After you’ve had some experience with kayaks and decide that you love the sport, you might find that you would enjoy building your own kayak. There are actually kits that will give you all the pieces you need to build your own kayak, without the frustration of actually building a kayak buy hand, without instruction. These kits vary in difficulty, depending on what kind of kayak you are planning on building. Let’s go over some of the basic tips and tricks to buying your first kayak kit.
Any kayak kit will contain pre-milled and pre-cut hardware all organized and set up so that you can build your own kayak with relative ease. It will also contain the proper glue (Epoxy™), a manual, and blueprint for assembly. All these will help you not only build your new kayak, but also repair it if it is ever broken while in the water. The kit makes building the kayak relatively fast and easy for anyone ready to get in the water with their homemade kayak.
There are three standard types of kayak-building kits: stitch and glue, strip planking, and hybrid. The stitch and glue method, like its name suggests, involves gluing together a high-grade African mahogany (also called okoume) together into the form of a kayak. Strip planking consists of putting together a number of thin and flexible strips of wood planks. The kit will include a mold outlining the contour of the boat, and the builder may substitute hard, yet flexible, boards for the thin strips. The hybrid method is a combination of both stitch and glue and strip planking.
A kayak kit is also able to produce three different models. An Empire kit will produce a speedy craft which will be stable on running water: great for weekend trips. An Infusion kit will create a quick and easily maneuvered kayak. Finally, the Elemental kit will make a two-paddler kayak. Once you have picked a type of kayak and bought your kit, take care in putting it together so that you can have a safe and exciting homemade kayak.