Re: SOF kayaks

Posted by Mike on Apr 1, 2006

Pete,

I think Dyson has the 8 oz nylon for $2/ft, and Spirit Line has 9 oz for $7/yd. They are similar fabrics and are the standard ones used. Spirit Line has 2 part urethane for $60. You can also use regular urethane, either oil or water based for about 1/2 of that. I use unwaxed dental floss for sewing the skin, and artificial sinew ($15 for several kayaks worth at Tandy) for lashing the frame. I've been able tind wood for pretty cheap or even free for some of it. I use round leather belting from McMasterCarr and real bone from Petsmart for the decklines and fittings. http://redfishkayak.com/r2k5/line/images/r2k5line40.jpg

The kayaks can be made as stable as you like. The picture below is of my second sof, that is very stable, as you can see. You can make them to just about any shape. What book do you have? Cunningham, Morris, Star, Peterson, Zimmerley, Dyson, Heath, etc... All of them are good, and have their pros and cons. I love Greenland kayaks, and there is huge variation among them. I put novices in my wife's kayak and the white one shown below, and they usually are fine, but I put an experienced kayaker in my brown kayak http://redfishkayak.com/r2k5/action/images/r2k5act11.jpg, and he felt quite unstable, but this is an ultra-low volume kayak, that doesn't have much stability, but rolls like a dream. http://redfishkayak.com/r2k5/action/images/r2k5act10.jpg

Building sof kayaks is a lot of fun, and can be a very creative process, without the mess of epoxy and fiberglass. You can end up with just about any kayak that you want. http://www.qajaqusa.org/albums/sstiks03/100_0099_edit1.jpg

Mike

http://www.qajaqusa.org/albums/sstiks03/s03mr060a.jpg

Spirit Line Supplies

In Response to: Re: kayaks brewing etc. by Pete on Apr 1, 2006

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