurvival asa paddler. I saythisasa paddler who mostly goes paddling on LakeMichigan,which,for ro months of the y."r, i, toocoldfor swimming. The goodnews about water isthatno matter howcoldthe air,water will not getmuchcolderthanitsfreezing pointof 3z"F (o'C) for fresh water. If you paddle in water that cofd,you shoulddress soyou cansurvive longenough to swim ashore. I havefoundthat a drysuit with threelayeriof clothes will do the trick. For the first layer,I wearexpedition weightpolyester longjohns anda long-sleeve top.OverthatI wearpolyester pile sweatpants anda polyester pile sweater on top.Forthethird layer, I weara polyester pile vesta sizelargerthan the sweater. It's importantto keepyour clothes from bunchingup underyour armpits or theywill startchafing.
Figure1 1-5 . Forcoldweather and paddling, coldwater warmglows, boots, and a hoodareessential.
or boots.On my head, On my feet,I wear neoprenesocks I wear neoprene hands, my On hood. diving I wear a neoprene headgearand better have diving glou"t. Generally,dive shbPs for cold weather than do kayakshops. gloves " If you don't want to wear clothes made from synthetic fibers,you can go with wool. You may haveto go to-anArmy surplus storeto get someitems such aswool pants.I still recommend a drvsuit.however.
Dress l3l Kayak
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There'scertainlyno shortage of accessories that you could fit to your kayakif you wantedto, and could afford to. Some of them are sold more for commercialreasons than practicalreasons, though,solet'stakea critical look at someof the more usefulitems suchasseat cushions, dry bags, airbags, boathooks, and more.
*KW#
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Airbags
When I'm playingin surfwherethere is a good chanceof the boat filling with water,I always haveat leastone airbagin the boat;hvo are preferable. A kayakwithout airbags will float a little, but it will have so much waterin it that it will be hard to move.The kavakwill alsobe susceptible to damage should it ram into the bea"h *ith a full load of water.If you'repaddling with someoneelseand you should exit the boat and swampit, wilhout airbags the boatwili be
Figure 12-1.Flotation bagswill reducethe amount of water that gets into your boat ifyou have to exit. Having one bag in back and one in front is best.
132 The Ale.utian Kayak
a
I
I
sohear'yyou will find it nearly impossibleto empty unlessyou've had lots of practice.Airbagsare availableat kayakstores.
DryBags
If you are camping and carryinga load, your dry bagswill have to provide flotation for your boat. If your dry bagsaren't really bagsto makethem so. dry,line them with plasticgarbage will Commercial dry bags,exceptfor the very smallest, your own making better off not fit into an Aleut kayak.You are them. You can alsomake bagsout of canvasand waterproofing material such ascoatednylon' them out of waterproofed Canvasis an attractivematerialto use since there is usually someleft over afterskinninga boat. Canvasbagsare alsostiff, to shoveinto remote regionsof the which makesthem easier is bulkier than nylon, making nylon more kayak.However,canvas attractiveif spaceis at an absolutepremium. The besttime to fit the bagsis beforeyou put th'eskin on the boat. I sizethe bagsso one fits in back of the cockpit and hvo fit in front of the cockpit. I make the bagsa little longer than necso I can put grommetsin the edgeand cinch them up with essary so you needto line a rope.This sortof closureis not waterproof, bags.If you want the bag the insideof the bag with plasticgarbage to be waterproof,try a rolled seamclosureinsteadof grommets.
Dry bags canbe nigure 12-2. or treated made fromcanvas nylon.Fit themto yourboat you put the skinon. before
133 Accessories
The main problem with dry bags is that as you stuff them, they assume a circularcross sectionwhile the space inside your kayakis elliptical.If this is a problem,you may want to go to a two-bag, side-by-side packingschemeinsteadof the single largebag.
Seat Cushion
Commercial kayaks usuallyhavesomekind of seat.Do not put a seatin your kayak.Line the bottom of the cockpit areawiih an inexpensive foam campingmat doubledor tripled.An actualseat would raiseyour centerof gravitytoo much and make the boat unstable.
Bilge Pump
Figure 12-3. A pumpis handy for gettingwater out of thebottom of yourboatwhenyou're underway. But a pump like thisis not useful a completely for emptying swamped boat.
I've neverhad to usea pump to empty a kayakaftera capsize and I hopeI neverwill. Pumpingout a swamped baidarka, evenif it has flotation,could takehalf an hour.Apump takes two handsto operateso it'suseless in roughwaterunless you can stabilize your boat by riggingyour paddleasan outrigger.Ifyou travelin " giorrp,you can get a partnerto hold on to your boatwhile you pump. The other problem with a pump is that you need to open _ the sprayskirt to stick ihe end of the pump into the boat.you had betterpump fasterthan new watercomesinto the cockpit.I think a pump is mainly usefulfor gettingresidual waterout of the boat after a team effort has turned the swampedboat upside down to get mostof the waterout. As wiih all rescueequipment,you'd better give your pump a good trial beforecounting on it to get you out of a jam. Those inirepid Aleutsusedto carryhollow woodentubes, with which they suckedwater out of their boats.I suspectthat thesetubeswere usedasbilge pumps to clear seepage out of the bottom of the boat. I don't think they were practical instruments for emptyinga swampedboat.
Rescue and Towing Ropes

I own a rescuerope but haven'thad occasion to useit. peoplewho take inexperienced kayakers out on trips use them to tow slow
padyou could tow a disabled on the way back.I suppose paddlers maneuvers those is one of this However, had rope. a dler if you that you need to practice under calm conditions to have any chance of its working when you really need it. and The biggestdangerof strayrope is that you'll capsize to forcing you rolling, and from you get tangled in it, preventing exit the boat.
Knife Deck
Ifyou carry a rescuerope,you should alsocarrya deck knife so you can cut the rope if you get tangled in it. The other purposeof a knife is to cut a hole in the boat to let the water drain oul I once got blown into some rocksand didn't have enough energyto get off them. As soon as I stepped out of the boat, wavesfilled it with water. Since I was standing in water up to my hips, I couldn't manageto drain the boat. With all the water in it, it was too heavy for me to lift up on the rocks. Someoneon shore had seen me and called the fire department.When they came,I got them to haul the boat up the rocksfor me. If I'd had a knife, I could have cut a hole near the bow to let the water drain out and gottenthe boat up on the rocks by myself.Of course,now I stayawayfrom the rockswhen the surf is up. And I still don't carrya deck knife.
Boathook
or r52cm) stickwith somesortof hook on the ,\4- or 5-fooL(rzzcm end is handy for fishingdry bagsout of the boatwhen unloading and pushingthem backin when loading.When you areunderway, you can stowthe boathookon deck,under the decklines.
Compass
navigation. but I've alwaysdone line-of-sight I own a compass, destinasee your cannot when you in handy comes The compass There horizon. it is obscuredby fog or is beyondthe tion because You should refer to are a number of bookson kayaknavigation. one of them if you intend to paddlebeyondthe horizon.
135 Accessories
136 TheAleutian Kayak
Gear Emergency Assorted

milesfrom land, If you go on longertripswhereyou'llbe some smoke, gear suchasflares, emergency youmaywantto takesome bet,though, Yourbest VHF radio. marker dye,anda marine-band aresoroughthatyouneed whenconditions is to stay offthewater gear. to usethe distress a lot on gearyou takedepends The typeof emergency lanes, signear busy shipping paddle. If you operate you where if or a radiocanbring help in a hurry.But you nalingdevices the chances arethat no onewill be around areas, paddleremote to seeor hearyoursignals.
(Opposite A Page) Figure12-4. is useful boathook for fishingbags out of yourkayakand iamming thembackin.
Accessories 137
I
li
Boaf
Usinq"Iour
The proof of your boat is in the paddling.When your boat is finished,wait for a pleasantday and take ii to a nice, friendly body of water.Don't startoffin nastywater. Ifyou have neverpaddledbeforeand your boat feelsa little tippy, don't worry,this feeling will disappear asyou get used to th_e boat. This may take a few outings, but you will get better and feel more comfortable. With experience, you'll learnthat a tippy boatis inherently more seaworthy than an overlystableone. But there'sanotherreason for preferringa tippy boat to startwith. When you're a beginner, a boat that dumps you once or twice will give yo,r " prop., respectfor the water. Peoplewho get in trouble on the *at., are often beginnerswho, because they havevery stableboats,can get out on waterfor which their skillsare no match.As the weather changes for the worseor their strength wanes, they find themselves capsized and lookingat a long swim.Without properthermal insulation, this can mean hypothermiaand possibly diath.
Paddling Skills
Ifyou have never kayakedbefore, try to get some lessonsin rolling and other self-rescue techniquesbefore you venture out on your own. Classes are availableat sea-kayaking symposiums.
Most large cities near a body of water will have a kayakingclub willing to help you learn. There is plenty of or other kayakers on how to paddle. information in kayakingbooksand magazines to any of However,jusi in caseyou don't have readyaccess covera few of the basics. these,I'11
ontheWater Going
Don't step into a kayakunlessyou are preparedto get wet. It's to paddlea kayakwithout gettingwet, but don't certainly possible when you are first startingout. This means count on it, especially feel that if you don't havea drysuitor wetsuitand you wouldr-r't comfortableswimming back to shore,stayoff the water.
Kayak intoYour Getting

you can iuststep with largecockpits, On a lot of comrnercialkayaks Aleut kayakis a into your Getting sit down. and into the cockpit here areintended I offer little more complicated.The instructions you can this technique, beaches. Once you'vemastered for sandy for difficult situations. createyour own launching techniques The first stepin launching is to positionyour boat with its bow in the water and the cockpit at the edgeof the water.Next you straddlethe boat and sit down on the deck iust behind the cockpit.Positionyour paddlebehind you soyou are sittingon one blade with the restof the paddle extendedoutwardfrom the boat and stabilize at a right angle.The paddlewill act asan outrigger you while you get into the boat. Next, you need to swishyour feet back and forth in the waterto get the dirt off. Any dirt you bring into the boat will get both of them. This is betweenthe frame and the skin and abrade you will also for a skin boaterand something importantetiquette needto teachfriendswith plasticboatsif they want to try your boat. Once your feet are clean,lift them into the boatwhile Failure leaningtowardthe sideon which your paddleis extended. to lean correctly can leave you flopped over on your side. Straightenyour legs,and wiggle forwarduntil your rearclearsthe back of the cockpit.Now lower yourselfto the floor of the boat. All this time, both handsstayon your paddle.If you take your hands off the paddleyou may well find it sweptout of reach
Boat 139 UsingYour
Figure13-1. To get into your kayak, slide fomard with your legs straight.
by an incoming wave.You will then haveto get out ofthe boatand startall overagain. Beforeyou do anythingelse. bring the paddlearoundand restit on the coamingjust in front of you. This will minimizethe chance of incorr-ring surf washingyour paddle away from you. Now tighten the sprayskirt around the cockpitcoaming.When the sprayskirt is tight, grab the paddlein your preferredhand and get yourselfthe restof the way into the water as best you can. Technique varies depending on conditions. Launchingin surf is always more tricky because the edgeof the water-oues aro.,r,d.
Getting out ofYourKayak

Figurel3-2. Once vou are itt yottr kayak and the spral,skirtis sealed, you d.reready to push yourself into the water, or in this case,slide into the water off the ice.
To get out ofyour kayak,paddleasfar up the beachasyou can. You may haveto wait r,rntilsomeof the biggerwaveshavepushed you up good and high beforeyou try to exit. When you think you are aswell-positioned aspossible, undo the sprayskirt and pLace your paddlebehind you, outrigger style. With your handsbehind
140 TheAleutian Kayak
you and on your paddle,push yourselfup and wiggleout of the cockpit.This part is usuallyharderthan gettingin. If there is surf,you will often get hit by a waveiust asyou are about halfivayout of the boat.When you stepout of the boat, to the water.Incoming surf will slam the siepto the side closest boat into your legsif you get out on the wrong side.Drag or carry your boat and paddleout ofreach ofthe waves.
The WetExit
If you'venever paddledbefore,take a friend along on your first outing. Your friend will standby you while you do a wet exit. and paddle into Get into your boat, fastenthe sprayskirt, thigh-deepwater.When your friend has waded out and is standing next to you, capsizethe boat and get out of it. There are severalthings to keep in mind when you do this. First,you might want to wear noseplugswhen doing a wet exit. This will minimize the discomfort.Second,since the first thing you'll have to do when you are upsidedown is pull the loose from the cockpit coaming,you might want to sprayskirt practicethis on dry land with one hand and your eyesclosed Getting out of your kayakwhen it is upsidedown Don't be scared. than either gettinginto or out of it when it is right is a lot easier side up. When you are hanging in your kayakupsidedown, gravity is helping you and slidingout of your kayakis natural.When you do a wet exit, hang on to your paddle. Before you attempt your wet exit, tell your friend that if you slapthe hull of the boat with the flat of your hand threetimes, this meansyou would like him to grabyour arm and pull you up. the boat while holding the paddle When you are ready,capsize upside down, seizethe grabloop at the you are When your side. at and pull out and up. Then put a hand on front of the sprayskirt either side of the cockpit and push yourselffree. Stand up and the wet exit push your boat back to the beach.You havemastered you will not be trappedin it. and know that if your boat capsizes,
Bracing
An important part of paddlinga boat is bracing.Bracinggives your boat stability.When you haveyour paddle in the water,you
Boat I4l UsingYour
can increase the effective width of your boat from zr inches (53 cm) to 48 inches(rzzcm) just by leaningon your paddle.When yoq ar-e resting,put the flat of the paddleblade across the cockpit with the other end of the blade sticking out at a right angle. If you lean, lean to the side on which your paddleis exiended. This is one of the reasons both bladesof your paddle should be in the sameplane and not featheredas most commercialpaddlesare. When you paddle,you will alsoneed to brace.Bracins while paddlingis nothing more than leaningtowardthe sideoi which the paddle is extended. You will get the hang of this in no time. Be aware,however,that too -,r"h lean wiliput you over on your side.
Survival
Kayakingin cold wateris a potentiallydeadlyundertakingeven if you paddle in a group.Your bestline of defenseis not to be on the waterwhen conditions requireany kind of survivalskills.Of course,unlessyou are familiar with the weatherand waterconditions in the areawhereyou paddle,you may not recognize dangerousconditions and know enough to stay off the water. If you are new to an area,get as much information about the watei as you can. Talk to other paddlers, find out about currents,listen to weatherreports,and so on. Know your own limits. Practicepaddlingin wind and wavesunder controlled conditionswhere you can pull into shore when conditionsbecome too much for you. A long weekendouting or a vacationtrip is not the time to iestyour liirits. Your second-best line of defenseis a drysuit with several layersof pile clothesunderneath.A good drysuit with sufficient layerswill allow you to stay in the water for at leasthalf an hour without ill effects. If you paddle near shore,a drysuit will allow you to swim your boat back to shore if you can;t get back in it. I have done tl'rison more than one occasionand can attestto its efficacy. Group rescues requirethat you spendsometime in the water while someonedragsyour boat across their boat to get the waterout of it. By the time this is done and you get back in the boat,you may not be capableof paddling any longer if you aren't wearinga drysuit.You are then endangering your partners.
,42 The Aleutian Kayak
Your bestbet for continuing to enioy the sport is to exercisegood iudgment. Where most people seemto get themselves of open water.The water may be perin trouble is long crossings fectly fine when they startbut become nastybeforethey reach their destination. died in large numberswhile Even the original kayakers they had to be out on the kayaking.I believethey did so because waterin pursuit of game.Sooneror later they would get caughtin bad weatherthat they could not survive.I don't think that kayakYou kayakers. for modern recreational ing hasto be asdangerous long You can alsoavoid can stayoff the water when it getsnasty. you until you've gotten a weatherforecastthat assures crossings of benign conditions.
Methods Rescue
Rescuemethodsare designedto get you into a safeposition after your boat has turned upsidedown. Don't ever rely on any rescue method that you haven'tpracticedunder the conditionsin which you'll actually need it. Don't count on somethingthat worked in a calm swimming pool to work in cold waterwith breakingwaves wind. and a 3o-m.p.h. If you expectto paddle cold water and rough weather, in cold water and rough weather.If you are practiceyour rescues practicethem with your friends in rescues, group counting on cold water and rough weather.If your friendsdon't want to practice under theseconditions,don't go paddling with them in cold water and rough weather.
Rescue Self
If you paddlealone,il The bestmethod of rescueis self rescue. rescueis the roll. It of self method The best is the only method. In little energy. it is fastand expends is a good method because really rough water, any other kind of self rescueis ineffective. Once you get out of your boat, gettingback in and bailing the water out usesup a tremendousamount of energy. If the weatheris so rough that it knockedyou over once, it will probably knock you over again,especiallyafter you used up all your energygettingback in the boat and pumping it out.
Boat 143 UsingYour
Figure13-3. lf youarewearing therightgear. doingrolls even in coldwater is nota problem.
Rolling
The easiest way to learn rolling is to have someoneelse show you how. Once you have learnedone roll, you can practicethat roll until you are very good at it. You will then find other rolls easierto learn becauseif you do blow a new roll, you can get up with vour old roll. Somepeoplesimplycan'tlearnhow to roll. If you areone of these, concentrate on otherself-rescue techniques and grouprescues. You can find out aboutthesemethodsin kayakhow-tobooks.
Figure13-4.You cangeta considerable amountof gearinto a kayak.
you can't Figure 13-5.Whatetter get into the kayakendsup on the Anythingon the deckis deck. Iikely to be washedoff unlessit is gear that tied down. In this case, shouldhavebeenin the boat by endedup on deck,displaced clothestoo warm to wear.
Rescue Group
because lessreliablethan selfrescue Group resclleis intrinsically reliable be as will only at leasttwo people.The rescue it requires are a as the leastreliablepersonin the grouP.Group rescues they are the only way to get inexfavoriteof tour guidesbecause peopleback into a boat. perienced
Cruising
Your Aleut kayakis a very good cruisingboat. If you pack carefully, you can get a week'swortl'rof food into it. If you pack dried food, you can probablyget two weeks'worthof food in' If you gear,you can probablyget three pack low-bulk, backpacking-type weeks'worthof food in.
Boat 145 UsingYour
g Bepilirs
APPilNilIX
Got a problem? This appendixprobably describes some waysto deal with it. The problemstouchedon here are onesyou might encounter in building aswell as onesyou might run into after the boat is finished. First let me repeatthe obviousway of avoidingproblems: Treat your boat well and it will treat you well. If you don't maintain your boat properly,it will remind you of your neglect.If you do your maintenancefaithfully, your boat will respondin kind.
Figure1. If yourstingersbreak, youcansblint and lashthem.
ilnr| Fixuns
Figure2 (opposite page). lf partsareinaccessible, broken you mayneedto slit thedeck seam to getat them.
,45
TheAleutianKayak
Fixups andRepairs 147
Broken Ribs andStringers

If you breaka rib or stringeron a finishedboat and the breakis accessible, carvea splint to bridge the break and lash it to the broken part. If you break a rib or stringerin a place where you can't peel back the skin, get at it, slit the deck seam to get access. unlash_the_affected part, replaceit or splint it, and ,eplaceand resewthe skin.
Paint Maintenance
If the canvas has been exposed, simply spot-paint it. Resistthe temptation to give your boat a whole new coat of paint everyso often. Not only will this add pounds to the weighiof your btat, it will alsoaccelerate the tendencyof the painito crack.If you have used oil paint on the skin and the paint has developed some hairline cracks,apply a thin coat of boiled linseedoil with a rag. Repeatif necessary. The linseed oil will fill the cracksin the skin.
Skin Repair
You can apply a patch to a small hole in the skin. Cut a canvas patch and glue it on with whateverworksfor you. I havefound latexroofi-ng paint to be very effective. After the patch dries,paint it to match the surroundingarea. If the skin tears,you need to mend it. Use a curved nee_ dle and cotton twine and sewin the patternshown in Figure If 3. there'sa gap,weavesome twine back and forth betr.ie"r,ih. stitchesto fill in the gap.When you're done, fill the gapswith paint or with latex roofing paint. Don't worry about looks.The repair will give your boat more character.
Figure 3. Close tears in the skin by (left),thenweaye sewing thethread alongthetear(ight) , tofurther strengthen therepair.Finishup by paintingthe repair to make it watertight. If thetearisbig,you maywanttogluea patchover it afteryouhave done thesewing.
Parts Sized Wrongly

a gapbetweenit and the deck If a deck beam is too low and therels block or shim. Lashings wooden a small gap with stringer,fill the will keep the shim in place.The samegoesfor gapsbetweenribs Shim if you don't feel like redoinga rib' and stringers. If a deck beam is too high and you're afraid of weakening it by removing too much wood, cut a notch in the deck for the extraelevation. stringerto compensate cheap,thereisn't With wood beingplentiful and relatively up part. I think it's more a mata messed much virtue in salvaging ter of losing momentum when you stopto redo a part' A quick fix will keep you moving towardyour goal and minimize the likeliyou aren'tmaking any Progress. hood that you'll give up because
in the Wood Holes

If you drilled a hole in the wrong place,where it'svisible,and you don't like its looks, selector carvea matching dowel, put a little glue on it, and plug the hole. Trim the endsflush with the piece.
Doesn't FitYou Boat to Doif Your What

Ifyou check your boat againstthe size ofyour body beforeyou commit to building it a certain size,you shouldn't haveany trou.ble fitting it. However,you can unintentionally make a boat too tight. I have done this more than once. do You can always If that happensto you, don't despair. of a boat to make it fit better and reassembly some disassembly of a friend of mine who built a Compare this to the experience kayak using glued wood construction.When he was done, he found the boat too tight for his feet and sold it for little more than kayaks are more forgivingand Skin-on-frame the costof materials. you can alwaysdo some rearrangingof partsto make a boat with marginal fit into a boat with good fit. On one baidarkaI made, the spacebetweenthe knee into brace and the ribs wastoo small for my legs.I could squeeze the spaceif I was wearing shorts,but fitting with long pantswas out of the question.I solvedthe problem by carvingllinch out of the undersideof the deck beam. The first boat I everbuilt wasa Greenlandkayak.After
andRepairs 149 Fixups
paddling it for over ayear,l finally concludedthat the cockpit was too fbr forward for my size.The bow was riding too low and the tail wasstickingup too high. Every time the *i"nd bl.*, the boat would want to turn into the wind. The boat wasalsoa little tisht to get into because the knee bracewastoo low. In the meantime, I had built somebaidarkas and could pull the Greenlandkayakinto drydockwithout losinganypaddling time. I cut all the lashings that held the cockpit coamingto the skin.I openedthe deckseamso I could get at the junction of the deck beam and the gunwales on eithersideof the cockpit.I sawed offthe backbraceand put a new one in place3 inchesbehindthe old one. I left the old kneebracein placeand just addedanother one, 3 inchesbehind it. I madethe new kneebracetaller aswell, so getting in and out of the boat would be easier. Then I sewedup the deckseam.I had to trim the skin at the backand patch in more skin in front of the cockpit. Then I replacedthe coaming and repaintedthe seamand the new canvas. Among other things, the boat had too much rocker, which I hadn't fixed.But now the tail sata little lower and the bow rosemuch betterinto oncomingwaves. So it is possible to open up a skin boat and rearrange its parts.
$teillnboxo$ ilnilHihs
AI'PUNilIX
If you should happen to live where there are no willows or other plants with slendertwigs,you can cut and shapeyour ribs out of any lumber that is suitablefor steambending.I haveusedoak and ash.Both bend well. If you can't get either of these,experiment with the wood you can get. by foelle Accordingto Bill Tcheripanoff,asinterviewed the ribs He soaked Robert-Lamblin,his faiher usedyellow cedar. and then cold-bentthem, usinghis teethto crimp the ribs in the but it isveryhard on teeth. tight bends.I havetried this and it works, sinceyou can easily this technique In general,I don't recommend do more damageto your teeth than your whole boat is worth.
Box a Steam Making

A steam box can be any kind of container that will let steam fow over the ribs. You can make the box out of y'-inch(r3 mm) or %-inch (ro mm) plywood. You can also make it out of foam insulation board that has a reflective backing. The box should be about 36 inches (9r cm) long with some wires or small dowels going through it for the ribs to rest on while steaming.One end of [h" bo" should be open and the other end should be the open end capped.When the ribs are in the box steaming, needsto be coveredwith a rag to keep the heat in.
and Ribs 15l Steamboxes
The sourceof the steamcan be an ordinary cooking pot with about a gallon (4 liter) capacity.The source of heat can be a cook stoveif you have one in your shop or a camping stoveif you don't. Keep a window open when using a camping stove, to ventilatethe fumes.You can alsouse an electrichot plate if you can find one that throwsoffenoush heat to keep a good flow ofsteam going. The steampot needsa lid with a hole in it. You can either set the steambox right over a hole and havea matching hole in ihe steambox, or connectthe hole in the lid to the hole in the steambox with a hoseor a pipe.
Figure1. Thissteam boxmaylook crude but it'sactuallyvery effective. Thecamping stove supplies the heatto generate the steam. Thebrickon top of the steam boxensures a tight seal. A piece of plywood with a holein it is used asa lid on thewater pot. Theholein the lid matches up with a holein thebottomof the steam box.
Cutting theRib Stock

As I said,I've usedboth ash and oak for ribs. If you can get the rib stock from a sawmill before it has been dried, it wili bend much more easilythan seasoned wood. In either case,cut the wood into stripsabout z8 inches(7r cm) long and %inch x / inch (ro mm x ro mm) in cross section.Round the edges with a spokeshaveto give the ribs a circular crosssection.Soik them in water for three or four days. You will need about 4o ribs if you space them 4 inches (ro cm) apart.Allow ro extra for breakagea.rd wrong bendingif you'restartingwith greenwood, and a few more if you're startingwith dried wood.
Figure 2.Youcanmake an adiustable ib-bendingformout of twopieces of plywood.
RibForms
You will needto fix a battenthat marksthe heightof thekeelson-justasyouwouldif you wereusinggreentwigs.(SeeChapter8 for instructions on riggingthat up.) If you want to get more elaborate, you can make an adjustable plywood bending formandbend your ribsoverit. This form is mostusefulfor the ribsnearthe center of the boat. You may needto bendribsat the endsof the boatfreehandor makeadditional bending forms.
theRibs Bending
twigs, green thanbending ribsis a little harder Steam-bending they cool before youcanworkthemonlyfor abouta minute since and bendthe ribs takea chance You can,of course, and siiffen. you getthe shape before few lose a to can afford if you freehand needgloves you'll fingers, asbestos you have you want.Unless box.When the steam the ribsfrom the steam whenyou remove the ribsfor 5 to ro minutes you shouldsteam is goingstrong, them. bending before to helpyouwith therib benda partner Ifyou canpersuade benta rib, you'll Afteryou've ing, the pio""tt *ill go a lot easier. marks whereit n.id to hold it insidethe boatwhile yourpartner rib I inch (r3 trim the need to then You will the gunwales. meets them slide little, and a ends ihe mark,whittledownthe mm) past need to fit youdon't out already, AsI'vepointed into the mortises. theribstightlyin the mortises. to seem boats always fu a matterof fact,ribson traditional the as to work room some to givethem havebeenfittedloosely If a rib is in use.If the rib is too tall, trim the ends. boatbends partof the boat. too short,startoveror try to useit on a narrower ribscrackor your third of a than more that find If you Y9u may ponder' and stop splinterwhenyou arebendingthem, Turn up theheatunderyour flowof steam. not havean adequate this shouldbe no or campstove, waterpot. If you usea gasstove maynotput out plates simply hot electric problem.Somesmall try enoughheatto do the iob. If this is the case, to find a heat with a higherwattage. source
andRibs 153 Steamboxes
tlofiisedDe Bealn$
APPilN$IX
Mortised deck beamsare shapedlike peggeddeck beams,but need to be cut longer so they can have tenons on either end. Those tenonsmust be long enough to go through the gunwales. Although mortised deck beams require more worklhan the p_:gq"dkind, they have a greatadvantage: They're self-aligning. With peggeddeck beams,you need to keep a constanteye on the deck to make sure it doesn'tget warped.
Figure1. With thegunwales spread, marktheposition of the deck beams on thegunwales (left) Onceyou havemarked the positions of all thedeckbeams, youcandrill the mortises (right) and square themup with a chisel.
Marking theMortises
After you'vemarkedthe deck beam positionsand spread the gunwales,lay a straightedge across both gunwales and drawlinei on
s/d'1t.m)
on thedeck Figure2. Cut tenons to matchthe mortises. beams (A) mustbeat least as Tenons arethick. longasthegunwales after Youcan tim excess assembly.
either end of where the deck beam will intersectthe gunwales' and not perpendicular. This line will be at an angleto the gunwales This is the angleat which you must cut the mortise.Mortisesare# inch (ro mm) tall and r/ inches(3.8cm) wide and # inch (16mm) from the top edgeof the gunwale.
theMortises Cutting
Drill holesthrough the gunwalesat either end of the mortiseand removethe wood in betweenwith a chisel.Rememberto drill the holes at an angle to the face but parallel to the top edge of the gunwales.
theTenons Cutting
to go through Tenonsshould be cut a little longer than necessary the tenons Mark assembly. after trimmed then the gunwalesand back saw. fine-tooth a as shown in Figure z. Cut the tenonswith Clean them up with a chisel.Testtheir fit in the mortises.
i
I I I
Beams 155 Deck Mortised
PPNNI|IX
Sails ilnd & Builderu

we know for a fact that the Aleuts usedboth sailsand rudderson their kayaks because thereare examples of both in museumcollections.Strangely, though, I don't tnow of any photographs or drawings that showeithersailsor ruddersin use.Sothev iust haue usedthem veryinfrequently-perhapsonly to run befoiethe wind. They certainlydidn't carryleeboards ot "ny other equipmentto maketackingor reachingpractical. I once made a rudder and sail for one of my baidarkas but found them to be more of a nuisance than they'reworth. Howeverif you experiment, you might be able to come up with a combination that will giveyousome relief from paddling on long trips. For more backgroundon this iopic, readGeorgeDyson's ' Baidarka.You'll alsofind someinnovativesail plansth"ere.
TheRudder
The rudderkeeps the boat on course when you are running before thewind.See Figurer for construction deiails. The bottori of the rudderis tied to the draintube.The top of the rudderhas a hollowknuckle, which fitsthe endof the taiipiece. It is held in placeby a line thatrunsaround the cockpit coaming. If youknot the line in the exact center, you canjudgeyour,,_,"dd.i trim by whether the knot is rightor left of the coclpit center.
is tied to the Figure1. Therudder and held drain tubeat thebottom in placeon top by linesleadingto thecockpit.
Figure2. SamplesailPIanfor a baidarka.
sd (azr*;m)
andRudders 157 Sails /
f
The Sail
The sailplan shownin Figurez is based on a drawing by David zimmerly. To be frank,I found that this amountof sailwasineffgcjivgexcept in fairlyhigh winds.perhaps this sailareawasjust right for the strong wind conditions typicallyencountered by Aleuts. If you don'tlive in theAleutians, you mightwantto con_ siderincreasing the ",t._" by 5opercent. The mast"is just mounted forward of the second deckbeam. To usea sair, youmustbe sure to install sewon the skin.The maststepis 1-1t stepbeforeyou justa blockof woodwith a holein it, lashed across trvoribsadjacentto the keelson, to accommodate the bottomof the mast. Youwill alsohaveto makea hole in the skinof the deck for the mastto slidethrough. To keepwaterout of the hole,sew a tube of skinto the hole.This tubewill rookrike a little "i,i*neycomingout of the deck.when you don't havea mastin the tube,roll up the tubeandtie it off.
Kavilk illfioffilonsilnil 0heckllsts

and a dimensions a summaryof the boat's contains This appendix and boat the of to give you a quick overview l-r,r-b.i of checklists the building process.
APP$NI}IX
BoatDimensions
Figure r is a drawingof a completedboat.A.summaryof somekey diirensions "pp."i, below. Remember that you may have to adjust ro-" oith"se dimensionsto make the boat fit you or to needsand desires.. suit your personal Total length Gunwale length Width at front of cockpit (beam) Width at tail end of gunwales Width at bow end of gunwales Insidelength of cockPitcoaming (5o8cm) 16'8" r4'ro"(45zcm) zr" (53cm) 9" (z3cm) 7" (r8cm) 24" (6rcm)
159 andChecklists Dimensions Kayak
Inside width of cockpit coaming Depthto sheer at cockpit
r8" (46cm) 81" (zzcrn)
Depthto sheer at bowendof gunwales 61" Q6.5cm) Depthto sheer at tail endof gunwales 7t/0"(zocm) Totalweieht
Figure1.AleutKayakFrame
35lbs(r6kg)
A
. 9
L]J
TheParts of the Boat

The following is a list of all the partsthat make up your kayak. z gunwales 4o ribs 8 hull stringers 7 deck beams z bow cross blocks z tail crossblocks r bow piece r tail piece (continued)
3 keelsections z deckstringers r cockpitcoaming stanchions z coaming afterskinis on) to coaming lip (attached r coaming lashingshing assorted 5 deckstraps ro deckstraptoggles ofcanvas) r skin(6 yards oil paint' oil boiledlinseed varnish
List Tool Minimum

needto minimum of toolsthat-you The followingis the absolute manual. in this to the instructions build the boat according to this list and Traditionalbuilders*o,tld haveaddedan adze taPe. the measuring deleted cut saw cross carvingknife drill andbit hammer stick taPeor Yard measuring
List Tool Advanced

The followingareadditionaltoolsthat will makethe iob go a litThJ arenice to havebut not essential' tle faster. adze saw Power
andChecklistsl5l Dimensions Kayak
hand plane spokeshave
Shop Requirements
A shopissimplyaspace thatisbig enough for youto workon your boat.If the weather is nice,thiscan"u.r, b" outside. space zo'x 8' (6.7m x 3m) z saw horses light
Building Checklist
The followingis list of sieps in the buildingof a kayak.This list is meantto help you trackyour progress. If you duiifully record yourprogress on thisbuildingchecklist, then restarting aftera breakshouldbe assimpleastakingup with the nexiunJhecked item on the checklist. If youwouldlike to seewhere yourtime went,thenyoucanalso record thenumber of hours spent on each partof the buildingprocess. Buylumberfor a paddle Makea paddle If you wereableto makea paddle, you're ableto build a boat.So proceed. Buy lumberfor yourboat Ordercanvas Setup yourshop Setup andlevel yoursawhorses Cut gunwales Plane gunwales Checkgunwales for symmetry Mark gunwales for deckbeampositions
r
i
for rib mortises Mark gunwales Drill rib mortises spreaders with temporary gunwales Spread on eithersideof the cockpit Carvedeckbeams on eithersideof the cockpii Installdeckbeams deckbeams of remaining elevation Measure deckbeams Carveand installremaining blocks Carveand installbowcross blocks Carveand installtail cross to gunwales Drill andlashdeckbeams Stainyourdeck keelstringer Turn yourdeckoverand installa temporary Cut or collectyourrib stock Installribs Carvethe upperbowpiece andupperbowpiece Installkeelsections to the ribs Lashkeelsections Cut hull stringers hull stringers Shape to the ribs Lashhull stringers Carvetail piece Carvedeckstringers blank Cut cockpitcoaming Bendcockpitcoaming and tail pieceto each cockpitcoaming, Fit deckstringers, other to the deckandthe cockpitcoaming Lashdeckstringers
andChecklists153 Dimensions Kayak
Lashcockpitcoaming to the gunwales by wayof the cockpit stanchions Installtail pieceand lashit to the keelson and backdeck stringer Lashbowdeckstringer to the bowpiece Stain all unstained pieces Oil or varnish the entirehull Carve toggles for the deckstraps Stretch the skinon the hull Tiim excess canvas Sewin darts in frontandbackof the cockpit Sewthefirstseam on theskinandinstalldeckstraps asyougo Trirn alongthe seam Sewthe second seam Sewaroundthe cockpitcoaming Cut stripof woodfor cockpitlip Sewcockpitlip aroundthe coaming Put firstcoatofpaint on ihe skin Sandthe skin Put second coatof painton the skin Sandthe skin Put final coatof painton the bottomof the hull Sandbottomof the hull I-aunchyourboat Be careful Startthinkingaboutyournextboat
filo$$ilry
As you build boatsand read boatbuilding literature and talk to you begin to accumulatenew wordsin your other boatbuilders, and provided I havecollectedthesewordsin a glossary vocabulary. foreign. terms find some might who for those somedefinitions "boat" This is what in Russian. Baidara-Probably means called the Aleuts' large boats,which are the Russians in the Arctic. called umiakselsewhere Baidarka-The Russianword for kayak.The diminutive of baidara. Chine-Edges in the boai'shull that run fore and aft. In a kayak,a chine is formed by the skin going over one of the hull stringers.Since there are many stringersin a chinesare soft;that is, there is no abruptchange baidarka, boats over them. In contrast, in angle as the skin passes The hard-chined. be said to kayaks are Greenland such is hull refer to the to used term chine is sometimesalso themselves. stringers Frame-Another word for rib. In traditional wooden hull boatbuilding,the planking of the hull is nailed through the frames. the shape Gunwales-These are the two boardsthat establish of the deck when viewed from above.The gunwalesare the main strengthmembersin a kayakand are primarily for stiffeningthe boat. responsible Hog-When a boat crestsa wave and the ends of the boat sag into the troughs on either side of the crest,this is
Glossary165
calledhogging. When a boat is built so the keel is hisher at the centerthan at the ends,it is saidto be hoelottomed.Baidarkas are not built hog bottomedbut they will hog when cresting a wave,especially when loaded. -A keel that runs insidethe hull of the boatand does Keelson not projectdown below it. In the caseof a kavak.the keelson is insidethe skin. Mortise-A hole in a pieceof wood into which a tenon is fitted. Resaw-To resaw a boardis to cut it in half with the bladeparallel to the faces. If you resaw at/+inchx3 inch board,you get two %inch x 3 inch boards. Rip-To rip a board is to cut it down the long dimension, along the grain, ratherthan across it. Rocker-The amount of curvaturein the keel line, also appliedto curvaturein the chines.Rockerallowsa boatto move behveenthe troughsand crestsof heavyseas without undue pitching and plunging,first into the face of a waveand then down into the trough. However,too much rockerin the chinesmakes for a sl-orer boaton flat water. Sheer-This is upward curvaturein the gunwales from the middle towardthe ends.If the gunwrl., "r. lower in the middle than at the ends,the ioat is said to have some sheer. This is the normal condition in boats.If the sunwalesarelevel from end to end, the boat is saidto hav"e .,o sheer. If the gunwales are higher in the middle than at the ends,the boat is saidto havereverse sheer.Do not confuse sheerwith rocker,which is the amount of curvature in ihe keel line. Stringer-A slender pieceof wood running the leneth of the boatalongthe hull or deck. Stringers in a kayal support ihe skin and alsogive the boat longitudinal stiffness. Tenon-An extension to a piece of wood that fits into a mortise.A tenon is usuallynarrower or thinner than the piece of wood it sticksout of. Umiak-An open skin-on-frame boat. The Aleut versionwas calleda baidara.
Heferonle$
thatmaybe information containing books a list of some Here's kayak' Aleut your build you when to you helpful Thebark 1983' Adney,EdwinT., and HowardI. Chapelle' Washington, America. North and skincraft of cctnoes Press. Institution D.C.: Smithsonian and Adney put togetherthe materialon canoes, chapters several and added book the organized Chapelle on the an appendix on ,kin boati.fohn Heathprovided of baidarkas' EskimoRoll.The bookhastwo drawings edition original the time, long For a This is a newedition. about information any wasthe only bookthat contained craft. traditional studto kayak Y., Editor.r9gt.Contributions Arima,Eugene Paper Series Mercury Service Ethnology ies.Canadian Museumof Civilization' Canadian rzz.Hull, Quebec: of all kinds, not iust This book is about kayaks papersare about eleven of the five but baidarkas, baidarkas. Essex, Colchester, book. Brand, fohn. r98r.Thelittle kayak Self-published. England. in the hull linesof a baidarka This bookreproduces number of a drawings has the BritishMuseum.It also this bookwith two of otherkayaks. JohnBrandfollowed which focusmoreheavilyon more Little KayakBooks, himself'His the books publishes kayaks. Greenland fohn shouldyou wishto orderfrom him, is:Bramble address,
157 References
Tye, Stanway Green, Colchester, Essex, CO3 5M, GreatBritain. Dyson,George.ry86. Baidarfta. Edmonds, Alaska
NorthwestPublishingCompany. This is the book that first introducedme to baidarkas. It_contains lots of photographs and drawingsof genuine Aleut kayaks. It alsocontainsquite a bit of historyof th"r" craft and has color picturesof the placeswhere Aleuts paddledthesecraft.Finally, it has picturesof George Dyson building all kinds of baidarkas of differentsizes and shapes, continuing, as he puts it, the evolution of the craft.
Gardner, The dorybooft. Mystic, fohn. 1987. Seaport Museum.
Mystic
This book has no information about baidarkas but it doeshave a good treatmentof scarfingshort planks to make long ones. The dory, incidentally, became the Aleut workboatof choice after the decline of seaotter hunting and the baidarka. Robert-Lamblin, foelle. r98o. "Le kayakAleoute vu par son constructeur et utilisateur et la chasse i la loutrede mer." ObietsetMondes zo (r): 5 - zo. Paris,France. This is a fairly thorough overviewof Aleut baidarkas and hunting methods. If you don't readFrench,or can't get hold of this article, don't fret; most of the information is availablein Dyson'sBaidarka.The major piece of new information in this article is baidarkadimensionsin termsof the builder'sbody dimensions. "The Short, Derrel, and JerryMartini, photographer. Kodiak kayak."WoodenBoatmagazine#58. Kodiak kayaks are sufficientlysimilar to baidarkas for you to get somegood constructionhints out of this article. Zimmerly, David W. 1986.Q,\YAQ: Kayaksof Siberia and Alaska.funeau,AK: Divisionof StateMuseums,1986. This book hastwo drawings of one-holebaidarkas, one drawingof a double,and one drawingof a three-holer. It alsohasa number of photographs of peoplein baidarkas.
-----'-"-_....---
"Building the one-holeAleut Zimmerly, David W. 1983. bidarka." Small Boat loumal, February/Marchand r983. April/X4ay in two parts. article appeared This construction the buildingof to GeorgeDyson,it inspired According if you Well worth consulting, dozenbaidarkas. several the article. find a copy of can
169 References
Index
A Airbags, Li.z-33 Aleuts, ix-x,l, z, 5o,96, n5, n7-28,34,ry6 Arima,Eugene, x B Backrest, ro-u fitting,67 Baidara,4t65, Baidarka, z, 168 Baidarka Historical Society, 4o Baidarka, history of, viii, x, r,
2, IL-13
Boathook, ry5,ry6 Books,67-69 Borges, forgeLuis,ix Bow,ro-rr Bowcrosspieces, ro-1r,62,t6t cuttingbowblock,6Z-6+ shaping bowblock,6z-63 Bowpiece, making,77 Bowplate, 7j,76 Bowslit,ro-rr Bracing, r4r-+ Brand, 168 John, BritishMuseum, rz Buildingchecklist, 6z-64 C Canvas, J,6,zt,togrc. See a/soSkin fitting, rrr-rz lacingdeck,n4-r5 paintfor, rz7-24 repairof, r48 selecting, rro-rr
Baranov, Alexander,viii Bark,removing,84-86 Bark Canoes and SkinCraft of North America, 167 Beeswax, Tz-77 Bergsland, Knut, rr Bezezekoff,Steve,x Bilge pump, r34 170 The Aleutian Kayak
bow,rrz sewing Lr7-zr seams, sewing of, 39 sources nz-14 stretching, trimming,u5-16 Chine,165 Chinestringers, 35 n6-7t Clothing,for kayaking, ri.o-1.L in coldweather, cockpit,Lo-rr,12, Coaming, r6r bending,rc4-oj cutting,ro4 ro5-o6 installing, formfor,ro3 making Coamingrim, tzr-zz rr stanchion, Coaming carving,rc6--o7 numberof, 16r L27, Cockpit,r8-r9,22-25, r39-+L r35 Compass, 16z checklist, Construction techniques Construction alignment,4T cutting,4z dowling, 44,4, drilling,+-44 gluing,44-4j,47 lashing,45 marking,4r-42 joints,45-47 scarf to Kayak Contributions Lr,r3, t67 Studies, r45 Cruising,
D Deck,assembling,6r building,5z-74 fitof,74 checking gunwales, 5z-56 lashing,Tz-73 oiling,73-74 painting, Tz r9 ridged, tt7 seam, sewing to--rl,j4, 44 Deckbeams, of, elevation determining 68-69 joiningto gunwales ,64-67 holesin, 7r-72 lashing positions, marking 58 mortised,154-55 numberof, 16r 6S-61 sizing, Deckknife,r35 16r 116, Deckstraps, ro-11, Deckstringers, 35
carving, too-ol
fitting, ror-oz ro3 lashing, numberof, 16r Dory Book,The, 46,168 r)3-74 Dry bags, Drysuit,rzg,r4 vlTi-x,z, rz, Dyson,George, 168-69 156, 13,11o, E r77 gear, Emergency Bill, ix, x Ermeloff,
lndex l7l
F Fittingthe boat,zr-25 after it'sdone ,L4g-So Flares, r37 Footbrace, rr fitting,56-57 Forest Products Laboratory, 36 Frame, 165 Framework, lo-u, 13,19, )7, 75-ro8 staining, ro8 Freeboard, r5 G Gardner, n,46,t6g Joh Gear, inside, 1 rc7,13j-34, 44 on deck,16-17,r44-4j Glossary,65-66 Goodman, Frank, i6 Gunwales, ro-rr, 35,44,46, 16r,165 cutting,5z-54 foiningwith deckbeams, 64-67, 154-55 marking,59-60 notching frontof,T5 spreading, 54-56 H Hearst Muse um, rr-r2,17, 4j Heath, fohn,x
Hog,165 Hull constru cIion, See 7 5-9g. a/so Ribs form,8o-8r notching gunwales, 75 shape of, fi-lg strength of,79 Hull stringers, to-n,35, 46 lashing, g7-g8, gg making,97 numberof, r6t repairof, 46,48 staining, 97,rc8 I lkyax, r K Kayak, Aleutian. See also Baidarka advantages of,3-4 beam, 15-16 construction time,3,6-7 costof, 4-1.,, T depthof, r8,zz design features, r3 development of, ix dimensions, r59-6o getting into,r39-4o getting outof,r4o-4r lengthof, r7-r8,zr-zz,2j natureof, ro-zo seaworthiness, t3-r4 size, t5, zt-25, 159-6o 4,6, speed of, r4-r5 stabilityo[, r5-r7 strength, ,, rg-2o useof, zz
volumeof, 15 wet exit,r4r why build?,3-5 zz-23 width of, 15-16, Kayak, Greenland, 5, rz5, r49-ro kits,4o Kayak, 168 Kodiak, Kayak, 16 Nordkapp, Kayak, organizations, Kayak 4o plastic, Kayak, 3-5 Kayaks of SiberiaandAlaska, r68 19,35,45,75, ro-r1, Keelson, 79, 166 aligning, 9j-96 assembling, 97-95 lashing, q6-gl up, 90-93 setting Kelly,Kevin,ix ro-rr Kneebrace, fitting, 67-68 L rz Lantis,Margaret, Lashing, deckbeams, 7z-7j for,7v7z drillingdeckholes keelson, g6-gl for, 38 materials techniques,45 Kurt, ix Lasswitz, WilliamS.,ix, x Laughlin,
using, ry8-45
Life vest,r2g-r3o 167 LittleKayakBook,The, Lowerbow,ro-rr 8-9 Lumber,dimensions, selecting, 34-36 M Maintenance,146-15o Martini,ferry,168 Materials, 33-4o for,3839 sources in construcMeasurements, tion,8 8-9 Metric conversions, rj4-rr, beams, Mortised deck t66 N Society, NativeWatercraft 4o NikolskiBay,ix, x
o
Museum,r7 OregonState native boat,4o Organizations, P Paddle carving,4g-5r painting, 5o-5r sizing, 48,49 woodfor,49 6, r4-tJ, 5o,178-79, Paddling, r42
lndex 173
Paddling jacket, r27-tzg Painting, deck,Tz skin, nz-25 Paint maintenance,148 Parkas, :u.7-28 Partsofa kayak,ro-rr, 16o-16r list ofl 16o-16r wrong-sized, r49 Personal flotation device, r2g-)o Petersen, H.C., 16 Problems,what to do, 8 Pump, r34
woodfor, 37,8v84,5r Rip,167 Robert-Lamblin, zr, 34, Joelle, r5r,168 Rocker, 167 Rolling,r44 Ropes, rescue andtowing, r34-)5 Rubstrip, rz5 Rudder,ry6-57 Russian American Company, Russians, r-2,rz S Safety, r)-14, r2g,r37,LF-45 Sails, r56-58 Scarfs, dropleaf, 9o Seaotterhunters, ix, z Seat cushion, r34 Seat slats, ro7-o8 Seaworthiness, r3-r4,9o,r38 Sewing theskin,
tt2-22
R Radio, VHF,r37
References, 168-69 Repairs,46-5o stringers, 146 Resaw, 167 Rescue methods, r4z-45 grouP, r+, r45 self,r43 Rib mortises, drilling,5o-5r marking,j9-6o Ribs,ro-rr bending, r53 cuttingstock, r5z form for, 8o-8r, r5z gathering stock,8z-84 installing, 84-9o number of, r6t removing barkfrom,8a-86
Sheerline, 167 Shop requirements, 16z Short, Derrel, 168 Size,ofkayaker,zr. See also Fitting
Seealso Skin,5,6, zo,rog-25. Canvas linen,1o9-ro for, ro9-ro materials to, tto repairs rro synthetics, The, of Green-land, Skinboats 16 r4-r5 Speed, 6r line,carving, Spirit rz7 Sprayskirt, Spreaders, 54-56 ro8 Staining, box,making,r5L-jz Steam using,rc4-oJ, rrr-52, r53 block,63,16r cross Stern for ribs,8z-84 Sticks, pith coreof, 83 fitting,ro7, bags, Storage r33-34 a/soDeck 167. See Stringer, andHull Stringers rp-43 Survival, T ro-1r,63,t6r Tail crosspiece, Tailfin,r, !!-!J, 7i-77, 95,
tor, t6t
Thompson'sWater Seal,rz3 Tools,16-4 adze,29, 4t block plane, z7-28,44 chisel,3r clamps,3o-3r crookedknife, z8 saw,27 crosscut dovetail saw,27 drill and bits,27,
saw, electric 31 (marking), gauge )r-iz, F z8 hammer, listsof, 16l_62 (sewing), needles T, 39-40 68 sawhorses, 33, rz6 machine, sewing of, 33 sharpening bevel,7z sliding of,3839 sources z8 spokeshave, square, 32 knife,z9 straight 8 Troubleshooting, Tuningskinboats,4 U r, 167 Umiaks, rz UmnakIsland, V V-bottom,r9
+-44
making,77-78 Bill, zr, rir Tcheripanoff, basicconstrucTechniques, tion,47
w
Weight, of kayak,16o r5, zr ofkayaker, lndex 175
Wood cutting,4z diilling, elasticity of,36-77 marking o[,4r-42 plugging holesin, r49 specific gravities of, 76-77 strength, Z6-y o[,3t37 __.types ''W6od Handbook, 76
Workbench, ST-i.4 Workmanship, standards of, 4r Workspace, 33-34 Z Zimmeiy, David,r58,169
6009 30

Building an Aleutian Kayak

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Introiluutlon

2 The Aleutian Kayak

4 The Aleutian Kayak

Why Build anAleutian Kayak?

How Strong is lt?

of theProcess The Steps

Things GoWrong to DoWhen What

Outside of theU.S.A. Baidarkas Building

Kayak Aleutian 8 The

The Natilro of Boilt the

The Parts of the Boat

Kayak l0 The Aleutian

0riginof the Boat _ The

Ihe llatureofthe Boat | |

-5282mm (L) (B max) at3 048 mm 496 mm (Ds) 235 mm at 3 048 mm -

319 618 420 2 769

bKr- 005 (a)

Figure 2-3.An Aleutian baidarka in the BritishMuseum. Courtesy of lohn Brand.

The Baidarka hanges withTime

12 The Aleutian Kayak

that but with the lumps,bumps,and irregularities drawings resultfrom usingnaturalmaterials.

Thel{ature of the Boat 13

Paddling Speed Potential

Kayak 14 The Aleutian

fhe ilatureof the Boat 15

16 The Aleutian Kayak

fhe Natureof the Boat

18 The Aleutian Kayak

Deck? Whya Ridged

Frame of the Internal Drawback

Boat ofYour The Strength

of the Boat 19 TheNature

20 lhe Aleutian Kayak

27 lhe Aleutian Kayak

Fitting the Boat 23

24 The Aleutian Kayak

of the Boat Length

the Boat 25 Fitting

Tools ilnd tIatoriills

Tools You'll Need

25 The Aleutian Kayak

Saw Crosscut Hand

Bits and Drill

28 The Aleutian Kayak

30 lhe Aleutian Kayak

12 The Aleutian Kayak

Tools Hand Sharpening

An0verview of Lumber Requirements

Selecting the Lumber

34 The Aleutian Kayak

Hur-l srn.tr.tG e-e.s V/6t' x7/6" x t78"

7/4'tx5l7/ x 72tt ZEA ( (,g cm-x t4ctnr le>scrn)

D+/LR 5TRING'ERS v/4/t X 17/82t 96 (.9cnx}>inxZ+4cn)

:r/4er7,/4'/ x l4-" ( t.gcrnx le'E c.mr3is.d cm)

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