Hi Paul G.,

Sorry for intruding but don't you have a comprehensive site picturing the different kinds of boats you've built? There must be a plenty! We would be glad to scroll over the whole menu.
Mmmmh, methink you're plotting an encyclopaedia!

Cheers

: Probably not. But there are many suppliers of materials and plans, and by
: ordering one thing here and another there you can create your own
: "kit" for many designs for well under $300.

: It's like going to the restaurant. You cna order the complete meal, or you
: can order separate items a la carte and make whatever combination you
: wish. either way you get fed. Putting together the parts needed for a
: kayak from several suppliers instead of just one will still get you on the
: water.

: There are a few advantages to complete kits: you get a faster start, the
: instructions are generally comprehensive, and you save a lot of trips to
: the hardware store. You pay a small premium for all these benefits. If
: your desire is to achieve good results at a low cost then you'll save $ by
: shopping competitively, and perhaps by substituting comparable materials.

: As another post has mentioned, you can build from plans in books. The Walrus
: design in George Putz's book has been built by several people for under
: $200, and a plywood version was built for about the same cost. Since the
: design did not call for a very flexible plywood, inexpensive lauan was
: used instead of the more expensive marine grades of okume frequently used
: in other plywood boats.

: Personally, I think that if you have some tools it should be possible to
: build a strip-built kayak for under $300. If I was to try this, I'd get
: plans or offsets from the internet, Nick Schade's book, David Hazen's
: book, or Ted Moores' book. I'd use forms cut from the cheapest
: particleboard I could find. and I'd rip my own strips, but not put a bead
: and cove edge on them. I'd mix a bit of pine and redwood strips in with
: the cedar to give me a diverse color palette if I wanted to do some kind
: of fancy design.

: I'm debating on glass cloth suppliers, but I think I'd get my glass cloth in
: a 2 ounce weight from Defender -- and use several layers and all the
: scraps -- and probably get my epoxy resin from Raka. My thinking here is
: that the thinner cloth should have a weave that is not very prominent, and
: thus would require less resin for a fill coat. That saves cost, as well as
: weight. I'd need almost twice the length as with 4 ounce cloth, but I
: think that ordering the longer length would kick my order up to where I'd
: qualify for a discount. The scraps would allow me to apply three layers in
: places, giving me the advantage fo 6 ounces of glass in an area -- the
: same strength as I'd get from using 6 ounce glass cloth -- but I'd not
: have to buy a short length of that material at the relatively higher cost.

: I think this and the disposables: sandpaper, rollers, brushes, gloves, etc.
: should be in the vicinity of $300.

: Stitch-and-glue plywood boats made from lauan are going to be less expensive
: and faster to build. One reason for the savings is that most of these
: designs do not require you to make building forms and a strongback to hold
: them.

: If you go with the design in Putz's book, whether you build it with a canvas
: skin, or with plywood sides, I have a page posted on the web which
: translates the dimensions he gives in his book into simple coordinate
: points which you can plot rather quickly. These also allow you to use far
: less wood for the building forms, and that will save you about $30.

: good luck with your project.

: PGJ