I only saw four homebuilt kayaks (other than cardboard) all day. One was a short (14 foot) strip built boat with a natural color deck and a green painted hull. It was very well done, and (if I remember correct) hadn't been paddled yet. The fresh varnish looked really pretty, and the owner said he had one coat left to go. He hadn't put on the final coat, so there was a little dust in the varnish, but judging by the rest of the quality craftsmanship, the final coat will not have dust. He even had a cradle to hold the boat and paddle off of the ground (or picnic bench) like a display stand for a model boat. Very cool.

There was a folding skin on frame designed/built/owned by Dan McCarthy, who I hope will start to check out this BBS. It was quite innovative, and painted (Dynel, I think?) in a black and white camouflage pattern that looked quite handsome. Not quite zebra stripe, which I'm partial to, but a very nice effect that more people would deem appropriate anyway.

There was a Hans Pukke built stitch and glue plywood boat that was made with mahogany doorskins. It was truly beautiful, with inlays in the deck, and (I think) a strip built coaming with inlays in the deck. It really showed the typical German attention to detail (Alles ist in ordnung, und genau so) and there were absolutely no visible flaws (and I doubt there were any invisible flaws either). I was most impressed by this boat. It was not a long kayak, and looked like a sort of playboat.

There was one other boat that I saw from a distance. It was a skin on frame that had no deck on it. It looked like a geodesic type hull. I saw it held up with the light from behind shining through as it was carried off, never to return. I didn't get to have a closer look (I was about 75 yds away) so I can only speculate that the deck hadn't been installed yet, or maybe it was like an Umiak or a canoe. I would have liked to have talked to the builder and got a closer look, but it wasn't to be.

This event attracts a lot of people who don't think of wood or of homebuilding when they hear the word kayak. I would love to see a larger showing of homebuilders and their craft so that people who otherwise might never be exposed to this rewarding hobby could have the opportunity to see a new aspect of their sport.