Kayakbuilding at Delmarva Paddlers Retreat 2023 part II

Frames are finished now. They are oiled in order to make them resistant to fungus, rot, dirt and age. With the right storage, a skin-on-frame kayak can last a lifetime. After oiling, the kayak frames are skinned with a heavy duty fabric. In this case, we used nylonpolyester, Kayakskin, from the "Kajakkspesialisten" webshop. The advantage of the nylonpolyester mix is that it doesn't get loose, when being stored in a humid environment. The Kayakskin stays really tight over the years. This is also due to the stretching method that we use, which Anders has perfected through many test and trials. 

The King Island is getting ready. Not it's last, but first oil! In the background, varnished cockpit coamings are hanging out to dry.

 

More oiling, here, the Greenland style kayaks are oiled.

Leaving the birdcage late at night after the oiling. Peter Gengler leaving the Birdcage.

 

After all the frames are dry the skinnig begins, They are skinned with a nylon polyester mixed fabric. We call it "Kayakskin". It is very strong and stays tight in wet and cold conditions. The Kayakskin can be stained or painted.

 

More skinning. We got some extra helpers and quite a few spectators.

Here is the fold that covers the stitching. It is made with the curved needle. The thread is braided fishing line.

This is Peter Strands baidarka in the afternoon light. We are working on sewing the cockpit coamings to the kayaks and are finishing the bow.

Rick working on his coaming.

Terrys baidarka after staining. He has used 2 colors - brown and grey/blue.

 

A cockpit coaming on a finished kayak. Notice the groove in the top of the coaming. That is meant for fastening the seasock. The sea sock is a watertight compartment, much like bulkheads in a modern kayak. Ut keeps the kayak clean inside, and prevents the kayak from being flooded in case of capsize.

The inside of the same kayak. This is a Greenland style kayak. Since it is extra wide, we added a, extra pair of side stringers, so the span between keel and stringer does not get too long.

For baptizing the kayaks before their first launc, we usually have beer or liquor. Not everyone drinks, so in this case we got en evil looking can of mineral water, called " Liquid Death".  Terrys baidarka is missing in the photo - the varnish was not 100% cured yet.

 

Lots of happy campers!

Everybody getting out on the water, testing their newborn kayaks. During the afternoon the wind picked up and we had some great fun in wind and waves.

 

Goodbye Delmarva, thank you for everything. We miss you already. Great thanks to all the students, the organizors and all the helpers. Especially big thanks to Sue Burley, Mike Hamilton, John Huber and Peter Gengler.

Photo credit: Jannie Heegaard