: On the campers' first day, we want them to build a kayak out of cardboard
: following a simple stitch and glue pattern. There is no intention for this
: boat to be anything more than a learning prop.
: Does anyone have any suggestions on plans to use that can be scaled down to a
: 6 - 7 foot kayak? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.
: Wes Hall

Hi Wes,
There are free offsets on the internet that you could multiply by 0.333 or so, just be sure to multiply all given distances by the same amount. Two S&G kayaks come to mind, the S&G Guillemot can be found at:
http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/Building/Stitch%26Glue/StitchAndGluePlans.html
and the Cormorant by Squeedunk Kayaks which is located at:
http://www.squeedunk.com/c-16.htm
Either of these plans would work fine for your requirements. The Guillemot has temporary internal forms that you could use, but would be alittle more time consuming (unless you made them up ahead of time) and may be slightly more difficult to assemble (but the forms may help, working with cardboard). The Cormorant is probably an easier to assemble choice, in my opinion. A third option would be to check out "The New Kayak Shop" by Chris Kulczcki from your local library and use the offsets for one of their boats like a Chesapeake. Regardless of which plans you choose (and there probably are several other options that are free or cheap) I would still recommend Chris's book for guidance. The designers of these kayaks probably won't mind you making more than one of "their" boats, especially for the purpose you have in teaching youth about building kayaks, but it wouldn't hurt to check with them to make sure that you're not breaking any copyright laws.

A few things to consider, if you hadn't already:
Choose the stiffest cardboard you can find. Or use 3mm Luan or cheap/used panelling (better choice in my opinion than cardboard).
Pre-cut the panels or have carboard templates made up to trace. If you choose to pre-cut the panels, stack 6 or 8 or even 10 and cut them all at once.
Pre-cut bulkheads and/or temporary forms from 1/8" plywood (luan or panelling).
Stitch or wire together with small sized plastic zip ties (cheap/easy/no sharp edges).
Tape the whole thing in duct tape and send them on the water. Could even try a small sail and have a race??????
To me, it makes the most sense to build these things quickly (or have most of it cut out and ready to assemble), so there's time left in the day to decorate them and try them on the water.
Let me know if you have problems scaling down any of these plans, I'm sure I could give you a head start with some drawings of these boats at the six or seven foot size. Please post a photo of the completed boats on this board and feel free to email me if you have questions. Good luck and enjoy, I'm sure it'll be a blast.
SMF