I bend over the kayak and place the paddle float under the bungies. The sea is only slightly rippled and I can feel the coastline calling out to me that it is time to explore it. While fastening the Velcro, I hear the fateful words behind me:

"Oh what a beautiful kayak. Did you make it yourself?".

Knowing my paddle time is limited I give the sea a quick wistful glance then turn around smiling to explain the process of building your own kayak for the third time since arriving at the beach.

Paddling a kayak which you have built yourself is more than just a matter of pride. You know the kayak inside out and it has been customised to fit you exactly, any repairs or changes are easily made without the expense of returning it to the manufacturer, the cost of building is 1/3 that of a plastic kayak and lastly, home built kayaks simply look good. I would much rather spend my time paddling looking at highly polished wood than glaring white gel coat.

"But it looks so fragile!"

Modern building techniques produce a wood / fiberglass composite which is stronger than most commercially made fiberglass kayaks. Without adding to the weight. What looks like polished wood is actually a thin wooden core sandwiched between layers of glass cloth and epoxy. Even Skin on Frame kayaks are much stronger than they look since they have a high degree of flexibility. But if one is damaged? So what, you built it, repairs are nothing!

"With my lack of woodworking skills, I could never build something like this"

And with that attitude you never will! The skills required are remarkably few. In fact if you can use a sander - you can build a kayak. The other techniques and processes you learn along the way. The designs and plans are all drawn up with beginners in mind and are very simple to follow if you take things step by step. Don't worry about mistakes since most will never be noticed by anybody but you. I made a mistake on just about every step in the process but have to point them out before other people see them. Structural errors are much harder to make and are very rare amongst builders. Take a look at the Photo Journals to see how other first time builders coped. Anyway, you will never know if you can build a one or not until you try.

"How does it handle?"

Right up there with the best of the commercially made kayaks. The designs for home built kayaks available now are among the best kayak designs around. The types available range from touring, expedition and day yaks to dedicated rolling machines. The hardest part of building a kayak is in choosing the design.

"Where can I get more information"

The web. There are hundreds of sites about kayak building. Amongst these are free plans and some very informative forums. A few books have been written that contain plans and detail the building process. Also join your local kayak club, there is bound to be home built yaks in the lineup. Refer Links for more information.

If you have already built your own, then take a look around. You should find heaps of ideas for your next one or for additions to your existing kayak. .

The commercially made Penguin is one of the popular plastic kayak designs sold in NZ. When compared to the homebuilt Mac50, there is not much difference between them. Apart from the Mac50 being approximately $1200 cheaper, customised to the builder, and better looking. Prefer the multi-coloured kayak? Then there is nothing stopping you from painting your wooden one!

Why This Site?

There are hundreds of kayak building sites on the web. Unfortunately a lot of the information on them does not apply to NZ. Material names (i.e. Gaboon / Okume ), suppliers, measurements, even paddling conditions are different. This site is biased towards building in the NZ environment. After saying this, take a look around even if you are not a Kiwi. Hopefully you will find the site as informative as any overseas one.

Hans Podlucky built this fantastic One Ocean Kayak Storm SLT for his daughter. If you want to ask about the kayak or need help in the Nelson area, drop him a line at hans.podlucky@paradise.net.nz

Wanted !

This site is an "OPEN" site. Any ideas, design trial reports, comments, pictures, actually any information that you think will help improve the site and encourage future builders will be gratefully accepted. Just e-mail me (Grant) and I'll gladly update the pages to include your contribution.

E-Mail Web Designer Grant Glazer