: Hi Tom,

: I'd be interested in hearing more about your designs. I've looked at your web
: pages and I'm really intrigued, but a little intimidated by working with
: aluminum. I'm a woodworker (and barely that), and have no experience
: working with metals. Is the construction pretty easy for someone with no
: metal working experience?

: I'm looking for something that is quick to build, inexpensive, and will
: handle my size and weight (6', 215 lbs). For this boat I'm not necessarily
: looking for cargo capacity, and I expect to be using it mostly on calm
: water. If you have a suggestion among your designs (or anyone else's, for
: that matter) I'd like to hear it.

: Chris

Aluminum is very easy to work with as it's easy to cut and drill, and requires
no finishing. The stem/stern are bent with a simple electricians tube
bender from Home Depot or Lowe's. HDPE is also every bit as easy to work
with as plywood, and required no finishing. If your building a non folding
version of these designs, then plywood is a viable cross section option.
Take a look at BIF-16 for an example of aluminum stringers/plywood cross sections.

Folding skins are made of PVC but as non-folders, sewn and coated Nylon or
polyester works just fine. Construction time for this Non-Traditional
method is approx. 75 - 100 hrs. for a folder, and even less for a non-folder.
Costs range from $250.00 to $500.00 depending on materials used.

The LINK below is for the "Combi Double/Single" if you're interested in that
configuration. These boats are slightly easier to build than the Aleut style
designs like FAP-16, due to the simpler stern designs and easier skinning
process.

The "Combi-Single" (15ft) is a low volume design, though it can handle your
weight. I'm now completing a 17ft version of the single ( "Symetric" ), that
will easily handle your weight plus a fair amount of gear.

The differences are little, and can be accomplished by first time
builders. In fact, in the past year, there have been 3 FAP-16 Folder and
2 FAP-15 Folder completions, most by first timers. FAP-16 is the kayak I
normally recommend due to it's stability, handling, and volume.

In addition to the FAP-16 flat deck version seen on the site, there is a
peaked deck version for touring, and a peaked fore deck, flat aft deck
version for rolling.

I don't produce plans, but rather provide a Table of offsets that can easily be
converted to cross sections. My instructions ( via email) explain the process.
In addition, I've got hundreds of pics of the construction process. Cost by
the way is $0.00.

Another source for Non-Traditional kayak plans is George Dyson at Dyson,
Baidarka, and Company. His are very nice paddling boats.

If you're interested in Traditional construction, take a look at Robert
Morris's " Building Skin-On-Frame Boats", or Wolfgang Brink's " The Aleutian
Kayak". Both are excellent books on this type construction.

Sorry for being so long winded,

Tom