: Greetings: I have never given much thought to SOF yaks, but there is so much
: discussion of them here that I cannot help but think there must be a
: reason for it. Yes, a spark has been loosed in my head! So what I would
: like to know is where best to get a primer on the SOF yak for the rank
: beginner.

Check out the link Melissa gave below. It's loaded with resources :-)

: Some specific questions, if'n I may: 1. I want a true sea kayak, but not very
: badly. That is to say, not enough to sink hundreds of bucks into a project
: (I build all my own toys). Are they really cheap to build? How cheap is
: cheap?

I'd image this is a function of your ability to scrounge up materials, but a good guess would be $100-$300 range.

: 2. What keeps 'em from heading straight to the bottom upon first contact with
: an oyster shell?

The quality of the skin. You could use light weight aircraft dacron for skin, but you'd want to be carefull with it. Most people use 10 to 15 oz nylon or dacron for skin. This stuff is much more resiliant than you guess. I dropped a spinning 80 grit sanding drum onto my boat once. I was amazed that it didn't even scuff the skin. That was 9 oz dacron. Granted, skins can be cut. "In the field" repairs are easy, however, if you remember to bring duct tape :-) That said, I don't think I'd want to take on any of your gators with a SOF. Better to practice that harpoon throwing with more benign targets! :-)

: 3. Even though I have looked at folding boats and SOF yaks to some degree, I
: do not clearly understand how folders work, and following, the difference
: in complexity (read: expense) between them. Where might I learn more about
: folders without spending any money? Or at least, very little of it? Or
: should I ignore folders altogether, since compacting the boat isn't an
: issue at this point?

Folders are more complex than your average SOF. There are those here (Tom Yost, for example) who do an amazing job building such boats, but for a first project, I'd recommend a standard SOF.

: 4. Do I have to get a sewing machine, and learn how to use it?

No. Sewn skins are done by hand. There are several on-line resources for doing this as well as the published books at the link mentioned above. Some SOF boats also use a stapling method which can be adapted to Heat Tape glues. These later methods are quite non traditional, however.

: Note: There are no examples of anything this board has to do with for me to
: see locally. A few plastic yaks are about it here in my part of Texas.

You are probably not alone there. Most of us just wing it :-) Besides, you'll be the local expert in this art with no one around to challange your techniques :-)

Bill