Re: Kayak construction co

Posted by Kurt Maurer on Jul 12, 2005

I was in a pinch to build my two Mill Creek 13s, my first foray into boatbuilding, at a total of $600... and ended up with roughly $700 in 'em.

Rule of thumb found since then: every next project comes in cheaper and lighter.

The tools you need in this business are minimal: a jigsaw, ROS, and a block plane (I've never even seen a kit). The talent you have for scrounging makes a huge difference. While it's true I'm a professional woodworker, it didn't help a lot in this endeavor from a cost standpoint, since boat building is a lot different from making cabinets. But then, I have to say that I already had lotsa sandpaper, clamps, and stuff like that on hand...

Also, as Kyle said, I scrounged the internet for the cheapest major stuff. I got lucky living here near Houston; okoume is readily available at $42 a sheet. But shop hard for epoxy and cloth is my advice.

If you do a really good job of keeping your outlay down, figure about $400 per boat... maybe. Kits cost more than gathering it all yourself, but it's the same thing as buying a gallon of milk at a convenience store when you just don't want to screw with Krogers. The money you save is proportional to the amount of footwork you're willing to put into it.

Cheers, Kurt

In Response to: Re: Kayak construction co by Mislav on Jul 12, 2005

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