Photo Journals

Photo Journals

Building a kayak involves a large commitment of time. Once started it is easy to get carried away with the building process, an hour here an hour there and pretty soon most of your spare time revolves around weird shaped piece's of wood and sticky epoxy. Why put yourself through it? After reading the following photo journals from those that have committed themselves, you will realise that there is more enjoyment in building a kayak then just the final product. It has been rightly described as an addiction and most builders don't stop at just one. What is not included in the journals is the amount of time where the builder has sneaked out to the workshed and just sat and admired the kayak. The enjoyment comes from seeing piece's of wood and cloth evolve into a work of art.

The journals cover the three main building techniques. The authors have included a vast amount of information that is well worth while studying. I would suggest reading all three since there is a compatibility amongst them that will apply to your chosen design.

Guillemot Stitch and Glue
By Pete Notman

The Guillemot S&G is a Nick Schade designed kayak developed from his popular Strip Guillemot. Pete has done a fantastic job building this kayak with the additions of the Guillemot logo on the deck and shearlines inlayed with Paua shell. His photo journal contains an large amount of helpful tips and is a detailed account of building a stitch and glue kayak. A must read for any builder.

No photo of the kayak yet since it is being built as you read this. The Night Heron Double is another Nick Schade design but this time built with the Strip Plank technique. Ross's photo journal is a collection of e-mail's that he sends in as he completes each step of the process. This creates a detailed journal with a personal slant. Well worth a read no matter what kayak design you are building since it contains a lot of information that pertains to building in the NZ environment.

I am on the look out for a SOF photo journal to add to this site. If you have built one and wish to contribute to the NZ kayak building community please E-mail me. If I am unable to find someone willing to post their journal then I might just have to renew my addiction by building one myself. Please HELP!!!