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Strip Planked Sea Kayak

Design Concept

For retired computer-scientist, Dr Andrew Hanish, building a sea kayak from plans, for the first time, presented a totally new and inspiring challenge.  The design had to be easy to build, light for car-top transportation, and versatile for weekend trips away for coastal, or river and lake exploration.

The Cape Ann  Storm designed by Vaclav Stejskal, of One Ocean Kayaks, met the criteria very well and was well-suited to the paddlers weight of 80kgs, allowing for approximately 16 kg of load.  In addition, the design offered superior performance under a variety of conditions.

Construction

The kayak was stripped planked with Western Red Cedar, with some steam-bent Ash for the stems.  The strips were dressed (6 x 19mm) and pre-cut to suitable lengths - up to 5.5m, and each strip was routed on the edge for tight bead and cove profiles.

Frame stations were mounted on a single straight piece of 50 x 130mm timber, spaced at 300mm intervals.  Accuracy in setting up of frames is key to the success of building a fair and precise kayak body. 

The strips were glued with a water-proof glue and stapled to the stations.  Stripping was done on both sides of the hull/deck, alternatively, to avoid asymmetrical distortions.  After removing all staples, WEST SYSTEM brand epoxy modified with 410 Microlight was used for filling the holes and fairing of the hull, as it was a good colour match for the timber strips.

A 200grm plain weave fibreglass cloth was laminated over the planks with WEST SYSTEM R105 resin and H207 Special Coating Hardener to structurally complete the hull, and then an additional 130grm fabric was added for extra abrasion resistance.  The deck and interior were glassed with the 130grm fabric.  WEST SYSTEM H207 was used on the visible exterior to provide optimum clarity in the clear finish.  The H207 also exposed the texture of the cedar planks, which was very impressive, particularly on the deck where a dotted pattern was applied, similar to the aboriginal art style.

Techniglue CA adhesive was used on a number of smaller jobs including lamination and attachment of external stems, reinforcement of the cockpit rim and lamination of the back rest.  WEST SYSTEM resin/ hardener modified with 403 Microfibre Blend was used to fill gaps, and to form structural coves on the inside of the hulls near the stems, prior to fibreglassing the inside of the hull.

Yakima foot braces were attached to two pairs of self-locking nuts that were bonded to the hull with a mix of colloidal silica, milled fiberglass and WEST SYSTEM resin and hardener.  The entire surface of the kayak was coated with 6 to 8 layers of Perfection varnish from International Paints.

The project took two and half years of elapsed time to complete:  actual work time was approximately six months part-time, which included gluing of strips and fitting of parts that required extra care and could not be rushed.  Andrew believes that an experienced builder could complete the project in two to three months, working two to three days a week, full time. 

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