Before jumping into building a strip kayak, I wanted to find out all I could about the process. To begin, I read the book Kayakcraft: Fine Woodstrip Kayak Construction by Ted Moores cover-to-cover and referred to it frequently during construction.
by Captain James R. Watson—GBI Technical Advisor
Above: Captain James R. Watson in his kayak. Note how the kayak rides at anchor from the bow.
Kayaks are versatile craft. I’m a lucky guy who has had decades of pleasure cruising, exploring, fishing, and simply relaxing on many different streams and lakes throughout Michigan and Canada in my stripper kayak. Comparing the investment dollar per pleasure derived, my kayak wins hands down over all the other watercraft I’ve owned. In her wake, I’ve been taught many lessons, albeit some the hard way. Here are a few I thought worth sharing. Continue reading
Endeavor 17′ stripper kayak. Designed by Steve Killing, Built by Ted Moores. Photo by Ted Moores
By Chris Maples
Editor’s note: this article was written in 2000, years before we formulated G/Flex 655 epoxy which has superior performance with plastics. The basic plastic boat bonding methods described here still represent best practices, but for optimal results use these methods with G/flex 655 epoxy on plastics.
The hull shape of a white water kayak is not designed for tracking well in open water. Since I do most of my kayaking on open water and flatter rivers, I decided to mount a skeg on the hull to make it track better. This is pretty simple if you own a wood or fiberglass boat, but can be more challenging on a polyethylene kayak. Continue reading