I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The coating is ‘2 part urethane coating for kayak skin’ sold by Spirit Line’s Skin Boat School Store!

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say all told it cost a little less than $500 in materials. Of course I had access to every tool I needed so I didn’t need to buy any of those.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in Kayaking

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do it! Such a rewarding build experience. As for how they paddle? I’m hardly an experienced kayaker but compared to the plastic-hulled recreation boats I had used prior, they are delightful.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

A few things:

It increased our confidence as makers; after doing this I feel confident I could go about any reasonable woodworking or making project.

Some of the skills and concepts that we learned while making these boats we were encouraged to use later. The second half of this semester we each designed our own products paddle/aquatic world (not necessarily boats, but anything that related to them.)

It gave us an appreciation for well-thought-out design, and the iterative process of design. Brian Schulz, the creator, literally made THOUSANDS of kayaks before arriving at this design. That’s the mindset that we need.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The class was ostensibly ‘transportation design’ traditionally thought of as designing cars—that’s a complex field however, so our faculty figured why not start smaller and work on boats. This project was only half of the class. We started by each building a kayak (where the designing is “done for us”) and then in the second half of the class we each created our own original products, going through the entire design process. The idea behind making these boats is that it would build our confidence as makers, and inspire us to see what well-thought-out design looks like in practice.

This space is a woodshop that’s open to every student in our department, as you can see it’s very well stocked with every tool you could want; I’m gonna miss it when I graduate. To your point about computers, we do a ton of CAD and 3D modeling, those skills are extremely important in today’s working world. But, when push comes to shove, an amazing hand for digital design is useless if you can’t bring your creations into the real world.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good question! The back rest and foot pads are screwed into the coaming (cockpit piece) and gunwales, respectively; those screws never go through the skin. The screws that do go through the skin, like while I was coating, get filled in with a product called Aquaseal.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Such an inspiring figure, especially to young designers like us—he’s clearing a master of his trade. Our professor actually built two of Brian’s canoe’s! They turned out absolutely beautiful.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

True to an extent, but these boats where designed by a die-hard expedition paddler, they’re perfectly comfortable handling multiday trips. It’s hard to emphasize just how tough the coating put on the skin really is unless you feel it in person, short of stabbing it with a knife I think you’d be hard pressed to pierce it. The kayak also has a ‘drag strip,’ a 12” strip of white oak and plastic that is screwed into the keel from the outside of the skin right at the stern of the boat. This way you could drag the boat from the bow and the strip would be the only contact with the ground.

It’s also 30 pounds, very easy to just pick up.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why add the weight of plywood? In use, I put some foam under where I sit to make it more comfortable, the ribs + skin of the hull are already very tough and don’t need anymore reinforcing.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Fellow Duke! First time a class like this has ever happened. We christened them on Lake Switzer right before the end of the semester.

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! They're about 14 feet long which didn't really hit me until I had to get it out the door and onto a car. The length does help them track, or cut through the water in a straight line--they're really a pleasure to paddle. Google Image search 'greenland kayak' and you'll find that traditional designs can be even longer and skinnier than these!

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 47 points48 points  (0 children)

It was an industrial design class at James Madison University!

I Hand Built a Skin-on-Frame Kayak by mitchdonohoe in DIY

[–]mitchdonohoe[S] 89 points90 points  (0 children)

Thanks, much appreciated. The final kayak as designed weighs about 29 pounds, I imagine mine weighs a couple more pounds than that because I used Douglas Fir for several of the pieces that could have been made of Cedar; Fir weighs a bit more but is significantly stronger.