The Aleutian Kayak

Introiluutlon There is pretty good evidencethat the type of kayakyou're about to build was made in the Arctic for at least z,ooo years.The Aleuts who built these boats called them ikyax; the Russians who colonizedAlaskacalled them baidarkas.It alsoappearsthat skin boatsof somekind have been usedby Aleuts for g,oooyears or more. Kayaksand umiaks, made of wood and skin, donlt survive for long, but the stone and ivory partsof hunting gear used with theseboatsdo. Since the hunting gearusedwith kayaksand umiaks differs,it's possibleto deduce the age of theseboatsfrom gear. remnantsof their associated Baidarkaswere usedas hunting craft in the Aleutian Islandsiust askayakswere in the rest of the Arctic. Before the Russians arrived, baidarkascoexistedwith the large open baidaras- the Aleuiian version of the umiak. Umiaks were used to haul gear and make family migrationsfrom the winter villages to the summer hunting and fishing grounds. The Russians confiscated and destroyedmost of the baidarasto prevent the Aleuts from escapingtheir enslavement.The Russiansdid, however,promotebuilding baidarkassincethe boats were essentialto the seaotter hunt, the prime reasonfor the Russianpresence. While the designof the baidarkaprecedesthe Russian presencein the Aleutians,the Russiansno doubt influenced baidarkaconstructionby providing the Aleuts with steeltools.

Figure1-1.Amodelof an early kayakfromEkven,EastSibeia. It'sabout2,000yearsold and umiak. resembles a decked-over

lntroductionI

Figure1-2.Thebaidarkain winter. (Martin Honel photo)

2 TheAleutian Kayak

Steel tools no doubt made the building of baidarkaseasier. According to George Dyson, author of Baidarka, the Russians also homogenizedthe baidarka'sdesignby forcing large hunting parties to undertake extendedvoyagesin search of sea otter pelts, thus bringing togetherbuilders from previouslyisolated islands. The first drawingsand written accountsof baidarkaswere "discovery" made afterVitus Bering's of Alaskain ry4t. Though baidarkaspecimensnow in museumswere collected mostly between the mid-rgth and mid-zoth centuries, many of the drawingsand accountsproduced during the one hundred previousyearsof European contact show and tell of boatsthat are in many waysdifferent from the museum specimens. Most notably,the drawingsshow much shorterboatsthan are in museums. Did the Aleuts actuallybuilt shorterboats,or were the artistswho drew them and the writers who describedthem simply inaccurateobservers? I don't know, but I'm inclined to think that thoseearlyobservers were careless, perhapsbiasedby their knowledgeof small Europeanboats,which were much beamier for their length. In any case,the designof the baidarkawe'reconcerned with here is basedon museumspecimensfrom the earlypart of

this century.I think theseare sound designsand a much better example to follow than questionabledescripiionsrecordedby r8th-centuryexplorers.

WhyBuilda Kayak? The only way to know what it feels like to paddle a skin-onframe kayakis to build one and paddle it. You can't very well go to a museum and check one out. There are people who will build you a custom skin-on-frameboat, but I think a good part of the appreciationof a skin boat comes from having built one yourself. If you'regoing to spend8o to roo hoursbuilding one, you might want to feel that your skin boat is in someway superiorto a plasticboat you can buy in a store.I feel no personalneed to iustify building skin boats.The pleasureof building and paddling my own boatsis lustificationenough.I do feel that skin-on-frame boatsare superiorto plasticboatsin sometangibleways.When you build your own boats, you'll have your own reasonsfor believing that skin boatsare better, but for starters,here'smy list. Use it, if you want, to defend skin boats-or your decision to build one. Skin boatshave more spirit than plasticboats.Objects reflect their creator'sspirit, which you impari to your boat asyou work on it. The longer you work, the more of your spirit the boat will have.Plasticboatshavevery little spirit becausethe whole point of manufacturing is to keep costsdown by minimizing human effort. At best,plastic boatswill have very little spirit. At worst,they'll have a negativespirit, which comesfrom the boredom and hostility ofien found in factories.I'm not sayingthat you can't improve a plasticboat'sspirit.As you paddle it, its spirit will develop,but I don't think a plasticboat will evermatch a handmadewoodenboat in spirit no matterhow much time you spendwith it. The history of the parts that make up your boat contributes to its spirit just as your attitude doeswhen you build it. The materialscomprisingyour boat are all so simple that with a little research,you can find out where each of them came from. If you are sensitiveto how much violence you need to do to othersand the environmentbeforeyou get out on the waterto

lntroduction

paddle, making your own boat and controlling the sourceof the materialsis the perfect method. For instance,you can make many of your boat partsfrom recycledlumber, assuringyourself that you're not a party to cutting down any new trees,even if the lumber you are using may originally have come from an oldgrowth stand. The deck beamsof my lastfew boatshaveall come from lumber recoveredfrom home remodelingprojects.I havea friend who getshis wood for deck beamsby visitingbuilding sitesand recoveringlumber scrapsfrom dumpsters.I am no purist about building materialsand will use syntheticswhen it makessense.I do think, though, that my boatshavea strongerspirit if I can feel that all the materialswere collectedand assembledin the proper manner. While the essenceof massproduction is that one sizefits all, you can tailor a skin boatto fit your own body and discoverthe pleasureof havingsomethinguniquelyyour own-a pleasurenormally reservedfor the wealthy in the form of a tailored suit or handmadeshoes.If you are of averagebuild, fit may not be a big issuebecauseit is for you that manufacturersmakeboats.If you're very small or very large, however,a boat that fits may not be within your reach unlessyou make your own. You can tailor a skin boat to your temperamentand to the temperamentof the watersthat you paddle.Your first boat may be somethingof a shot in the dark, but asyou take it out and use it, you will think of waysto improve it. Maybe you'll want to make it largerto carrymore gear.Maybe you will want to make it lighter or shorteror longer or with a bigger cockpit or with a flatter bottom or with more V. You might want to paint it to blend in with your paddling grounds,or bright orangeso the CoastGuard can seeyou better. "tune" You can a skin boat, and if you build more than one, the quality of your boatswill improve.You will become sensitiveto the propertiesof the materialsyou use,and to the tension of the skin and the lashingsand the flex of the wood, and you'll learn to balancethesefor optimum effect.Plasticboatsare not tunable. They come in one stiffnessfor fiberglass(stiff) and anotherstiffnessfor polyethylene(limp). If you'reshorton moneybut long on time, you can build a skin boat for a fracticinof the costof a olasticboat. I don't think

4 TheAleutian Kayak

that the costof plasticboatsis prohibitive for someonewho really wantsto paddle,but when you think of all the other things $z,ooo can buy, the idea of building your own boat may become even more attractive.

WhyBuildanAleutian Kayak? I have built both Greenland and Aleutian kayaks,and I feel the Aleutian kayak is a better cruising boat becauseit has more spacefor gear. It has more parts than a Greenland kayak so it takesa little longer to build, but the shapeof the hull is simpler and it is a little easierfor the first-time builder to get right.

HowStrong is lt? Skin-on-frameboatsare quite strong.I would rate them somewhere betweenfiberglassboatsand polyethyleneboats.I wasonce picked up by a waveand surfedinto a big rock that brought me to a deadstop.Basedon the forceof the impact,l expectedto be picking splintersout of my thighs,but to my surprisethe boat wasnot damaged.A skin-on-frameboat respondsto force much the sameway that a tree does.It bendsout olthe way and returns to iis restingpositionwhen the force is removed.Of course,a baidarkais not indestructible.If you shouldexit your boat in the surf and have it fill with water, it will weigh severalhundred pounds.And, if crashedinto a rock, the force of this weight might crack some ribs. But even if your boat has crackedribs and stringersyou can paddle it, since the skin and the lashingare still holding the brokenpartsin place. Another common concern seems to be the skin's strength.Peopleworry that a sharpstick or rock might poke a hole in it. I have yet to seea sharpstick where I paddle,and I avoid sharprocks,usuallya concernonly when landingand launching. In either case,a canvasskin will at most losesomepaint where a fiberglass boat will get a deepgougeor crackedgeicoat. When I have to make an emergencysurf landing on a rocky beach,I much prefer skin to fiberglass. Canvasdoeshaveits limits and will get puncturedor torn. If you desirea skin that is strongerthan the frame of your boat or

Introducti

if you expectyour boat to take a lot of abuse,look into using synthetic materials.

Building Experience You don't need woodworkingexperienceto build a baidarkasuccessfully.If you can learn to use a handsaw,a block plane, and a drill, you can build a baidarka.(l haven't included detailed instructionson usingand maintaininghand tools,but there are plentyof goodbookson the subjectin public libraries.) In any case,you will learn asyou build, and a good deal of the teachingwill be done by your tools and materials.As you get a senseof what your tools can do and how your materials respond,the building processbecomessimpler and more pleasurable.

Paddling Experience I assumethat if you build a kayakyou will alsowant to paddle it. If you have never done any kayakingbefore, be warned that you may need a little practicebefore you feel comfortable in this boat. Most U.S.-madeseakayakshavebeamsof anyrvherefrom zz,Ioz6 inches and relativelyflat bottoms.Contrastthis with the zr-inch beam and relativelydeepV-bottom of the Aleutian kayak that you will build. I think that the wide beam and flat bottom of commercialboatshasto do with the economicrealitythat people will not buy kayaksthat they cannot paddlewithout practice. If you plan to paddleyour kayakonly in protectedwaters, are building it mostly for the pleasureof building, and don't expectto paddle it more than a few times each season,by all meansmake it wider.You'll havea boatyou can useand feel comfortable in. It?sbetter to have a boat that deviatesfrom the Aleutian norm if you useit than a faithful replicathat gathersdust in your garugebecauseyou don't feel comfortablewith it.

Building Time If you have never built a boat before,give yourselfabout four months to finish this one. Buildine the baidarka'sframe takes

6

TheAleutianKayak

r l

about trvo months of sparetime, and sewingthe coverand painting it takesanother few weeksor so. The first skin boat I built took me almost six months from startto finish, the result of having a manual that was pretty sketchyabout a lot of the construction details. I've attemptedto write TheAleutianKayakto allow you to build stepby step,without losinga lot of time on experimentation and trial and error. If you have never built a boat or worked on a long-term project before,persistencewill be your most important asset.It is easyto hit a roadblockand want to give up. If you have any friends even marginally interestedin boatbuildingor woodworking,you might want to take one of them on as a building partner. With a partner to give you moral support,you're much lesslikely to quit if you encountera problem.

Whatlt Costs You can buy all the materialsneededto make the boat for under $zoo in 1995U.S. dollars.If you decideto build anotherboat, you can build that one for under $roo. The cost of materials breaksdown roughly asfollows: Lumber, $3o Paint,linseedoil, and turpentine,$4o Canvas(wholesale), $35 Canvas(retail),$7o Thread,lashingtwine, rope,and needles,$zo This all addsup to a maximum of $16oif you haveto pay the retail price for canvas.If you want to keep your costsunder $zoo,you have another$39.99to spendon toolsor to coverthe increasingcostof lumber.

of theProcess TheSteps There are a number of differentwaysto make a baidarka,depending on the materialsavailable,the kind of tools you have,and so on. Ratherthan try to deal with differentconstructionmethods at the sametime, I havechosento presenta singleway of building

lntroduction1

the boat.This makesthe presentationof the building processa lot more straightforward.Alternative construction methodsare discussedin appendices.

Things GoWrong Whatto DoWhen I won't categoricallysaythat somethingwill go wrong when you build a boat. I've made it through whole boatswithout any problems. On the other hand, building a boat hasso many stepsthat there is a good chanceyou will run into someproblems.The most imporiant thing when encounteringone is not to get discouraged.There is no rush.When I can't immediatelyseea solution, I usually back off and wait a day,which givesme time to think-and I alwayscome up with something.Talk the problem over with your partner,if you have one. But don't quit. Appendix r hassometroubleshootingtips.Thesewon't necessarilycovereverythingthat could possiblygo wrong,but you will get a flavorof the generalapproachto dealingwith problems.

Outside of theU.S.A. Baidarkas Building All measurementsin this manual are specifiedin English units of feet and inches since this is still the prevalentsystemin the U.S. For the benefit of buildersoutsideof the U.S., metric equivIncheswere convertedto cenalentsare suppliedin parentheses. timetersby multiplying by 2.54.Poundsbecamekilogramsby dividing by z.z. I have divided metric conversionsinto three categories. In the first category,you may use the exact conversions-the actual dimensionsof the boat, such as length, width, and depth -as they are. or the The secondcategoryis approximateconversions, metric conversionsof approximateEnglish dimensions.For instance, if I suggestthat you make a boathook from a stick approximately5 feet long, you don't'haveto make it exactly152.4 centimetersin length.Any stickfrom r4o cm to 16ocm will probably do. The third categoryis conversionsof cut lumber dimenA sions. boardmay be sold in the U.S. as1/oinch x 714inches(r.9 cm x 19 cm) in crosssection.Your lumberyardmay not have any

Kayak 8 TheAleutian

possible boardsthis exactsize.If this is the case,getthe closest equivalent. Finally,I wouldlike to p'ointout a peculiarityof the U.S. lumbertradethat maybe confusingto buildersoutsidethe U.S. Lumber is describedby its sizebeforeit wasplaned,evenwhen it is not soldin an unplanedcondition.Sor x zsarereallyt/oinish usedfor conthick and rl incheswide.The z x 4s universally shuctionarereallyrl4inchesthick and 3i4incheswide. I havetried to avoidconfusionby givingfinisheddimento However,if youseeanyreferences sionsof lumberin all cases. I'm about. talking r,x2sor z x 4s,you'll knowwhat

lntroduction I

.

1

The Natilro of theBoilt To getsomeideaof the kind of boatyou'reaboutto build you shouldunderstand theAleutiankayak's properties andbehavior. Figure2-1.Replicaof an Aleutian baidarkafromAtka, oiginally suneyedby David and lohn Heath.

l P

qTr

Kayak l0 TheAleutian

ThePartsof the Boat The namesof the kayakpartsshownbelow are keyedto Figure zr, though I'm not surethere are any standardEnglish namesfor

,^

I

V

I haveusedtraditionalboatingtetms. mostparts.Wherepossible, terms don't apply,I haveimprovised. traditional Where Aleutiantermsfor partsof the boathavebeenrecordedby to KayakSndiesfor details. seeContributions Knut Bergsland; a. gunwales

l. keelsonjoint

b. deck beam

m. hull stringer

c. backrest

n. bow

d. knee brace

o. lowerborrJ

e. foot brace

p. upperbowpiece

f. bow crosspiece

q. bowslit

g. tail crosspiece

r. tailfin

h. rib

s.frontdeckstringer

i. keelson,center section

t. reardeckstringer

j. keelson,bow section

u. cockpitcoaming v. coami+gstanchion

,k. keelson,tail section

_ The0riginof the Boat The boatyou'll build is an Aleutiankayakusedby huntersin the latter part of the rgth centuryand the earlypart of the zoth

o

r

2

3

Figure2-2.Baidarkareplica coveredwith canvasskin.

+

@rr

Ihe llatureofthe Boat | |

t !9!0 t

Standard dimensions Length Beam, Depth

to sheer,

-5282mm (L) (B max) at3 048 mm 496 mm (Ds) 235 mm at 3 048 mm -

Figure2-3.An Aleutianbaidarka in the BritishMuseum.Courtesy of lohn Brand.

(D max)at 2 705 mm o/a Depth, Cockpit length Cockpit breadth 0 to cockpit Nb. These are all survey dimensions

-

319 618 420 2 769

mm mm mm mm

l 114 l

bKr- 005 (a) BAIDARS,BRUSH MUSEUM, &EU DEM., ETENOGMPflICAL BURLINGTON GABDENS. LOPON WTX 2EX, ENGhND.

century. The boat in Figure z-r is a replica of a boat in the HearstMuseum (formerlythe Robert H. Lowie Museum) in Berkele;r,California. It was collected in Atka by MargaretLantis rn ry34.Figure z-z showsthe samereplica boat with its skin on. The boat in Figure z-3 is in the British Museum in London. No information on its origins is available.Note that even though theseboatscome from different islands,their shapeand dimensionsare remarkablysimilar. George Dyson attributesthis similarity to the homogenizingeffect of the Russianpresencein the Aleutians.

TheBaidarka €hanges withTime A kayakmade of natural materialschangesover time, settling and adjustingitself in the first six months,especiallyif usedfrequently.The canvasskin will tighten and put pressureon the ribs. Ribs that stick up a littlq higher than otherswill be pushedforward or backward,eventuallyleveling with their neighbors.In time, all the ribs will flatten somewhat.You'll notice that the boat'sshapechangesslightly and subtly.Its keel might drift off to one side or the other for a while, but eventuallyit seemsto straightenitself again.The paint will wear,the nosemay droop a little, the cockpitcoamingwill elongate,and so on. Keeping all this in mind, realize that the drawingson the following pagesshow somewhatidealizedversionsof real boats.Your boat will look pretty much like the boats in the

12 TheAleutian Kayak

that drawingsbut with the lumps,bumps,and irregularities resultfrom usingnaturalmaterials.

FormandFunction If you are iempted to tinker with the designof the baidarkapresentedhere, I'11give you a list of what I feel are key baidarka designfeaturesand their functions.If you decideto modify any of them, you will at leasthave some idea of how it will affectthe boat. If you are interestedin a detailedtechnicaltreatmentof "Form and Function of the this topic, readGeorgeDyson'spaper, in ContriBaidarka:The Frameworkof Design,"which aPPears butionsto Kayak Studies. The Aleutian kayakwasdesignedto be paddledon the oceanaround the Aleutian Islandsthat separatethe North Pacific from the Berins Sea.The winds and the currentsthereare some of the most r.u.r" in the world. Not only did the Aleutianshaveto be very good paddlersto surviveunder theserough conditions, they alsohad to have a boat designthat wastuned to theseconditions. It seemsto me that the designthey evolvedover the centuries is not likely to be improved upon. Any grossmodifications to the designare likely to give you a boat of lesserseaworthiness.

of Seaworthiness Elements

l

of aboriginal After having read much about the seaworthiness kayaks,I built one and took it out paddling on Lake Michigan on a windy late-Marchday.After a shorttime paddling,I capsized and spentthe next r5 minutesswimmingthe boat backto shore. So much for seaworthiness. Luckily, I waswearingmy drysuit.As I carriedmy boat back to the car, firefighterswith grapplingpolesapproachedfrom land as a Coast Guard boat approached from the water. Someonehad seenme swimming.After that incident, I spentthe next year practicingmy ro11everytime I went out on the water and eventuallygot good enough that I didn't have to swim my boat any more. of a kayak The moral of the storyis that the seaworthiness has asmuch to do with the skill and experienceof the paddleras it doeswith the boat itself.No matter how goodyou or your kayak

t

i I

i

I

Thel{atureof the Boat 13

are,there will alwaysbe weatherthat can get the better of you. Humility and respectare the proper attitudeswhen you put your boat in the water.When you paddlein rough water,you soonrealize that the key to survivalis cooperationand grace,not domination. You needto know your limits and thoseof your boat,and you need to get off the water or stayoff the water when you get close to thoselimits.

Paddling Speed Potential GeorgeDyson haspromotedthe idea that Aleutswere capableof paddling their kayaksat ro miles an hour (16krnih). There are historicalaccountsthat they did. However,don't be disappointed when your kayakdoesn'tgo that fast. Speedin a kayakis a lot like seaworthiness-itdependsasmuch on the paddlerason the boat. For one thing, studiesof Aleut skeletalremainshaveshown that the bones in their arms were quite a bit bigger in diameter than those of contemporaryRussiansor other peoplesof today. The implication is that the heavierbonessupportedquite a bit more muscle. The norm for Aleutian paddlersmay well have been strength and stamina found only in Olympic-classpaddlers today. The normal cruisingspeedfor a kayakwith a r6-foot(488 cm) waterlinelength is about4 milesper hour (6.4km/h). People in racesof some distancehave averaged9 miles per hour (r4.4 km/h). Paddlingall day againsta headwindwith a heavilyloaded aslittle asz milesper hour (3.2km/h). boat,I haveaveraged While the speedof a kayakdependsa lot on the paddler, asa builder you can controlcertainaspectsofthe boatthat affect speed:skin friction and tightness,flexibilityof the frame,and width and weight of the boat. A rough or bumpy paint finish causesmore skin friction than smooth paint does.An Aleutian kayak'sframe is intrinsicallyflexiblebecauseof the light weight of the frame members.However,looselashingsor looseskin will causea kayakto paddleasbadly as a rubber raft.Tight lashings and tight skin are essentialto good performance. If you increasethe length,width, or weightof the boat,you alsoincreasethe amount of surfaceareain contactwith the water, to forwardmotion. Increased which in turn increasesresistance weight alsocausesyou to expendmore energyacceleratingthe

Kayak 14 TheAleutian

r betweenstrokes,that'severytime boat-and sinceit decelerates you apply power.

of Volume Thelmportance Volume is the total amount of spaceenclosedby your boat,and it must be enough to keep paddlerand cargoafloat.In the case of an Aleut, this wasprobably16opounds (Zl kg) for the paddler and another75 pounds(18kg) for gearand seaotterpeltsor ballast stones.The volume should be sufficientto give the boat 3 to 4 inches(7.5"- to ro cm) of freeboardor clearancebetweenthe waterlineand the sheerline. Lessfreeboardmeansthat waterwill washacrossthe deck more often.More freeboardmeansthat more of the boatwill be affectedby wind pressure.An inch (2.5cm) of freeboardcan make the differencebetweenmaking progressin a strongwind and standingstill. SinceAleutswent on long trips and had to haul their gear and pelts in their boats,they probably built their boats with enoughvolume to handle well when loaded.This meant that the boatsprobablysata little high in the waterwhen empty. The width, length, and depth of the kayakall relateto volume. Increasingany one dimensionwill increasethe boat'svolume. If your weight is under r8o pounds(82kg) and you want to make the boat wider to give it more stability,you might alsotry making it shorterto keep the overallvolume from going up. Another aspectof volume is affectedby the part of the hull that sits in the water. If you make a high-volume boat you'll have more of the bottom and lessof the sidesin the water.If you makea low-volumeboat you'll havecomparablymore of the sides in the water.Two boatswith roughly the samehull shapewill behavequite differentlyif one sitshigh in the waterand the other siislow.

WidthandStability Ifyou have neverpaddleda kayakbeforeor ifyou have only paddled one of the wider recreationalkayakswith a beam of z3 inches (58 cm) or greater,you might find an Aleutian kayakwith a zrinch (53 cm) beam a little tippy. The easiestway to make your

fhe ilatureof the Boat 15

kayakmore stableis to make it wider. The questionis, should you? My answeris no; at leastnot without good reason.There are some good reasonswhy you may want to make your kayak wider, and we'll come to them later,but let'sbegin with a few reasonswhy you should not. This may not make senseat first,but a narrowkayakwith a deep V-bottom is more seaworthyin rough water than a wider, flat-bottomedkayak.I first h{d ihis explainedto me in a seminar given by Frank Goodryan, thidesigne! of the Nordkapp kayak. With a zr-inch (l; c-) beam,the Nordkappoften is accusedof being tippy, and so requiresits designerto have a readydefense. What makesa wide, flat-bottomedkayakstablein flat water is the tendencyof the bottom of the boat to stayparallel to the water'ssurface.A narrow,V-bottomedboat would just assoon lean over,and so is perceivedasbeing tippy. A narrowboat needs the agility of its paddlerto keepit upright. In rough water,the flatbottomed boat still tends to stay parallel to the surfaceof the water,only now the surfaceof the water is tilting and the paddler needsto lean to one side or the other to keep the boat from capsizing. The flat bottom also makesthe kayaksusceptibleto sliding sideways,especiallyin breakingwaves. In rough water,the narrow boat needsto be kept upright by its paddlerjust asit doesin fat water,so rough waterdoesn't causeany new anxietyfor the paddler.The rough water doesnot tilt the narrow boat to one side or the other, so the paddler does not haveto lean to stayupright, but simply paddlesand keepshis or her body vertical. H. C. Petersenin his book,The Skinboatsof Creenland, tells of a specialstorm kayakthat huntersthere once built, which wasnarrowerand had a deeperV-bottom than the normal fairweatherkayak.This boat was so unstablewithout a paddler ihat it would tip to one side if you laid a paddle on the deck off center. There are storiesof similarlyunstableAleutian kayaks,supposedlybuilt beforethe coming of the Russians. One windyday,I stoodbythe shoreof Lake Michigan and watcheda largeCanadagooseand a small diving duck swimming in the breakingwaves.The Canadagoosewith its largebuoyant body surfedand slid a few feet sidewayseverytime a wavebroke. The small diving duck, which sata lot lower in the water,wasnot moved around by the breakingwavesat all. The wavessimply

16 TheAleutian Kayak

-

washedover it and it kept right on swimmingwithout any lossof ground.Kayaksthat are good in stormsare like the diving duck. Having given you reasonswhy a narrowkayakis better in stormywater,let me now give you somereasonswhy you might want to build a wider, more stableboat.After you spendall that time building a boat, you should feel comfortablein it. While mostpeoplecan learn to paddlea narrowboat,somewill never feel comfortablein one. If you are one of thesepeople,make the boatwider. Someotherwiseveryathleticpeoplehavebad balance and need a wider boat.And ultimately,all kayaksare unstableand needa paddlerto keep them upright. Don't build a narrowboat just becauseyou think it is more sporting.Build a boat you can feel comfortable in. Incidentally, women and children do better than men in narrowboatsbecausethey seemto havea lower center of gravity. Ifyou have never been in a kayakbefore and are wondering whether a zr-inch (51 "-) boat is too narrowfor you, go to a kayaksymposiumor to a boat dealerwho lets you take boats out on the water,and try a narrowboat. If you feel comfortable with that width or think you could learn to feel comfortablewith it, go aheadand makeyour boatzr inches(51"-) wide. If you aren't comfortable,make your boat wider. An inch or hvo makes quite a difference.Avoid making the boat wider than z3 inches(58 it, becauseyou will pay with cm) unlessyour hips necessitate reducedperformance. Of course,if your primary concernfor the boat is not but carryingcapacity,or you aren't concernedmuch sportiness about speedor never intend to go near any rough water,by all meansmakethe boat aswide asyou need.

Length The length of the HearstMuseum boat is 16feet 9 inches(5ro.5 cm). The length of the Oregon StateMuseum boat is r7 feet r inch (5zr cm). Both of theseboatsare roughly zol inches (5r.9 cm) wide. There isn't any point in making the boat any longer unlessyou want to turn it into a cargobarge. I made one replicaof the boat in the HearstMuseum, which ended up at r8 feet 6 inches(56+cm) sinceI didn't want to shortenthe lumber I usedfor the gunwales.A r7-foot(5r8 cm)

fhe Natureof the Boat

17

versionof the sameboat is noticeablymore responsiveand has a livelier feel becausethe shorterboat pivotsmore quickly when going over waves.The longer boat has more inertia. It starts climbing a wave earlier,but it alsowaitslonger to pivot over the top of the wave-and when it finally does,it slamsdown on the othersidelike a breachingwhale.

TheEffectof Depth Depth from the top of the gunwalesto the bottom of the keelson is about 8l inches(2r.9cm). Don't make the boat any deeper unlessyour kneeswon't fit under the kneebrace.Unlessyou are quite heavyor carry a lot ofgear, greaterdepth to the boat translatesinto more boat stickingout of the waterand more surface areafor the wind to useasa sail. The more a boat protrudesfrom the water,the higher its center of gravityand the lessstableit becomes.A taller boat is harderto paddlebecausethe higher deck forcesyou to lift your paddlehigher.

Cockpit Position The cockpit in an Aleutian kayakis positionedmore than halfway back so that there is more boat in front of the paddl'erthan behind. It may seemthat the boat is not balancedcorrectly,but Figure 2-4. When the baidarka is afloat its deck idge and sheerline dre more or lessparallel to the surfaceof the water. (Martin Honel photo)

18 TheAleutian Kayak

it is.When the boat is sitting in the water,the deck ridge,which is almoststraight,is pretty much parallelto the water.When viewed from the side,a baidarkalooks a lot like a floating log. The extra length of the boat in front of the paddlermakesit riseto a wave soonerand keepsthe paddlerdry.

TheEffectof aV-Bottom The crosssectionof the boat in the vicinity of the keelsonis Vshaped.The V helpsthe boat maintain a straightcourse.It also makesit harder to turn, but on open water the ability to turn quicklyis rarelyrequired. The amount of V in the vicinityof the cockpitis somewherebetweenro and r5 degreesupwardfrom the horizontal.The if if you makethe boatwider and increases amountof V decreases narrower the boat making If are you makethe boatnarrower. you thanzr inches(51.-) becauseyou arebuildingit for a smallerperson,you might alsowant to decreasethe depth of the keelsonto keeothe amountof V from becomingexcessive.

VFigure2-5.Thepronounced bottomof thebaidarkagivesi a bettergrip on thewaterthan flat ial kayaks. commerc bottomed

Deck? Whya Ridged In moderatelyrough, breakingwaves,waterslidesoff on either sideof the centerdeck ridge,which is preferableto waterwashing alongthe deck and slammingyou in the chest.But if the waves breakhard enough, you get slammedin the chestan)^vay.

of the InternalFrame Drawback One of the few drawbacksof skin-on-frameboatsis that the frame takesup spaceinside.This meansthat a plasticboatof a sizecomparableto your baidarkawill havegreaterstoragecapacity'If you takeexcursionswith peoplewho haveplastickayaks,you may feel a bit guilty about not carryingasmuch stuff.If it reallybothersyou, paddlersascompanions. you can stickwith otherskin-on-frame

ofYourBoat TheStrength The Aleutscoveredtheir boatswith animal skins,which lasteda year,maybehvo, beforethey had to be replaced.This meansthat

TheNatureof the Boat 19

the Aleuts had frequent accessto all parts of the frame. This allowedthem to build boatsaslightly aspossiblesince repair and replacementof crackedor broken ribs and stringerswas not a problem. A canvasskin, on the other hand, lastsat leastfive years and if treatedcarefully,can lastfor ro. This increasesthe chances that you'll cracka rib or stringeror otherwisedamagesomepart of the frame long beforethe skin needsreplacing.1f you want to male a repair, you'll need to removethe skin, repair the part, and replacethe skin. A crackedrib or stringeris not a big deal on an Aleutian boat, which has4o ribs and eight hull stringers.A breakhere and there will not incapacitateyour boat. However,if you do much rough kayaking,thesebreakswill accumulateand you'll have to slit the seamson the boat long beforethe skin is worn oui. If you want to saveyourselfsomemaintenanceand don't mind the extra weight, make the ribs and stringersheavierand stronger.

Parting Comments The designof a boat is inevitably a compromisebetweenconflicting requirementssuch asstabilityand speed,or strengthand light weight. I found that my first boat took a long time to build becauseI,spentmore time agonizingovervariousdesigndecisionsthan building. The building processwill be a lot easierif you can acceptthe idea of not making a perfectboat the first time out. Build the bestboat you can, then take it out and paddle it for six months. Without a doubt you'll think of waysto make your next boat better.Go to kayakingsymposiumsand meet otherbuilders. Trade constructiontips and stories.Paddleas many other boats asyou can. and learn.

20 lhe Aleutian Kayak

r-

I

t

fiffiingtheBoat The Aleutiankayakfeaturedin this manualshouldfit peopleup to 6 feet(r83cm) tall and r8o pounds(82kg) in weight.If you smaller,you mightwantto change arebigger,or substantially the boat'sdimensions.

Dimensions Traditional Traditionalkayakbuilders recordedthe dimensionsof their boats in terms of armspans,handspans,length of forearm, width of thumb, and so on. One such setof measurementshascome down to us from Bill Tcheripanoff by way of foelle Robert-Lamblin. The set of measurementsshe recordedwasfor a two-holekayak. She alsotranslatedthesemeasurementsinto centimeters,which makesit possibleto take the dimensionsof a one-holekayakand translatethem into body-baseddimensions.The resultsof this translationare shown in Figure 3-r. If you are thinking of using your own body asa yardstick

Figure3-1.Thetraditionalwayto sizean Aleutianbaidarka, accordingto Bill Tcheipanoff. is 64 inches(161.9cm). Armspan Elbowto fingertipsis 17 inches (43cm).Handspan,thumbto middlefinger,is 8 inches(20 cm). Thumbto knuckleof middlefinger is 5%inches(14cm)

FittingtheBoat 2l

(Opposite Page)Figure3-2.Your boatmustbewideenoughand deepenoughto fit yourfeetat the foot braceposition.

for building your boat,here are a few wordsof warning.First, if your armspanexceeds64 inches(163cm), you will get a boat longerthan r7 feet (5.r8m). I havebuilt longerboatsbut find that I prefer the r7-foot(5.r8 m) length. If your armspanis less than 64 inches(163cm), you can probablyusethe body dimensionsdescribedabove. Second,boatbuilderssettleon boat dimensionsafter much trial and error. This meansyou should first build a boat accordingto the recommendationsof this book. Then if you like the way it handles,recordthe dimensionsof the boat in terms of your body dimensions. Third, a good boatbuilderwill not build a boat strictlyto one set of dimensions.If you build a boat for someoneelseyou need to fit the boat to that person.If you build a boat for yourself,you will varythe basicdimensionsto makea fastboat or a stable boat or a strongboat or a light boat. In other words,a set of dimensionsis only a startingpoint.

Intended Use If you intend to useyour kayakon open water,in wind and waves, your bestbet is to make it just large enough to fit you. Excesssize will work againstyou when you haveto fight difficult conditions. If you plan to use your kayakmostly on riversor small inland lakes,you can afford to make it wider or with a bigger cockpit without too much lossin performance.

InteriorHeight The spacebetweenthe ribs and the deck beamsforwardof the cockpit must be large enough to accommodateyour legs.The spacein the vicinity of the foot brace must be large enough to accommodateyour feet and footgear.These measurements are more critical if you paddlein cold climates,sinceyou alsohaveto allow for severallayersofclothing.

TheldealWidth The Aleutian kayakis at its widestat the knee brace.The suggestedwidth in this manual is zr inches(51"-). The width of

27 lhe Aleutian Kayak

r I

Fittingthe Boat 23

Figure 3-3. The cockpit must be Iong enough so your rear end clears the back of the cockpit coamingwhen your kneesare up against the kneebrace.

the cockpit is r8 inches (46 cm). If your hips are wider than r7 inches (43 "tn), add an inch of width to the boat for each additional inch of width of your hips.You should alsomake the cockpit at leastan inch wider than your hips. If you makeyour boatwider without makingit deeper,it will be more stableon flat waterbut more difficult to roll. If you've neverpaddleda kayakbeforeand are more interestedin flat-water stabilitythan rough-waterperformance,adding an inch to the width won't do much harm, but it makesquite a differencein feel.

Cockpit Length

Figure3-4.To measure the length of yourlowerbody,sitagainsta waIIor doorand measure fromthe wall to the ballsofyourfeet.

24 TheAleutian Kayak

The cockpit must be large enough for you to enter and exit without too much difficulty. If the cockpit is too short, you won't be able to get into the boat.If it is too long, breaking wavesare more likely to punch through the sprayskirtand fill your boat with water. I suggesta cockpit length ofz4 inches (6r cm)-long enough for people whose length from the bottom of their feet to the small of their back when sitting is lessthan 48 inches(rzr.9cm). To measurethis distance,sit on the floor wiih your back againsta wall and your paddlingshoeson your f!et. Measurethe distancefrom the wall to the balls of your feet. Increase the length of the cockpit by the amountyour measurementexceeds 48 inches (rzr.9cm). If your measurementis closeto 48 inches (rzz cm) and you have stiff knees or your kneecapsstick out, add z inches (5 .-) to the length of your cockpit.

lr If you'll paddlemostlyin protectedwaters,makethe cockpitopeninglongerfor easygntrywithout havingto worry abouibteakingwavespunchingthroughyour sprayskirt'

Lengthof the Boat Yoursizereallyhasno bearingon how long the boatshould-be' needbigfustrememb.ith"t if you makeyourboatlonger,you'll ger armsto paddleit. An overlylargeboat is not-aPleasureto unlessyou feel iaddle. Stickwith the basicr7-foot(5r8cm) len$h the needto carrya lot ofgear

Fittingthe Boat 25

Tools ilnd tIatoriills Traditionalkayakswere made with a few simple tools.Modern reproductionsof traditionalkayakscan be made the sameway. Here is all you'll needto build a kayak.

Tools You'llNeed Not all thesetoolsare essential-someare iust handv and make the job go faster. Figure4-1.Powerdrill (top)and handdill (bottom).Thepower drill can be usedone-handed, leavingtheotherhandfreeto hold thematerial.

25 TheAleutian Kayak

Saw Crosscut Hand Get an eight-pointsaw(seventeeth per inch), z6 inches(66 cm) long. Thii is a goodsawfor cuttinglumber to size.More teeth in a sawgive you a finer cut but alsomake for slowercutting'

Saw Dovetail This is a small sawwith fine teeth, used for sawingthe ends of and for trimming dowelsand cutdeckbeamsto tight tolerances, ting tenons.

Bits and Drill use any kind of drill you like aslong as it acceptsthe following sizedbits. Drill-bit sizefor dowelsshouldbe tl64 inch (o'5 mm) smallerthanthe dowelto ensurea tightfit: % inch (ro mm) for round rib mortises ',1oinch (6 mm) for lashingholes '%"inch for y'*-inchdowels '%oinch for y'rinch dowels

Plane Block while The blockplaneisa smallplanethatyoucanuseone-handed set blade the with one I use hand. you hold the work with the other Figure4-2.A collectionof small planes,all of which can be used one-handed.The laPanesePlane in the centeris Pulled,the other two planesare Pushed.

ToolsandMaterials 77

Figure4-3.Topviewand bottom t'iewof somespokeshaves. The middlespokeshave hasa rounded sole,makingit suitablefor shavinginsidecunes.Thebottom spokeshave hasa flat sole.

at a zo-degreeangle.I sawone recentlyat Searsfor $rs.you can payup to $5ofor one of theseplanes,but that isn'tneceJsary.

Spokeshave You'll need this tool for rounding the cornersof your chine stringersand for shapingribs. Spokeshaves come with both fat and roundedbottoms.I useone with a roundedbottom.

Hammer You'll need a hammer to drive dowels.You'll alsouseit to drive in nails during deck setupand to pull them out afterward.If you have to buy a hammer, get a fairly small one. A heary carpenier's hammer is more likely to do harm than good.

Crooked lhife This is my all-round utility knife, capableof carvingfat, convex, and concaveparts.It's like a one-handeddrawknife,and I preferit to a straight-bladedknife for shapingparts.The crookedknife has alwaysbeen part of the aboriginal tool set:Kayakbuilders would split their wood from logs,shapeit with ^n ^drr,then finish it with a crookedknife. In North America, carversusedbeaver incisorsfor the bladesof their crookedknivesbefore they had accessto steel. you're right-handed,hold the knife with your palm up . .' ff and the blade pointing to the left. To carve,pull it towardyou. In

28 TheAleutian Kayak

crooked Figure4-4.Left-handed knife(top)and right-handed knife(bottom).You crooked Pull theseknivestowardyou like a drawknife.

daysgone by, farmersusedtheseknivesto trim horses'hooves,so yor J"n get them at antique fairs or order them from placesthat in unusualhand tools. specialize

|(nife Straight You can get by without a crookedknife if you havea straightone, but it must have a fixed blade and a handle that won't give you blisterswhen you useit.

Adze The adzeis like an axeshapedto carvewood ratherthan split it. The one I havehasa flat bladeon one sideand a scoopon the other,and it's one of the besttoolsI've acquired.With a little practice,you canworkto within /,einch (r.5mm) of a line, thenuseyour crootedknife or plane to do the final finishing.The adzeis a little piecessuchas slowerthan a bandsawin cutting irregular-shaped cheaper' about and portable more lot $4oo deckbeams,but it's a Figure4-5.A chisel(toP)and sloydknife(bottom).Thecuned part of the knifebladeletsyou shaPes. caneconcave

ToolsandMaterials 79

Figure 4-6. Combination adze/axe (top) and small caning adze (bottom). The adze is useful for removingexcesswood quickly.

If need be, you can do somerough trimming with a small axe, but the headson axesare consid-erablv heaiier and will fatigueyour arm much more quickly.

0amps clamps of all sizesand typesare handyto havebut not essential. You can trial-lashwith string or temporarilyassemblethings with nails if need be. Still, if you have clamps,you'll use their. For Figure 4-7. You can neverhaye too many clamps. I use the smaller onesthe mostoften.

30 lhe Aleutian Kayak

clamping'hinch(r.gcm)lumber, 1i1ch (7.6cm)C-clampsarea good'site.For largerpieces,use4-inch (ro cm) clamps'

Chisel Wood A sharp 'Linch wood chisel is handy for trimming wood off the y'*inch (r mm) .nd of" deckbeam if, for instance,you'rewithin of your final length. It's alsoa good tool for cleaningup mortises y'cinch(r.9 cm) width to be a good ,nd t"r,or,r. I hai,efound the all-roundsize.

Needles Sewing you'll need both a straightand a curvedcanvasneedle,both of which are availablefrom boating supply houses.Varietystores may haverepair kits with a canvasneedleand somesmall curved needles,which will saveyou a mail order.

Saw Electric An electricsaw,whether table saw,circular saw,or radialarm saw, of ripping long piecesout of a plank' will speedup the Process Electric ,r*, "r. drng.to.,t tools.If you haveneverusedthem, geta demonstrationand a safetylessonfrom someonewho has'

Gauge l'|arking A marking gaugeis a fastway to run a line down the length of a Figure 4-8. An assortmentof straightand cuned needles.The bottommostneedleis a doubled pieceof wire usedto thread twine through lashing holes.

Toolsandl'laterials 3|

Figure4-9.A markinggauge.The singlepin (bottom)is usedfor suchtasksasmarkingcenterlines. Thedoublepin (top)is usedfor markingmortises.

boardat a fixeddistancefrom the edge.You can do the same thingwith a pencil,though.

Square A.squareis handy for drawing lines at right anglesto the edge of a board,but if you trust your eye,you can get by without it.

Sliding Bevel A sliding bevel lets you mark a line at a fixed angle and also lets you checkthe angleofyour gunwales.For this boatyou can get by with simply cutting the end of a short length of wood of linch (r.9 cm) by rl inch (3.8cm) crosssectionat the right angleand using that for both marking and checkingbevels. Figure 4-10.Asquare (top) and sliding bevel (bottom). Both tools are used to mark wood accurately. If you have a good eye,you cdn probably do without them.

12 TheAleutian Kayak

a Workbenches and Sawhorses is all the bench you'll need.The sawhorses A pair of sawhorses will supportthe frame of the boat, with spaceleft over to support pa*s .hile you'reworking on them. A sturdybench aboutknee i,igt, i, alsohandy.At knee height, either yolrr knee or a foot can .li-p down on a piece of wood while you're working on it, with no time lost to clampingand reclamping'

HandTools Sharpening You may need to sharpenyour knives,chisels,and planesin the knives,do not courseof building the boat.Many tools,especially ha'e a usableedgewhen you buy them and requiresharpening nrior to use.Theie are whole booksdevotedexclusivelyto sharp".ri,'rghand tools. If you intend to sharpenyour own tools and hau""r,"u".done sobefore,read one of thesebooksor havesomejnto one experiencedshowyou how. Many peopleturn goodtools bad tools by assumingihey kno* how to sharpenthem' Don't be one ofthesepeople. If your handsawis sharpwhen you startbuilding the boat, it will still be sharpwhen you are done. It is possibleto,sharpen your own saw,b.rf it is generallymore convenientto take it to a hardwarestoreto have it done'

WorkSPace You'll need a work sPace20 feet (6ro cm) long and 8 feet (z44.cm) wide. Wher"u", yorr spaceis, make sureyou can get your-boat out of it when you'redone.I currentlybuild my boatsin_my.basement and get ihem out through a basementwindow.This limits me to boatsno more than 3o inches(76 cm) wide and r4 inches (36 cm) high. For a kayak,there'splenty of room to spare'

Materials with the exceptrionof the skin, the baidarkacan be madefrom materials,e"dily availableat local hardwarestoresand lumberyards-lumber ior the frame,shing for lashing,twine for.sewing ihe skin,and linseedoil and paint for sealingthe frameand the skin.

ToolsandMaterials 33

a

@a1 l f I

g (z++"nl

]r4&LE

WORK BE-NCH

20'

(e to cm) Figure4-11. Minimum work

An0verview of Lumber Requirements

spacerequirements.More spaceis better becauseit lets you step back and spot inegularities in the shapeofyour boat.

Ideally,you can get all your boat lumber in a singletrip to the lumberyard.To help you with your shopping,I have laid out a list of materialsin pictorial form.

Selecting the Lumber Your boat'swood should be knot-free,which meansbuying clear lumber, though a knotted piece with sufficientlength beiween the knots can be cut up for someof the shorterpieces,such as deckbeams. The boat-partdimensionsin this book assumesoft wood of some sort.According to Joelle Robert-Lamblin,Aleuts preferred sprucefor most of the frame and yellow cedarfor the iibs. Yellow cedar,aftersoakingin waterfor severaldays,could be bent cold with somehelp from the builder'steeth.Aleutsalso had accessto red cedarbut didn't use it becausethey preferredthe greaterstrengthof spruce. Unlessyou want to orderlumber from a specialtymarine lumber dealer,you will haveto make do with the lumber available inyour area.Building-grade sprucewith knotsin it is readily availablein my area,but clearspruceis not. With somejudicious cutting, I can get knot-freepieceslong enough for deck beams.

34 TheAleutian Kayak

Forthe gunwales,I usewhat clearlumber I canget- Easternwhite pine, yJllow pine, and red cedar-none of which is asgood a-s rprn"". Yellow pine is hearry,and white pine and red cedarare soft and more prone to damagethan spruce.However,you can compensatefoi lesserstrengthby making the gunwalesa little deeper. When you buy your lumber for the gunwalesand the other long pieces,find wood with the straightestgrain' Aygid pieces*ith ih" grain running at an angle to the long facesof the board. Deck stringersand keelsonpartscan be cut from 8-foot lengths.Chine stringersare bestcut from r6-foot(488cm) pie-ces buicatt be made from shorter lengths scarfedtogether' (See Chapter 5 on basictechniquesfor detailson how to make scarfs') Gunrvalesshould alsobe cut from r6-footlumber. If you buy two y'o-inchx7y'-inchx r6-foot(r.9 cm " t? c-ry x 488 cm) piecesof knot-freelumber, you will have enoughfor the gunwales,the stringers,the deck stringers,and the keelson'

Figure4-12.Your lumber at a glance.It maY requirements Iook like a lot of wood but it amountsto no morethan about one plank in the average suburban deck.

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Buildingthe Deck 65

l*j

gn ( t2.7 cr'.) (3.8c-)

j_ t-"(e.sca)

B Figure 7-27. Deck beam dimensions.Dimension Ais the elevationof the deck beam above the gunwales.Dimension B is the inside distancebetweenthe gunwales.

Figure 7-28. Mark the width of each deckbeam by laying the stock acrossthe gunwalesand marking from undemeath.

66 TheAleutian Kayak

construction,each beam is measured,fit, cut, and doweledin place beforethe next one is cut and fit. The dimensionsof the deck beamsare shownabove.The elevationof the deck beams is greatestat the cockpit and decreasestoward the bow and the siern. The beamsfit inside the gunwales.The top of each beam on the HearstMuseum boat is aboutl inch (6 mm) below the top of the gunwales.You can also locate the tops of the deck beamsflush with the tops of the gunwalesand gain I inch (6 mm) of interior space. Cut your deck beamsfrom knot-freesectionsof z x 4s; that is, lumber with a ty'*inch (3.8cm) by y'/-inch (8.9 cm) cross section.Cut the length of the z x 4 to the widestpart of the inside

width at the top of the gunwales.Then mark the 2 x 4sasshownin Figure7-28' Once you havemarkedthe deck be:rm dimensionson the z x 4, you need to removethe unwantedwood' I usean adze, inch (r.5to 3 mm) of the lines, which'getsme to behveeny',uand% then I is" " pla,'," and a crookedknife to do the final smoothing. If you have ".""tt to a band saw,the Processis much faster' Once the unwanted wood is removed,all that'sleft is to trim the ends of the deck beam to match the slopeof the gunwales.I use my fine-tooth backsawor dovetail sawto do the cutting, and I doihe final adiustmentwith a chisel or knife' Make ,ur! yor' toolsare sharpbecauseend grain tendsto crushor splinter if they aren't. When the deck beam fits, fix it in place with some fourpennyfinishing nails.Theseare thin nails,about rl inches (3.8lm) long.This will preventthe beamfrom slippingwhen you drill the holes for the dowels. Beforeyou drill the dowel holes,sight down yo,ur--deck and make sure it is still aligned.If it is, go aheadand drill two holeswith your '%*-inchdrill bit into eachend of the deckbeam. The holesshould go through the gunwaleand aboutz inches(5 cm) into the deck beam' but your l-inch (6 mm) dowel rod slightlylonger than the holes and pound them in place' (If you ,rr! -"tri" Jrills, experimentbetweendrill and dowel combinations until you get a hole just slightly smallerthan your dow-els.) O.itt a"a dowel one hole at a time, then drill and dowel the next and so on. If you drill all the holesfirst and then dowel them, you risksomeof the holesbeingmisaligned'Do not use glue on the dowels.You want them to have somefreedomof movementwhen the boat is under stress'

Fittingthe KneeBraceandBackrest The two deck beamsthat function as the knee brace and back bracealsosupportthe cockpit coaming.Both of thesebeamshave an elevationtiz{ inches(S.Z"-) aboveihe topsof the gunwales. shape them and put them in place as describedabove.Put the kr're" br""" in piace first. You'll have to remove the center spreaderto do this. Fit the backrestand nail it in place.Before-you do*.I it, measurethe inside diagonalsbetweenthe two deck

Buildingthe Deck 67

Figure 7-29. When the first two deck beamsare in place, you dre ready to set the elevationfor the remaining deck beams.

beams'Both diagonalsshouldbe the same.If they aren't,slidethe gunwalesforwardor backwardrelativeto each other until both diagonalsare the same.Then dowel the backrest.

Determining theElevation of theRemaining DeckBeams Figure 7-30.After the first two deck beamsare in place, sting a line t/z inch (13 mm) below the top of eachdeckbeam to the endsto set the elevationB for the other deck beams. Position the sawhorsesso the elevationat A is about 1 inch (2.5 cm) lowerthan at the ends. Alsomake surethatthe topsof both sawhorsesare level.

68 TheAleutian Kayak

once the backrestand the knee braceare in place,you can determine the elevationof the remaining deck beams.ivith th. g,r.,walessupportedon the sawhorses, check their sheer.The !un_ walesshouldbe aboutr)4inches(3.8crn) lowerat the cockpit?rea than at the ends.Move the sawhorses if need be to get the right amount of sheer,out toward the ends for more, or in toward t'he middle for less. y-ouare hapll with the sheer,run a stringor a spare . ^Once piece of wood from y''inch below the top of the foot biace to the top of the gunwalesat the bow.At each of the front deck beam

ila i

7-31.[Jsea smallnailto positions,measurethe distancebehveenthe topsof the gun_wales Figure inch(13mm) keepthestringt/z and the stringor piece of wood. This will be the elevationof each thedeckbeam. belowthetopof of thosedecl beams.Write down the elevationsfor each deck hvo deck for the same beamon the gunwale.Repeatthe Process beamsin back of the cockPit.

DeckBeams FittingtheRemaining Now that you havethe elevationsof the remainingdeck beams, mark them, cut them, fit them, and dowel them in place.As you put eachadditionaldeckbeam in place,recheckthe alignmentof ihe gunwalesto make sureyou aren'tpulling them out of line as you'repeggingthem in place.

theEdges Breaking

l

I I

Now is a good time to breakany sharpedgeson your deck' Use is or block plane. Onb passwith the spokeshavethe spokeshave of the edge outside upper to the sufficient.Payspecialattention deck beam, which is the edgethat ihe skin will be pulled over' Also make surethe undersidesof the knee braceand foot brace

I

theDeck 69 Building

70 TheAleutian Kayak

aresmooth and well rounded.This is especiallyimportant if you oaddlebarefootand in shortsin warm weather. Cut any protruding dowelsflush with the gunwales.If you find pencil lii'resand other marksoffensive,alsoremovethem at this time.

7-32. A Figure (opposite Page) deckwiththe viewofthefinished pieces in place bowandstemcross in the highest andthedeckbeams theends' toward andlowest center

Holesin the DeckBeams Drillingthe Lashing Once all the deck beamsare in place,you are readyto drill the lashineholes.Drill a /o-inch(6 mm) hole in each deck beam z inches (l .-) from the insideof the gunwales' approx'imately The hole should be positionedback of the centerof the deck beam,otherwiseyour lashingswill go right overthe rib mortise, which is alsocenteredon the deckbeam' Make a shallowgroovein the outsideedgesof the gunwalesat the place where the lashingswill go around them' Do to Figure 7-33. Usea sPokeshave round sharp edgeson the gunwalesas weII as on the deck beams.lust d pdssor htto with the is sufficient. spokeshave

Figure 7-34. Drill the lashing hole in the deck beam off centerso the Iashingswill not go over the rib mortise,which is centeredon the deckbeam.

Buildingthe Deck | |

onedeckbeamandlashit to makesureyourholesline up before drillingthe rest.

Painting theDeckRed Aleuts stainedthe framesof their boah with a red ocher color, as did most of the Eskimoson the westerncoastof Alaska.My guess is that the red color representedthe blood of the boat. Boais"were consideredliving thingswith spiritsof their own, so it would seem appropriatethat they should alsohavetheir own blood. I mix my own stain by squeezingan inch or two of Venetian red artist'soil color out of a tube and mixins it with an ounce or two of turpentineand boiled linseedoil. Actually,anv reddishearth tone is appropriate.Red earth tonesderive their color from iron oxide;so doesblood. On"e you have mixed the stain, wipe it on with a rag. _ Ragssoakedin linseedoil will catch on fire spontaneously, sotak"e them cjutsidewhen you're done and discardthem in a metal garbagecan awayfrom your houseor shop.

Lashing the DeckBeams Once you havestainedthe deck,you are readyto lash the deck beams.Thkeaboutan armspanof stringand pult it acrossa cake Figure7-35:Thefirst loopof the lashing.Notethat the lashingsdo notrun overtherib mortise.

12 lhe Aleutian Kayak

of beeswaxuntil it is nice and sticky.The beeswaxkeepsthe string from slippingand helpsto keepthe tensionin your lashings.Tie a smallloop in one end of the string.Double an 8-inch (zo cm) pieceof wire. This will act asthe sewingneedlefor the string. Run the needlethrough the hole in the deck beam from the bottom, go around the gunwalesand through the loop in the other end olthe string.Tighten up and run a few more turns of string throueh the hole and around the gunwales. When the hole is about tolf fill"d, tie off the stringand Now you know how much stringyou need for cut off the excess. eachlashingand you can adjustthe amountyou cut off for most efficientuse. I usuallycut enough for two lashingssinceyou alwaysneed some extrato tie the knots when you get to the end.

0ilingtheDeck Oiling the deck preservesboth the wood and the lashings.For the first coat, mix two partsboiled linseedoil and one part turrentine.Do not userawlinseedoil sinceit takesweeksto dry' Use realturpentineif you can and not mineral spirits.Turpentineis derivedfrom pine sapand so penetrateswood better than mineral spiritsdo. Paint the oil and turpentinemixture on both the woodand the lashings.When the fiist coat is dry' put on anotlter coat of straightlinseedoil. If you are concernedwith long-term Figuie7-36.Whenyouhave enoughtumsof lashing,tie off the of hitchesand endwith a series cut theexcess.

theDeck 73 Building

durability,you might want to replacethe secondcoat of linseed oil with a waterproofvarnishsuch asa yacht sparvarnish. You could leaveoff staining and oiling until the whole "accessible boat is done, but the partsare more b'"for" the ribs are in place.Besides,the stainingand oiling givesyou a chanceto handle the deck and absorbits shapeand admire its beauty.

Checking theFit Once you have all the deck beamsin place, you can check whetherthe spacingand elevationsof the knee braceand the back brace will allow you to get into the boat. To do this, iake the deck off the sawhorses and prop it up on the ground with someblocksof wood so the tops of the gunwalesin the cockpit areaare 7 inches(r8 cm) off the ground.Tie a r:/*inch(3.8cm) piece of wood to the top of the back braceto simulatethe height of the cockpitcoaming. Now stepinto the spacebetweenthe knee braceand the back brace,sit down on the back brace,and supportyour weight by placing your handson the gunwales.Straightenyour legsand slideforward.Justasthe topsof your thighsstartjamming into the undersideofthe kneebrace,the backofyour rearshouldclearthe back brace and you should be able to lower yourself to the ground. If at this point your rear end is still sitting on the back brace,the cockpit isn't long enough.If you absolutelycan't fit, sawthrough the pegsor the tenonsthat hold the back braceto the gunwalesand move the back braceback far enoughso you can get into the boat. Also, asyou're sitting on the ground with your kneesjust forward of the knee brace, you should have enough room betweenthe boitom of the knee braceand the topsof your legs. Ifyour legsin backofyour kneesarebeingsqueezedbythe knee braceyou need to make your boat a little deeper.

74

TheAleutianKayak

Hull Thc Now that you've finishedthe deck, let'stake a look at the hull. The componentsof your kayakhull arethe ribs,the stringers,and a keelson. The keelsonis usuallyconsideredto consistof three parts, but in my opinion, the bow plate,which lookslike an extensionof the deck, is structurallya part of the keelson.You'll notice that it moveswith the keelson,ratherthan with the deck. So installing the keelsonconsistsof assemblingthe bow plate and the tailfin aswell asthe three sectionsof the keelsonitself.All five partsare lashedto eachother and alsoto the ribs. Finally, the eight hull stringersarelashedto the ribs.This completesthe hull. All that'sleft to complete the frame is the additionof the deck stringersand the cockpit coaming;we'll get to that in the next chapter. Figure 8-1.Detailed dimensions

the Frontof the Gunwales Notching

of the notchesat the bow end of the gunwales.Depth of the

Notch the front rl inches(3.8cm) of the gunwalesto a depth equalto the thicknessof the bow plate,ot'/oinch (r.9 cm)' The not"h"t let the bow plate sit on top of the gunwaleswithout protrudingabovethem. SeeFigures8-r and 8-zfor details.

notchesshouldmatch the thicknessof the bow plate.

andTailfin TheBowpiece As a matter of fact, the bowpieceand the tailfin aren'treally neededuntil all the ribs are in place and the keelsonis readyto be lashedin place.I me-+i^W them now becausemakins them is "i"";i;';

TheHull 75

Figure 8-2. Use a small saw to cut the notchesat the front of the gunwales.

Figure 8-3. Detailed dimensions for constructing the bow plate. Glue up the piecesas shownat the top and then shapethem as shownat the bottom.

s//(23.'n)i

75 lhe AleutianKayak

r

work,which you can do if you run out of ribs and can't go to get any more until the next day or the next weekend.

l'laking theBowpiece The bowpiecefinishesoff the front of the deck and joins the deck to the keelson.The Aleuts mostlikely carvedthis piece out of a single block of wood. However,gluing up the bowpieceout of smallerpiecesof wood is easierif you have some clamps.This method of constructionis shown below. Startwith a piece of wood that is as wide asthe distanceacrossthe gunwalesat the notch, about r4 inches (36 cm) long, andf inch (r.9 cm) thick. Mark it so that it forms a smooth transition from the gunwalesto its point. You can make fine adiustmentsto the shapelater. Cut the piece that goesunder the bow plate as shown in Figure 8-3.Glue it to the undersideof the bow plate.If you don't haveany clamps,glue it, drive sometemporarynails,peg it, and then wrap it in string or bungee cordsor anything that will keep somepressureon it long enough for the glue to set.Use ePoxyor otherwaterproofglue. Glue two blocks on either side of the vertical piece' When the glue is dry, carvethem asshown in Figure 8-4.

Figure 8-4.Aviewofthebow platein placeat thebowcross Notethematching blocks. thetwopieces.They cumatureof eachotherasthe wiIIslideagainst boatflexes.

l'|aking theTailfin The tailfin joins the deck to the keelson.This requiresa rather wide piece of wood. I usuallyglue up two piecesto savemyselfa trip to the lumberyard. Carve the tailfin asshown in Figure 8-6. The bottom of the tailfin needsto be matchedto the top of the keelson,so don't do a final shapinguntil the keelsonis in place.The notch at the front of the tail matesup with the stern crossblock. The height of the tail abovethe notch dependson the elevationof the deck stringer.Laya piece of wood that you will usefor the deck stringeron top of the deck beams.Seewhere it meetsup with the tailpieceand mark the height of the tailpiece

TheHull 77

Figure8-5.Youcanglueup the blankfor the tailpiecefrom nanowerpiecesif you have enoughclamps.

Figure8-6.Cut the tailfin as shown.An optionalfour-fingerwideholein the middleof the tailfin reduces overallweight.

tfug.ecn)

p!

gtt(2o.zcm)

t*-

ntt(so'sc^)

accordingly.F igure 8-7 showsthe completed assembly,which givesyou an idea how it will look after all the piecesare in place.

TheShape of the Hull As you put ribs into the boat, you'll see the outline of a hull appearing.Keep in mind that this is not the final shapeof the hull. The skin will be held another z/ainch farther out by the stringers. In the area betweeh the keelson and the bottommost stringerthe skin will bridge the gap to form a broadV. When the

78 lhe Aleutian Kayak

Y-I I

Figure8-7.Thetop of the tailfin wiII line up with thedeckstringer andthebottomwill mateuPwith thekeelson.

boat is in the water,the pressureof the waterwill push on the skin and make this a concaveV. Figure 8-8 showsa completedhull to giveyou someindicationof the shapeyou are working toward.

Figure8-8.Thisis howthehull wiII lookby theendof this chapter.

TheStren$hof theHull The hull of the Aleut kayak is a wonderful exampleof economicalengineering.It's just strongenoughto do the iob-and no stronger. You'11 see that the longitudinal strinsersare lashed to the ribs, which are rp"."d roughly 4 inches (ro cm) apart.The diameter of both the ribs and the stringersis % inch (ro mm). When the hull is subjected to stress,it is important for both ribs and stringersto have the same amount of flex' If you make the ribs substantiallystrongerthan the stringersor vice versa,the weaker of the two will break when stressis applied.If you make the ribs and the stringersroughly the same strength, the two will have a greater chance of flexing out of the way of harm as a unit. That way, individual componentsare lesslikely to get damaged.

I I

i

I I i-

TheHull 79

-TErYPoR'A

Ry _st-R I N6E|a

Ls7{

1

6uN:wALE- ,61-6cn) BOW

E_Np

Figure8-9.Elevationof the temporary stinger shouldbeas shown.Make suresawhorses are levelbeforestarting.

Figure8-10.Measure theheight of supports for the temporary stringerfromthe top of a pieceof woodheldundemeaththe gunwales.

80 lhe Aleutian Kayak

Setting upa FormfortheRibs With the deck invertedon the sawhorses, check once againthat the sawhorses are level and parallel.Check againthat you have about rl inches(3.8crn) of sheer.With the deck invertedand the sawhorses far apart,the sheerhas a tendencyto disappear,so you might haveto move the sawhorses closertogether. Using a r6-foot (488 crn) length of wood, possibly some left over from cutting your gunwales,set up a temporary stringer that will mark the elevation of the ribs. It should be about I inch x rl4 inches (r.9 cm x 3.8 cm) in crosssection. Its elevation should be as shown in Figure 8-9. Measure elevationsfrom the underside of the eunwales to the top of the support as sho*-n irt Figure 8-ro. You should set the basicshapeof the stringer,usinga block of wood at the front of the foot braceand one block at eachofthe end beams.Clamp supportblocks as shown in Figure 8-u. Put additional support at the other deck beamswithoui disturbinethe curvature of the stringer.SeveralwrapsoTstringat each deck beam should be sufficient.When you put in the ribs,they will be pushingup at the stringer,so you need somethingto hold it down.After you haveaddedall your support, sight down the stringerto make sure it doesn't haveany dipsor bulges.If it does,adjustyour supportsor lashingsas necessary. Now that you've got all the supports in place,measurefrom the gunwalesto the stringerto makesureit is centered.Alsocheck

Figure8-l 1. Supportthe stringerwith blocksof tempordry woodclampedto thedeckbeams.

againthe key elevationsofthe stringer,becauseyou are now ready to startputting in the ribs.

RibMaterial Choosing with a round crosssection. Aleutsmadethe ribsof their baidarkas branches,you get the slender If you usewillow shootsor other round crosssectionwithout further effort.But if you cut your rib Figure8-12.With all thesuPPorts stringer in place,the temPorary shouldforma smoothcune.

TheHull 8l L

stockwith a table saw,the ribswill naturallybe squareor rectangular in crosssection.If you do it this way,you'll haveto round off the edgeswith a spokeshave to get a round or oval crosssection. In this chapter, I'll describe ribs made from willow branchessincethis is the easierway to go. Steamingand bending of sawedribs is describedin Appendixz. (Belowleft) Figure8-13. Hamestingin thewillowpatch. (Robert Boucher photo)

(Belowight) Figure8-14.Ideal sizeof ibs isr/rinch(13mm) diameterat the thickendwith the bark on. (RobertBoucherphoto)

82 TheAleutian Kayak

Gathering RibStock I usewillow shootsof / inch (r3 mm) diameterfor my rib stock. Basketmakersgatherthem in the winter, when the wood is most stable.In the springtimeand early summer, new wood on the outer layer of the t'wigis not yet firmly attachedto the inner layersand tendsto delaminatewhen you bend it. Nevertheless, if you are readyto put ribs on your boat,gatheryour stockand bend

The nice thing aboutspringribs of the season. yourribsregardless is that the sapis flowing and the bark peelswithout any effort. Don't pick your twigsmore than a week in advanceor theywill dry up and becomebrittle.You can setthem upright in a bucketof waterto prolongtheir usefullife' But if you leavethem for two weeksor more, they'll send out rootsbelow the waterline and sproutnew branchesabove.That doesn'tmake for nice, smoothribs. My adviceis to pick a few more hvigsthan you will need to do half a boat.When you haveusedthoseuP, go pick some

Figure 8-15.You can use iust about any stickfor ribs. However, ifyou have a choice,avoid sticks with a large pith core (top). Sticks with a smaller pith core (bottom) are preferable.

more. Actr-rally,any twig, branch, or shoot that is reasonably straightand bends uniformly is sr,ritablefor rib stock.I have used all klnds of tree and bush branches.The only twigsyou should avoidare hvigswith largepith coresor too many sidebranches. Even if a twig isn't completelystraight,it usuallyevens needabsoout quitea bit when you bend it. You don't necessarily lutely straightstock.Experiment and seewhat worksfor you. Remember,your twigsneedto be at least%inch (ro mm) in diameterwhen peeled,so pick them thickerto startwith. Also rememberthat tl'risis the minimun'rdiameterat the thin end of the stick,which meansthat other end of the stickwill be thicker. Thicker ribswill be stronger,of course,but theyarealsoharderto bend to the correctshape.I find that linch (r3 mm) is the upper Figure8-16.FIexthe ribswith the barkon to limberthemuP andto checkfor stiff spots.

TheHull 83

Figure 8-17.Beforeyou peel the rib, seehow long it needsto be, and trim it slightly longer than you need.

limit on a peeledtwig.Any thickerand it getsreallyhard to work. Take my adviceand stick to peeleddiametersbehveen%(ro mm) and / inch (r3 mm). You won't regretit.

Puttingin theRibs

(OppositePage)Figure8-18.Peel theribsusinga knifethat is not toosharp.Ribsgatheredin spring and earlysummerpeelmoreeasily than ribsgatheredat any other time.

84

TheAleutianKayak

Start insertingthe ribs in the cockpit areaof your boat. Expectto replacea few, especiallysinceyour worst work will be at the beginningand mostvisiblein the cockpitarea. Selecta twig of suitablelengthand with the barkstill on, bend it in place.You'll takethe barkoff beforethey'repermanently installed.Startwith someskinniertwigssincetheseare easierto bend to the right shape.Useyour thumis to work the tight bendsto avoid crackingthe ribs. If you have not let the bark dry out, the twig should bend easilyand not requireany steaming.Bending without steamis the main appealof greentwigs.The downsideof greenhvigsis that you haveto peel them-but eventhat can be an enjoyableactivityif you'rein the right frame of mind. If you pick your hvigsin the springor earlysummer,they will havea lot of sapunder the bark and you will be able to peel them almostaseasilyasa banana.If you pick your twigslaier in the year,the bark may be a little harder to get off. I use a crooked knife to peel them. I find that a slightly dull knife seemsto work better than a really sharpone. It's important toget all the bark off, not just the dark outer

TheHull 85

Figure8-19.Afteryou have trimmedthe rib to length,inserl theendsin theirmortises and pushtherib intoan upright position.

bark, but alsothe light-coloredinner bark.Any bark left on the ribs will eventuallypeel offon its own. If you varnishyour ribs,the peelingbark will carrythe varnishwith it and your ribs will lose their waterproofing.That will shortenthe life of the boat. After you have pre-bentyour rib and peeled it, trim it so it's evenwith the bottom of the gunwaleor maybe'/,inch(r3 mm) longer. Whittle the endsdown to fit the mortisesand do the final Figure8-20.Whenyougetthe first rib in place,go to theendof theboatand checkit for symmetry. Ribsnearthe cockpit shouldbefl.atin the middleand cumedat the sides.

86 TheAleutian Kayak

l-

Figure8-21.Twoibs downand 40 to go!

fitting. You don't have to jam the ribs tightly into the mortises.As , -"[t.t of fact, it appearsthat rib diameteron the original Aleut inch (r.5 mm) lessthan their mortises.If they fit boatswasabout y',0 too tightly, they'remore likely to shearoff or get fatiguecracksas the boat flexesrepeatedly.Nter you've fixed the end of the rib in its mortise,go to the end of the boat and check the rib by eyefor symmetry. Your greentwigshave sometaperto them, so you can either whittle them down to uniform diameterwith the spokeshaveor put them in so the thicker end alternatesfrom side to side.If you put all the ribs in with the thick end to the sameside, you'relikely to get a lopsidedhull. The shapeof the ribs in the center of the boat should be flat in the middle and rounded at the sidesasshown in Figure 8zo.As you get closerto the endsof the boat,the ribs becomemore archedasshown in Figures8-zzand 8-27. Make sureyou haveenough flat areain the centeror you will end up with a boat that is tippy. Put in a few more ribs on either side of the first one and check your work by eye again. Not only doeseach rib have to be symmetrical,but it must also make a smooth transition with the other ribs. Use a flexible batten laid acrossthe ribs to make sure some of them don't stick up higher or sit lower than othor replacethem. ers.Either trim the nonconformists

TheHull 87

Figure822. Theshapeof theibs from thecockpit,lookingfonuard.

Incidentally,here'sa tip I've found helpful: When you put in ribs, try to give yourselfenough time to do at leasteight in a batch. They tend to be more uniform if you do them together. Take time to assessyour work after each sessionand don't be afraid to redo a sectionof ribs if they don't look right to you. On the other hand, don't be too critical of small irregularities. Remember,you're working with natural materials.No matter how skillful you are, your boat'snot going to end up looking Figure8-23.Theshapeof the ribs from thecockpit,looking backward.

(OppositePage)Figure8-24.All theribsexceptthe lastfewat eitherendarein place.

88 TheAleutianKayak

7

TheHull 89

like inf ection-moldedplastic.But that doesn'tmean it,s in any way inferior in terms of strengthor seaworthiness; and it wiil be vastlysuperiorin termsof aestheticappeal.your boat will have a soul. Work outward in both directionsfrom the center. put in all but the last four ribs on either end. Wait until you have the keelsonin place beforeputting theselastribs in o. Lith., end, to make sure of the correctelevation. Green stickswill shrink someasthey dry. So, if they're tight up againstthetemporarykeel batten when wet, they might be loosewhen dry. Keep this in mind when you go a day o, ti"o betweensectionsof ribs. Don't put the green tibr in iooseto match the dry ones.Put them in snug and they'll shrink to the sameheight asthe dry ones. When you haveall but the few end ribs in place,remove the battenyou usedas a templatefor the height of th" ribs and stainthe ribs red.

Setting uptheKeelson Once the ribs are in place,you are readyto installthe keelson. It comesin threepiecesthat you assemblewith dropleaf scarfsheld-togetherby lashing.The scarfsare aligned so they are supportedby one of the ribsthat is centeredon a deckbeam. Some peoplewho build baidarkasmake the keelsonin one piece,sincethis saveslabor.I alwaysmake my keelsonin three piecesbecauseI believe that the Aleuts knew what thev weredoing. They would certainlyhave made a one-piecekeeison if they had felt it wascleverer,or stronge.,or safer. A three-piecekeelsonwith lashedscarfswill definitely behavedifferentlyfrom a one-piecekeelson.The lashedjoints have some freedom of movement and so will not propagate stresses along the bottom of the boat in the sameway that-aonepiece keelsonwould. You can testthis for yourself.When vour "trvist frame is all done and lashed,pick it up by one end. Flex it, it, shakeit, and you will seehow the keelsonreactsto stress. I must admit I've been tempted to make a boat with a one-piecekeelsonso I can seeif it makesa boat behavedifferentlv on the water,but sofar I haven'tdone sofor fearof endingup with an inferior boat. Perhapssomebraversoul out there would like

90 TheAleutian Kayak

Figure8-25.Theendsof boththe bowand tail sectionsof the endin a little tail that keelson restson theib, whichis centercd on theseconddeckbeamfrom eitherendof theboat.

to experimentand let me know how it weni. When I put in a keelson,I generallyshapethe centerand tail section first becausethey're fairly simple. I also make them longer than they need to be and don't trim them to their final length until I fit them in place.Then I fit and shapethe bow section in place and lash it. When it's in place I put in the centersection and then the tail section. Given the way that the center sectionof the keelsonis shaped,it could be dropped into place afterthe bow and tail sections have alreadybeen lashed.The length of the centerpiece could then be adjustedto fine-tune ihe amount of rocker and sheerin the boat. A shortercenter sectionwould make for less rocker and sheer,while a longer center sectionwould make for more of both. Cut the centersectionof the keelsonfrom a straightpiece with a ry'*inch(3.8 cm) xt/o-inch(i.9 cm) crosssection.Cut it slightlytoo long until you can do the final fitting. The centersectio-nmust r.""h fro- the seconddeck beam from the tail to the seconddeck beam from the bow. SeeFigure 8-26. The centerpiece is the longestpart of the keelsonand has enoughfex to assumethe requiredcurvature.However,the bow

f

.:Y+x(s.z,^)

(=.Bcm)

details Figure826. Construction of thecentersectionof the keekon (top)and thetail section (bottom).

'/t

t'3crn)

Ihe Hull 9l

(::3^' r

t'/ztt(s.aL^) Figure8-27.Remove shaded portionsto put d %-inch(6 mm) cunatureinto the tail sectionof the keelson.

Figure8-28.Detaileddimensions of thebowsectionof the keelson.

and tail sectionsof the keelsonneed tobe shapedto the correct curvature. Cut the tailpieceto the requiredlength and a crosssec_ _ tion ofu I inches(+.+"^)byr',inch (r.9cm). fh.n, usinga plane or knife, take'/rinch (6 mm) off the top at the e.,d a.,i /*inch (6 mm) offthe bottom in the middle-,Sei Figure g-27. The bowpiecehas even more curu"t,r." than the tail_ pj:.": It is most easilycut from a plank that is the right length and I inch Q.g cm) thick try 5)1inches (r4 cm) or 7,/,iltches(19cm) wide. If you go with the narrowerboard,you will haveto add a piece on the noseof the keelson.If you go with the wider board, you don't have to. The long, skinnytail part of the bowpiece shouldstartout at z inches(l "-). i"rue /" inch (r3 mm) of "ur_ vatureinto it using the sametechniqueyou usedfor the tailpiece. The depth of the bow sectionof the keelsonincieases toward the front so that the first two or three ribs from the bow are shallowerthan the ribs following. This makesfor a more gradual transitionof the hull from the convexcrosssectionof th"erib areato the concavecrosssectionin the bifurcatedareaof the bow. Carving the front of the bowpieceis a little more tricky sinceyou haveto match itup to thebow plate.I do this by putting the bow plate in place and then holdingthe unfinish"d io, ,ecl tion of the keelsonup againstit so I can mark where I needto trim awaywood. It generallytakesme severalfittings to get it right.

st'(2.6 cr.,)

zl/(d.+c^) q//(s.tcm) lt/2"(s.o.n)

lrW'4

(z+cm1.1

92 TheAleutian Kayak

Sn (t?.7 c-m)

Once you havethe top of the keelsonmatchedto the bow plate,you will also need to carvethe bottom edgeof the-keelson into a curve that sweepsgracefully upward at the bow' Remove the wood in stepsand put the bow sectionin place on the keelsonto judge the progressof your work. Stopremovingwood when the curve looks right to your eYe. If you went with the narrowerplank,you will now haveto add a nosepieceto the bow.This pieceproiectsaboutz inches(5 crplabovethe top of ihe bow plate.I usuallyattachthe nosepiece with two dowels.If you make the nosetoo tall, it will have a tendencyto breakoffwhen you turn your boat overon the beachand lift the tail to drain water out of the boat. Once you are happywith the profile of the bow sectionof your keelson,you need to carveit so its crosssectionis as shown in Figure 8-28.The crosssectionof the keelsonin the areaof the bolv is like a diamond with concavesides.This shapeprevents waterfrom being trappedunder the skin and causingrot.

Puttingit AllTogether Lay-itinplace.onth-9 Fittingthekeelsonstartswith thebowpiece. ribsaid matchthe front up to the lowerpartof the bowplate'If

Figure8-29.Whenyouhavea thebowPlate goodmatchbetween and thebowsectionof the lashthe twotogether. keelson,

TheHull 93

Figure 8-30. Keelsonscarf detail. If distanceB betweenthe lefthand lashing hole and the edgeof the keelsonis too small, the keelson has a tendencyto split when under stress.Removesomewood in area A of the keelsonso the Iashingsare recessed and don't form a lump under the skin. Figure 8-31. Lashingsaround the scarf hold the two sectionsface to face. The heavierlashings through the holespull the two sections together.If your keel is made of soft wood, the hea.rylashingssaw away at the holesas you flex the boat and the keelsonsectionsstdrt to separate.

94 TheAleutian Kayak

the match isn't exactlyright, make your final adjustmentsnow. Lay the keelsonon the ribs and seewhere the end lines up in respectto the rib that is centeredon the seconddeckbeam. Trim it so it extendsaboutlinch (6 mm) pastthe rib. Cut the scarfinto the tail asshown in Figure 8-3o. Lash the keelsonto the bow plate as shown in Figure d-20.

Cut one end of the middle keelsonsectionto match the end of the bow section.clamp it to the bow sectionand cut the other end to length.Cut the scarfon it aswell.

Figure8-32.Trim thetailfin to and trial mdteup with the keelson lashthehuoof themtogether.

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Now drill holeson eithersideof the scarfiointsasshown in Figure 8-3o.Make sureyou don't drill the holestoo closeto the edeeof the wood or the keelsonwill have a tendencyto split betweenthe hole and the edgeif enough stressis put on the boat in use.Beforeyou lash,carveawayenoughof the keelsonso the lashingswill not makea lump under the skin. Lash the two sectionstogetherasshown in Figure 8-3r.It mieht seemeasierto you to lash around the scarfand then pull thJtwo halvestogether.You must realize,however,that when you lasharound the keelson,the pressureof the lashinghasa tendency to squeezethe halvesapart. So, first do the lashing that pullsihe halvestogether.You will haveto useyour lashingneedle to get under the lashingalreadyin place. Finally, match the tail sectionof the keelsonto the center sectionand lash the two together.If you cut the tailfin oversized, mark it where it overlapsthe keelsonand cut it to match. Triallashthe hvo piecestogether. Finally,installthe remainingribsin the bow and tail sechull to mateup with the keelson,which is now in place. ofthe tions

the Keelson Aligning

f,l

r ,l

In

The keelsonneedsto be straightand centeredbetweenthe gunwales.If your deckis symmetrical,it will be. But if your deckisn't symmetrical,you shouldlay the keelsonin a straightline rather ti'ranhavingit follow an equidistantcurvebehveenboth gunwales.

I

TheHull 95

Figure 8-33.If your hull is straight, as in A, your keelson should be straight when evenly spacedbetweenthe gunwales.If your hull is slightly warped,it is better to run the keelsonstraight, as in C, rather than equidistant from both gunwalesbut cumed,as in B.

A

B

c

At least,you should try to lay it in a straightline. In my experience,the keelsoneventuallyseemsto go where it wants, and there'spracticallynothing you can do abou]tit. I had orr. bo"i where the tail section wanderedoff to one side after about a month of use and then recentereditself a few months later. I believe that if the partsof a boat are allowed to move relativeto each other, as they are in an Aleut kayak,they will eventually align themselves in a desirablestateof naturalequilibrium.

lashingthe Keelson The Aleuts usedto lash the keelsonto the ribs by lashing over the ridge of the keelson.The advantageof this lashingmetlod is that it allowsthe keelsonto slide on the ribs as the bJat flexesin the waves.The main disadvantage is that sandgetsbetweenthe skin and the keelsonand tendsto wear through ihe lashing. Another disadvantageis that it allowsthe ribs to"creep out of position over time. This wasn'ta problem for the Aleuts becausethey could realign the ribs when they repracedthe skins of their boatseveryyearor so. It becom., " probl.*, though, when you havea canvasskin that can lastin excessoffive u"rir.' -Luckily,there'san alternatemethod of lashingth! keel_ son to the ribs: Simply run the lashingsthrough holes"drilledin

95 TheAleutian Kayak

Figure8-34.A:Traditionalover' lashing.B: Lashing the-keel throughholesdilled in the C: ThelashingPattemas keelson. seenfromthe insideof the hull.

the keelson.This method avoidsthe problemsof creepingribs as well as abrasionof lashings.Admittedly, it doesiend to fix the keelsonmore rigidly than the Aleut method of lashing' However, on the whole it's probablyan acceptablecompromise,sinceit savesyou the trouble of strippinga perfectlygood skin offthe boat to realign ribs and redo the lashings'

theHullStringers Making

i

I

It I

Cut the hull stringersfrom a r6-foot(488crn) boardto a %-inch (ro mm) squarecrosssection.I usuallycut them from rough cut plankswith an actualthicknessof r inch (2.5cm).I cut four %inch (,o mm) stripsfrom the edge,which will then be r inch (z'5 cm) wide. I then cut eachof thosestripsin half lengthwiseand I havemy t/tinch (ro mm)squaredimension' Once you'vemade all eight of your stringers,round the edgeswith your spokeshaveto give them a round or elliPtical section.You can hold the stringerwith one hand and work cro"ss with with the other. When you use a spokeshave the spokeshave it oneuse you both hands,you draw it towardyourself,but when handed, you can either work toward or away from yourself, whichever feelsmore comfortable. When you have shapedall the stringers,stain them red'

theHullStringers Lashing When you've finished shapingthe stringers'triallash them to the ribs.Spacethe stringersclosestto the keelsonaboutro inches

TheHull 97

1u(r.ocm)

tott(zs.4cn)

4/ gto.z"^)

Figure8-35.Spacethe two stringersclosestto the keelson as shown.Spacetheotherstingers evenlybetween thegunwalesand the bottommost stingers.

(25_cm)apartat the centerof the cockpit, inches (7.6 cm) apart 3 at.the bow, and 4 inches (ro cm) aparfat t:hetail. Arrange,ll'th. other shingerssothey'respacedevenlybetweenthe gunrialesand the stringersclosestto the keelson. Trim the stringerseven with ihe ends of the sunwales. Thperthe endsof the stringersso they won't havetheir Jdgespoking into the skin.

Figure8-36.Trim stingerseven with theendsof thegunwalesand roundthemoff sotheydon'tpoke at the skin.

Now lashall the stringers, startingat the gunwales and workingtowardthe keelson.Usethe lashlngpattJrnsshownin Figure8-iz.Tr" materialI usefor lashingii an artificialsinew soldby TandyLeather,which you shoulJbeableto getat any leathercraftstore.It's waxed,unbraidednvlon. which lies flat and doesn'tcause,nrrch of a

lumpundertheskin. Actually,anyline thatliesflat,suchas theold*tylebraidedbait-casting line, would workjustaswell.Lashings mustbetightoryour boatwill turn out limp and rlor".Ho*eu"r, evenwhenthey'retight,theywill still allow enoughmovementto preventdamage, should theboatbesubjected to severe stresses. Everyfiveribsor so,run a lashingfrom thetopmoststringeraroundthegunwalJ.This helpsto hold the ribsinto their mortisesuntil you getthe skinin place.

Checking theFit Now comesthe excitingbit. Now you can try on your boat for fit. Take it off the sawhorses and put it on the ground. Put z x on either 4s sideof the keelsonto supporttheribswhile you slideinto the cockpitto checkthe fit. If the boat is too tight, it's not ioo late to changeit.

98 TheAleutian Kayak

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over While you're in there imagining yourselfswoopin_g it the seas,check the position of the rib near your heels.If sitsright under your heels,move it backwardor forwardso it's out of th! way.You don't have to do it right away.You can sit there and enjoyyourselfa little longerif you like.

Figure8-37.Thepattemfor Iashingstingersto ibs. The lashingfollowstheib.

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(Tof Lnft) Figure8'38.An lashingrun aroundthe occasional gunwalesholdsthe ribsin their whenthe skinis off the mortises boat. (BottomLeft) Figure8-39.A final Iookinto thebellyof the huII. completed

TheHull 99

tlnlshing the

trntne

Yo_u're wellon thewaynow.The worstpartisbehindyou.AII that's left to do on thehull isto shapeandinstallthedeckitringers,and to installthe cockpitcoaming.Afterthat,I'll showyouhtw to do thefinaltuningof ihe boat,andstainandvarnishthehull.

Carving the DeckStringers Deck stringerscan be cut from a single clear t/uinch (r.9 cm) x 1y'-inch(8.9 cm) x 8-foot (244 cm) long board or from material left overfrom cutting the gunwales.Cut the stringersr% inches(3.5 cm) wide. Lay them on the deck of the boat and mark them ioi cutting r to z inches (z to 5 cm) longer than they need to be. you will do the final trimming later.They need to go from the bow to Figure9-1.Thetopsof thedeck stringers areshapedto reduce theirweight.Theshapeon the ight is theAleut oiginal. The shapeon the left is easierto cawe, though.

100 TheAleutian Kayak

t 3/e/t(3.s..1

-l-

t7^rt(. 3 cm

the backedgeof the knee braceand from the tail to the front edge of the backrest.Deck stringersare taperedat the top to reduce theirweight. Using your center scribe,run a centerline down the top edgeof both stringers.Run two lines down the length of both stringers,y',inch (r3 mm) from the bottom edge.Use a plane to shape tle stringersso their cross section looks as shown in Figure 9-r.

Fittingthe DeckStringers check the sheer,or With the kayak upright on the sawhorses, upward bend, of the gunwales.Curvature should be such that the gunwalesat the centerof the cockpitare aboutr/ inches(3.8 closertogetheror cm) lower than at the ends.Move the sawhorses fartherapartas need be. Put the back deck stringerin placeso it butts up against the tailfin. Cut the deck stringerso the front is even with the front end ofthe backrestdeckbeam (Figure9-l). Put the front deck stringer in place so its back lines up with the back face of the knee brace deck stringer.Cut the front end so it comesto within 7 inches(r7.8 cm) of the front of the bow plate. Round off the front of the front deck stringer as shown in Figure 9-6. Cut the cockpit end of the deck stringer asshown in Figure 9-3. Figure9-2.Thebackendofthe reardeckstinger buttsup against thetailfin.

theFrame l0l Finishing

Figure9-3.Theendsof thedeck stringerssiton top of thedeck beamsthatsupportthecockpit coamtnS.

Figure9-4.Locationof deck stringerlashingholesat thebow end.

Figure 9-5. Lash deckstringersat each of the deck beams.

102 TheAleutian Kayak

6 / / (ts.zcn\ 3tt ( 7 . 6 c m )

Figure 9-6. The angle of the deck stringer lashings lets the lashings when the act like shockabsorbers boat is stressed.

the DeckStringers Lashing Lashthe deck stringersat eachdeckbeam asshownin Figure95. This lashingkeepsthe deck stringersin contactwith the deck beamsbut still allowsthem to slidebackand forth. Lash the front stringerat the bow asshown in Figure 96. Note that the lashinghole is about6 inches(r5 cm) backfrom lashingholesin the the front of the stringer.The corresponding bow plate are about 3 inches (ro cm) forwardof the hole in the deck stringer.I believethis arrangementgivesthe bow plate a greaterrangeof movementthan if the holeswere alignedright on top ofeach other.

Makinga Formfor the Coaming Your bestbet for making the coamingis to cut a form out of y'+-inch (r.9cm) plywood.Cut out the insideof the form sothat it lookslike a doughnut.The rim shouldbe aboutz inches(5 "-) wide.The with the shapeof the form should be oval to slightlyegg-shaped nointier end towardthe front. The leneth of the form should be ih" ,"rrr. asthe distancebehveenthe kneebraceand the backrest. The width of the form shouldbe 3 inches(7.6cm) lessthan the width of the kavakhalfivaybehveenthe kneebraceand the backrest.

Finishing theFrame 103 L

Figure9-7.Steamed coamingsare bentaroundthe plywoodform and clampeduntil dry.

Cutting theCoaming The coamingshouldbe %inch (ro mm) to )4inch (r3 mm) thick, rl4inches (3.8 cm) high, and long enough to go all around the form plus another 5 inches (r3 cm) longer for overlap.The wood can be anythingthat bendswell. I haveusedwhite ash,birch, and oak.Greenwood is preferablesinceyou'll haveto bend it. Thperthe last5 inches(r3 cm) on eitherend of the coaming for smooth overlap.Round off three of the four edges.The unrounded edgewill go to the top outsideof the coaming.

Bending theCoaming Beforeyou bend the coaming,you'll need to soakit in waterfor a few days.If you soakit for a weekor more, it can becometoo soft and the fiberswill separatewhen you bend it. If you plan to build more than one boat,you might want to go to the trouble to cap off both endsofan 8-footsectionofrain gutter and usethat asa soaking trough.Otherwise,a pieceof plasticsheetinglaid between two boardswill makea nice impromptu soakingtrough. When you're done soakingthe wood, it's ready to be bent. You can either steamthe entire coaming for r5 minutes and then bend it around the form, or you can ladle boiling water

104 TheAleutian Kayak

overshort sectionsof the coaming and bend it around the form a little at a time. Again, the preferredmethod dependson whether you expectto build any more boats.If you are expectingto build more, you might want to make a steambox out of a sectionof downspoutor Jheetsof foam insulation.SeeAppendixz on steambent ribs for more detailson steaminq.

Coamings Unsteamed if youmakethecoamingoutof altogether Youcanavoidsteaming threelayersof %-inch(l *-) woodstripsinsteadof a single%inch (ro mm) strip.Hardwood%inch (l --) thick, if soaked Figure9-8.If you makeyour andpossiblysoftenedwith a little hot water,bendswithout any coamingoutof multiplestrips, all around. diII themand lacethemtogether. soyougetuniformthickness effort.Layerthe sections Keepthem clampedto the form until dry, thendrill them and lacethem together.Lace anotherstrip,l inch (r3mm) wideby'/ninch o e a ^ ^ o o (6 mm) thick, aroundthe outsidetop of the coaming.This providesa lip for the sprayskirt to grabonto when you'repaddling.If you want a more pronouncedlip, holdoffaddingthisstripof wooduntil afteryouhave put the skinon the boat.

theCoaming Installing Line the coaming up with the deck stringers.Lash the coamingto the deck stringersand to the deck beamsasshown in Figure 9-9.

coAf,4rNG

Figure9-9.Thelashingtiesboth thecoamingand thedeckstinger to the deckbeam.

t/i ( l . 3 c r n )

Finishing the Frame 105 )

Figure9-10.Thetail of thedeck stringerslidesinto a notchat the bottomof thecockpitcoaming.

Notch the bottom edgeof the coamingto fit over the tail endsof the deck stringersasshown in Figure 9-ro.

Carving theCoaming Stanchions The coamingstanchionssupportthe coamingon either side of the cockpii. Stanchionsshould be three to foui finserswide and reachfrom the gunwalesto the undersideof the coamine.Notch both ends of the stanchionsto fit the edgeof the eun;ale and the coaming.The grain of the stanchiois,houldrun at right anglesto the gunwales. Figure9-11.Thestanchions supportthecockpitat the sides.

106 TheAleutian Kayak

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Drill matchingholesin the stanchions,the gunwales, and the coaming.Lash them together.Keep knotson the inboard sideof the stanchionto avoidlumps under the skin.

of theTailSection FinalTrimming Now you're readyto do the final trimming and lashingof the tail section.SeeFigure 9-rzfordetails.

Bags FittingStorage

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It's obviousthat any gearyou stow in your kayakhas to go in and out through the cockpit. The bestway I've found to organizethe gear is to pack it into canvasbagstailored to the inside of the kayak.Since the bagshaveto clear the deck beams,the besttime to fit them is before the skin is on. Essentially,you want to meaal areaat each of the deck beamsand make surethe cross-section your storagebagsslightlysmaller.I've found that two bagsforward and one aft seemto work the best.

SeatSlats You may want to add seatslatsto provide someadditionalsupport for the mat you will be sitting on. The slatsdon't need to be veiy wide to be effective.An adequatewidth is z to 3 inches (5 to Figure9-12.Do thefinal trimmingand lashingof the tail section at thispoint.

Finishing theFrame 107

8 cm). I usually cut some y'rinch (r.9 cm) thick boardsin two to give me slatsof /o-inch(6 mm) to y's-inch(ro mm) thickness.Drill someholesin the slatsand lashthem to the ribs. Seatslatsarebest lashedunder the ribs rather than on top since you'll be sitting lower that way,making the boat more stable. Note, however,that you'll need to keep the slatscloseto the keelsonso they won't poke into the skin.Also keepyour knots small when you lashthe slatsto the ribs.Thick knotswiil alsotend to poke through the skin. Rememberthat when the boat is in the water,the skin will be pushedeven closerto the ribs. I've alsoput seatslatson top of the ribs in one of my boats and find that ihis is lesscomfortableon long trips than having them below the ribs.The Aleuts apparentlyhad no ur" fo, se"i slatsand I'm readyto try my next boat without them.

Staining, 0iling,andYarnishing Now that all the partsof the frame are in place,you should apply red stain to any part of the frame you haven'titained v"t. Afi", about a day,you can apply some sort of waterproofingto the wood. A mixture of about one-third turpentine and two-thirds boiled linseedoil is a traditionalnautical waterproofingmedium. Polyurethanevarnish,although lesstraditionil, prob-"blygives longer lastingprotectionthan the linseedoil mixture. R.ear;les, of whether you use oil or varnish,you should apply two cioa* for bestresults.

108 lhe Aleutian Kayak

The $kin Kffi Strangeas it may seem,the skin is not merely a waterproofcovering for the frame of the kayak-it's an important structuralelement aswell. The skin pulls all the partstogetherand limits the bendingof an otherwisevery flexible boat. The first rule is that the skin must be really tight. A loose skin makes for a slow, floppy boat. On the other hand, a lightrveightkayakwith a tight skin is a thrilling thoroughbred.It's an amazinglysatisfyingthing to handle.You'Il feel the tension and resilienceof the wood working for you asyou paddle it. In times gone by, kayakswere coveredwith animal skins that neededto be oiled to makethem waterproof.Even then, they would startpicking up water after a day or two, and need to be dried out. Within ayeat or so,the skin had to be replaced.The old skin wasusuallyremovedat the beginningof winter beforethe kayakswere put up for storage. The canvaswith which you will coveryour boat is much more tolerant of moisture.As a matter of fact, if you take a trip of severaldaysand haveyour boat in the water everyday,you'll find that the skin getstighter day by day.This is good up to a point, but beyond that point the tension will actually start distortingthe frame.This doesnot mean that you should make the skin loose when you first sewit on. It simply meansthat when you storeyour kayakbetweentrips you should give it a chanceto dry out.

andOtherCoverings Canvas I've alwayscoveredmy boatsin canvas,although other coverings are available.In someEuropeancountries,linen is cheaperand

IheSkin 109

more readily availablethan cotton duck. If you live there, get linen, but make sureit hasa tight weaveand not the looser*.iu. sometimessold for artist'scanvases. Other alternativesto canvasare the variousheat-shrink synthetics.Theserangefrom the very lightrveightmaterialusedto cover airplane wings to the heavier material sold by George Dyson. Heat-shrinkmaterial is attractivebecauseit can be ,.r""d up and then tightenedsimply by passinga hot clothesiron over it. The elaboratestretchingand lacing proceduresdescribedin this chapterfor canvasare not necessary. In addition, syntheticfibers do not undergothe extremetightening and looseningcyclesthat canvasundergoeswhen it getswet and then dries out again. Syntheticsare alsorot-resistant. They're not ideal,though, despitetheseadvantages. Heatshrink fabricshavesomedrawbacksthat havepreventeJme from usingthem on a woodenframe.In the first place,syntheticsare more expensivethan cotton.Although this is a consideration,it's not seriousenoughto disqualifythem asa suitablecoveringfor wooden boats. More serious,in my view, is the strength mismatch betweensyntheticsand the woodenframe.The hea'viersynthetics are a lot strongerthan the lightweight wooden frame, which might get damagedduring rough use. To repairany kind of hull damage,you'll probablyhaveto remove the skin. If the skin is canvas,that'sa pretty simple task. You stretchit, lace it back up, sew it, and repaint the seams.But if the skin is heat-shrinksynthetic you may run into trouble. Unlessit hassomeshrink left in it, you may havea hard time gettlng tight again,in which caseyou'll have to throw "rvayihe 1t old skin and put on a new one. If I were to use syntheticskin with a wooden frame, I'd go with the very lightrveightskin and be careful not to damageit.

Choosing the Canvas Choosingcanvasis fortunatelymuch easierthan choosingyour lumber. I have used both #ro and #8 cotton duck, the smaller number indicatinga heaviercanvas.The easierof the two to work with is naturallythe lighter #ro canvas.The #8 canvasis almost like cardboardand is much more difficult to stretchtight, so I

I l0 TheAleutian Kayak

Figure10-1.FoIdthecanvasin half lengthwise and markthe A, with a uayon or a centerline, pieceof drawingcharcoal.

recommend#ro canvas. The canvasshould be untreatedcotton duck-don't buy anythingthat'salreadywaterproofed.Get it in a 48-inch (rzo cm) width, which is wide enough to wrap around the boat exceptin the vicinity of the cockpit, where you need to patch in a piece. The length of the canvasshould equal the length of the boat, rounded up to the nearestfoot, yard, or the smallestunit that your supplierwill let you buy. There'sone thing to be awareof when you buy your cani vas.When you stretchit to put it in the boat, you'll increaseits length by at least8 inches (zo cm). And rememberto buy ayard or two extraif you want to experimentwith sewingyour own storagebagsand other canvasgear.

Marking theCenterline Fold the canvasin half lengthwiseand run a soft pencil, crayon, or piece of charcoalalong the creaseto mark the centerline.

Fittingthe Canvas drapethe canvasover With your boat inverted on the sawhorses, the boat and align the centerof the canvaswith the keelson.Trim the canvasto length so there are about z inches (l "*) of overFigure10-2.Drapethecan'vas oyerthe invertedboatand staple Becarefulnot to it to the keelson. into lashings. staple

TheSkin lll

Figure10-3.Shadedpartsneedto be trimmed.Leavesomeoverlap for theseam.

hang on either end of the boat. When you stretch the canvas along the length of the boat,you will get at leastanother6 inches (r5 cm) of overhang,so don't worry about trimming it too tight. Beforeyou canstartsewingthe bow,you needto trim iome ofthe excesscanvasin thatarea.Figure ro-3showswhatneedsto be trimmed. Leaveabout/inch (r3 mm) of overlap.Trim only a little aheadof whereyou aregoingto sewsoyou don't overtrim.

Sewing the Bow Figure10-4.Arrowsindicate directionof sewingat thebow.

The sewingstartsat the bow,at the verytip. Sew around the horn and into the jaw,trimming as you go along.There will be an openingat least part of the way.Stitch all the way to the end of the jaw to pull the canvasfrom both sidesinto the middle. Work your way back out of the jaw and stitch up towardthe top of the bow plate. Stop when you get to the top of the bow plate. Figure ro-4showsthe direction of the sewing. Figuresro-5and ro-6showsomecloseups of the sewingon the bow.

Stretching the Canvas Now that you have attached the canvasat the bow, you are readyto stretchthe canvas

I 12 TheAleutian Kayak

longitudinally.You should do this on a dry day or in a dry room.The canvashasa tendencyto shrinkwhen the humidity is high. Ideally,you can have somebodyhang onto the boat while you stretch the canvas. The bestway is for your partner to get under the boat,facethe back, Bnd hang on to one of the deck beamswhile you pull from the back. If you don't have a helper,braceone leg againsta deck beam while you pull. The easiest way I have found to stretch the canvasis to grab hold of a double layer and pull it with a pair of pliers, preferablysomethinglike Vise-Grios.Pull back on the canvaswith all your might. You should be able to stretchit beyondits startingpoint by at least6 inches (r5 cm). The maximum stretchis probably9 inches(23cm). When it is stretchedas far as you can get it, make a mark where the canvaslines up with the end of the tailfin. Releasethe canvasand sew the two halves together (2.5 cm) forwardof the mark for at least4 inches(ro cm). r inch Do the stretchingagain and hook the sewn corner of the canvas over the end of the tailfin. If you think you can stretch the

Figure10-5.Thebowseamstarts at thebottomandgoesup. The Iumpystuffat thebottomof the seamis ice.

Figure10-6.Viewof bow Badplanningand stitching. excess trimmingmadea patch necessdry at thetip of thebow plate.

TheSkin I 13

Figure 10-7. While one person hangs on to the boat, the other

canvasmore, unhook it from the tailfin and resewit r inch or so (2.5cm) farther forward.

personstretchesthe canvas Iongitudinally.

Figure10-8.Foldthe skinoverthe deckof theboatand put marks neartheedgea handspanapart. Themarksindicatewhereyou will put the lacing loops.

I 14 TheAleutian Kayak

Lacingthe Deck In addition to being stretchedlongitudinally,the canvasneedsto be stretchedaround the hull. You'll do this by sewingloops into the canvas,lacing somecord through the loops,anJtighienir,g the cord asif it werelaceson a pair of shoes. While the deck is still upside down, staplethe canvasto the keelsonin about a dozenplaces,making sureit is centered. The stapleswill keep the canvasin place rhil. yo,_,stretch it aroundthe hull. Turn the boat over and drapethe canvasover the deck. You'renow readyto mark the position of the lacing loops on the canvas.The lacing will go from both endsof the boat io within a handspanof the cockpit. At the bow end, start markins about r8 inches (46 cm) back from the bow. Spacethe marksi handspanapartand about three fingers'width in from the edge of the gu-nwales. At the tail end, start marking about a handspi'n forwardfrom the end of the sunwales.

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Sew a double loop at each dot with somestrongtwine. Sizethe loops by tying them around a y'*-inch(6 mm) dowel.Tie off the endswith a squareknot. Startat the bow and lace up the loopswith some%-inch line. Work your way toward the cockpit and tie off the ends in a knot that you can undo. Then startat the tail and work towardthe cockpit.Tie thoseendsoff too. Don't tighten the lacestoo much on the firstpass.You can pull the loopsright out of the canvasif you'renot careful.The best wayto tighten the canvasis with two people.While one person grabsthe flapsof overlappingcanvasand pulls them towardthe center,the otherpersontakesthe slackout of the lacing.Pulling on the canvasis more effectiveand saferthan tryingto tightenthe canvasjustby pulling on the lacing.After you havemadeyour firstpass at tightening,work back overthe whole length of the boat and see if you can get any more slackout of it. If you havedone a good lob, your canvasshould havea tight drum feel to it.

Figure10-9.Tie lacingloops arounda dowel.

Figure10-10.Laceup thedeckto tightenthe skinaroundthe huII. i

i :

Trimmingthe Canvas You should have excesscanvasat both endsofthe boat and not enough canvasnear the cockpit.The idea is to trim off the excess near the end and Lrsesome of it to filI in the gaps.

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Canvasshouldbe Figure10-11. trimmedto 2 inches(5 cm)of overlap.

TheSkin l 15

Figure10-12.Deckstrapsshould bepositionedto allowstorageof commonlycaniedobiectssuchas paddles and fishing r ods.

Overlapthe canvason the deck and trim it so you havez _ inches (5 "-) of overlap.This should leaveyou with four long, skinny,triangular piecesof canvas.Use hvo of them to fill in th! gapson either side of the cockpit. For now, all you will do is sew them to one ofthe edgesofthe canvasadjacentto the gap.

Planning theDeckStraps

Figure10-13.Deckstrapscan be tiedoff on the insideof the gunwales(top)or fixedwith a woodenpegif addedafterthedeck hasbeenclosedoff.

I 16 TheAleutianKayak

As you sew up the deck,you drill holesthrough the skin and througtr the glnwales and pull the ends of ihe deck straps through theseholesand tie them off on the inside.you want to sew pastthe point where the deck strappassesover the seam beforeattachingit, otherwiseyou will haveto sewunder the deck strap,which is a nuisance.Be careful,though,that you don't sew so far aheadthat you can't reachinsidethe boat to tie offthe ends ofthe deck straos. Early picturesshow that Aleut huntersused the deck strapsto hold their darts,throwing boards,and bolas.Deck straps were spacedaccordingto the length of the darts.I spacemy deck strapsto hold sparepaddles.Deck strapsshouldbelooseenough so you can get a paddleunder them but not so loosethatrv"u-", coming over the deck will washthe paddle away.I like leather strapsfor my decksbecausethey lie flat. If you userope,go with a'/qinch (6 mm) diameter. Don't overdo things in this department.An excessive amount of strappingon a seagoingboat is a wasteof time at best and_dangerousat worst.For one thing, anything strappedto your deck will act asa sail in a crosswindand will tend to puil trretoat upwind or downwind if you don't havethe sameamount of sail fore and aft. If you happen to get into bad weatherand breaking waves,the waveswill want to washthe gearoffyour deck.you will thenbecomepreoccupiedwith saving"your gea,and forgetabout paddling,possiblyinviting capsize.If you haveto launch or land in surf, anything just tucked under deck strapsand not tied down

Figure10-14.Deckstrapsfonuard of thecockpitwith tighteners. Strapsaretightenedby slidingthe togglestowardthegunwales.

will most likely be washedaway. Anything lashedwill still tend to wash off and dangleat the end of its rope, waiting to tangleyour paddleand endangeryou ifyou capsize.So keepthe strappingsimple and your deckload to a minimum.

Figure10-15. An example of a boatwith toomuchgearon the deck.Theproblemwasthat the weatherwastoowarmandI hadto to stowclothesthat I wasexpecting wear.Thiscausedowrflowof other itemsontothedeck.

the DeckSeam Sewing There'smore than one way to do the deck seam.Two methodsI've usedare a lap seam and a rolled seam.In the lap seam,you simply overlapthe two flaps of skin by about an inch and, using two needles,sew back and forth asif you werelacinga pair of shoes.This is probablythe simplestway to go. The stitching pattern is shown in Figure ro-16. The other way to sewthe seamis more elaborate and time-consumingbut looks neaterwhen done.This method is coveredin more detail below.

theFirstSeam Sewing To closethe hull of the boat,you will need to sewthe hvo edgesof the skin togetheralongthe

TheSkin I 17

Figure 10-16.Diagram of a lap seam (top) and a folded seam

@

(bottom). A crosssectionof both seamsis shown on the ight. The Iap seam is simpler to sewbut looksmore raggedbecauseit leayesa cut edgeexposed.

- _ z = _ - d = -

Figure10-17.Diagramof thefirst seam.Thestitchingsimplygoes backandforth.

OppositePage:Figure10-18. Sewingthefirst seam.

I 18 TheAleutianKayak

< -

- 6 = )

_ 6 _

ridgeline of the boat.You'll needto sewone seam first, trim the excessskin to leaveabout a z-inch (l .-) flap, fold that flap over,and then sew it down on the deckwith a secondseam. Startingat the bow, match the two flaps of skin face to face and sew them as shown below. Work toward the cockpit and stop when you are a few inchespastthe cockpit rim. Start the stitchesfar enough from the seamso that as you tighten up the string,you pull the skin faps toward the middle, leaving about a %-inch (3 mm) gap between them. If the two flaps are touching, you probably aren't pulling all the slackout of the skin. When you sewthe seamon the backdeck,startat the botto-mof the tailpiece and work up and towardthe cockpit. The Aleuts sewedthe bottommostpart of the skin at the tall into a tube. They tied this tube offwhen the boat wasin useand untied it to drain water out of the boat when it was pulled up on the beach.The tube could also be used as a place to tie a rudder. SeeAppendix4 on sailsand ruddersfor details. I" experience,the tube is very slow in draining TI water out of the boat, but fast in leaking water into the boat il it isn't sealedand tied off properly.I dJn't recommendits use unlessyou want it for attaching a rudder.

Ihe Skin I 19

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Figure10-19.How to sewtheskin at the tail. Don't botherputting on a drain tubeunlessyouwantto attacha rudder.

Figure10-20.Thetubein thetail is tied to prel)entleakageofwater into the boat.

Sewing the Second Seam Before you start the secondseam,trim the flaps of skin at the edge of the first seamso that one is about r inch (2.5cm) wider than the other. Fold the faps of skin overso the wider of the two lies over the narrower,then tuck the wider under the narrower. Using a curvedneedle,sewfirst through the deck, then throug! the_toplayer of the overlappedskin, then back through the deckand so on.

Sewing Aroundthe CockpitCoaming To kgepthe sprayskirt attachedto the cockpitcoaming,the skin needsto be pulledup at the bottomof the coamirs.To accom-

120 TheAleutian Kayak

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plish this, drill a setof holesin the coamingabout y''inch (r3 mm) from the bottom and z inches (5 cm) apart. Sew from the inside through the hole and the skin, then back through the skin and into the samehole you sewedout of. Next, fold the skin over the coaming and down into the cockpit.If need be, cut slitsin the canvasinsidethe cockpit soyou can fold it down. Sew the flaps down. You can anchor your stitchesto the stitching alreadyon the inside of the coaming.

Figure 10-21. After you have sewedthe first seam,trim the canvasalong the seamso one side is wider than the other. Fold the Iongerside over and under as shown on the ight.

Rim Attachinga Coaming Aleuts used to put a rim on the coaming before covering the coaming with skin but, in my experience,canvassewedover the Figure10-22.Usethecuned needleto sewthesecondseam. sewingthrough Altematebetween theflap and throughthe skinof thedeck.Don't attemptto sew throughboththeflap and the deckat thesametime.

TheSkin l2l

7 Figure10-23.Thetraditional Being Straitsewingpattem.The insideyiewis on theleft and the outside viewis on theieht

rim doesnot createenough of a lip. It lets the sprayskirtpull off in rough water. I've lately switchedto sewingon the rim after sewingthe skin around the coaming.I've not since had any trouble with the sprayskirtpulling off.

Painting theSkin Whatever type of paint you use for the canvas,it needsto waterproof the canvasand fill the weaveto give you a smooth hull. If you don't useenoughpaint,the boat's"skin'will be rough,which Figure10-24.Thispattem shows the skinpulledot'erthe top of the coamingand attachedto stitching that goesthroughthecoaming.

122 TheAleutian Kayak

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I am partialto Figure10-25. paintingtheskinin animal to pdttems.ThisonewassuPPosed Iooklikeourcatbut tumedout lookingmorelikea zebra.As a matterof fact,thecolorsare exactlythoseof thezebramussel, whichhasrecentlyinvadedthe CreatLakes.

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will produce drag and make the boat slow.If you use too much paint, your boat will gain a lot of weightand the thicker paint will crack sooner.I usuallycompromiseby putting two coatson the deck and three coatson the bottom of the hull. This way I can havea smooth finish on the bottom where it's neededand light weight on the top where a smooth finish isn't needed. I've usedThompson'sWater Sealasthe first coaton most of my boats.I paint it on straightout of the can. I suspectthat the water sealhas a mildew retardantin it since the treatedcanvas doesnot developmildew spotsasuntreatedcanvasdoes.The only drawbackof the Water Seal is that it takesseveraldaysto dry before you can paint over it with oil paints,and severalweeks paints. beforeyou can paint over it with latex-based I have some friends who have usedthinned oil paint for the first coat, and they tell me that if soakedinto the canvasthis alsooreventsmildew. Aircraft dope shrinksand tightensthe skin when it dries. This is a nice feature,but aircraftdope is hard to come by and most likely more expensivethan oil paint. rubberI've usedboth oil-basedpaint and a latex-based ized roof paint. The roof paint worksprettywell but only comesin black and white. If you are interestedin other colors,go with the oil paint.The roof paint can be usedasis and needsto be put on in sufficient coatsto fill the weaveof the canvas.

TheSkin 123

Oil paint needsto be put on in stages.If you haven't treatedthe canvaswith a watersealproduct, mix white exterior oil-basedprimer, linseedoil, and turpentinein a z, z, r ratio for the first coat. If you have usedthe water seal,use the oil-based primer straightout of the can. When the oil paint hasdried to a puddingJikeconsistency, rub the palm of youi hand overthe hull to push the paint down into the weave.This will give you smooth paint a lot fasterthan if you just paint successive"coats. once the paint is dry, lightly sandthe hull and paint it again.euit when the hull is smooth. For a finish coat, I mix linseedoil with some artist'soil paint out of the tube to a fairly translucentconsistencyand either paint it on if I want a designor rub it on with a rag if I want a single color coat. The advantageof this techniquJis that it gives you color without adding a lot of weight to the boat. If you Jon't like mixing your own color paint, get somecoloredhousepaint. Don't use high glossenamel paintssince thesedry very hard and crackeasily. If you haveput a drain tube on the tail of the boat,be sure to paint that, too, or it will be a place where waterseepsinto your boat on l-ongtrips. Also be sure to paint the skin all the way to the topof the cockpit rim and at leasta little way into the insideof the cockpit.I usedto leaveoffthe paint here and found that water Figure10-26. Awoodenrubstrip prevents the skinfromweaing throughat thetail endof the boat.

124 TheAleutian Kayak

1

drips off the cockpit rim and rots the canvaswhen the boat is storedupsidedown outdoors.

a RubStrip lnstalling the Aleutsreplacedthe skinon theirboatseveryyearor Because two,the skin neverworeenoughto warrantrub strips.In your the skinwill lastfiveyearsor more,andduringthis case,however, get enoughwearat the tail end of the keelsonto waryou'll time rantsomekind of ru6 strip.Two optionsfor rub shipsareavailable to you.The first is madefrom a stripof woodand is inspiredbyThe secondis iustan extralayer.ortwo of the Greenlandkayaks. in the tail area. the skin to glued canvas To makea woodenrub strip,cut a strip of hardwood% inch (r.9 cm) wide and 3 feet(9r cm) long.Drill and pegit to glue the tail end of the keelson.Usesomeepoxyor waterproof leakage minimize help to should This pegs. in the put whenyou wherethe pegspiercethe skin. r/ inches Tomakea canvasrub strip,cut a stripof canvas (3.8cm) wideand 3 feet(9r cm)long.Glue thisto the tail endof thekeelsonusinglatexroofingpaint.Glueanother6-inch(r5cm) long stripnearthe verytail for extrareinforcemenl

TheSkin 125

Kavilkilrsm a

KK You won't needyour yachtingcap and blazerwhen you go kayaking. The emphasisin kayakdressis on survival.comiort and looks are secondary,especiallyin cold water. If you are lucky enough to paddlewarm water,someof this chapterwill be irrelevant,but you'll still need a sprayskirtand you may want to make yourselfa paddle jacket. Yes,you can make a jacket.Once you'vesewnthe skin onto your boat, you'll have the necessaryskill and confidenceto make mary of your own kayakclothing accessories. A sewing machine helpsa lot, of course.I bought a new one in 1989for $9! ,nq paid for itself in no time with the savingsot " ,prryskirt, " + paddle jacket,and severaldry bags. Figure1 1-1.Whenyou're paddlingin coldweather,you needto protectyourselfwith wdrm,wdterprcof clothing. (MartinHonelphoto)

125 TheAleutian Kayak

TheSprayskirt You'll need a sprayskirtto keep water from getting into the cockpit. Most rpttyikittt you can buy are too big to fit your cockpit, so I'11tell you how to make your own. are shown in Figuresrr-z and rr-3' Patternsfor sprayskirts The bottom of the skirt must match the outside diameter of the coamingrim. Allow maybe 3 inches(8 cm) for shrinkage;even nylon shrinksa little. Allow more for cotton. Rememberthat 3 extrainchesin circumferenceequalsonly about r inch (2.5cm) in diameter,which comesout to about linch (r3 mm) extraon each side.However,don't go too far oversizeon the diameterof the skirt.The wrinkles cauied by cinching in the excessmaterialwill allow water to seepinto the cockpit when you are doing rolls or other underwatermaneuvers. Sew a grab loop to the front of the sprayskirt.The grabloop lets yo,-tp,tll the sprayskirtfree from the cockpit coaming if you should cipsize and need to do a wet exit. The grab loop shouldbe big enoughso you can pull it evenif you are wearing gloves.You can make your sprayskirtfrom waterproofednylon or yon "r.r make it from cotton, which you waterproofwith a mixture of boiledlinseedoil and beeswax.

ThePaddling facket usedto wearwaterproof,gut-skinparkasthat Aleutiankayakers They worethe raincoats. lookedlike hooded,below-the-knee

(Left)Figure11-2.The toPof the shouldbemadeto fit sprayskirt yourchest.Thebottomshouldbe SusPenders madetofitthe cockPit. holdup thetopandcanbeusedto keepwaterfromPuddlinginyour lap.Thegrabloopin front letsYou puII the skirtfreeof thecockPit whenyouneedto exit. (Right)Figure11-3.An altemate designthat is sprayskirt two-piece usefuIfor largercockpits.

KayakDress l2l

128 TheAleutian Kayak

parkasalong with the sprayskirtsto seal themselvesinto their toats. You cin take a similar approach or you can size the bottom hem of your paddling jacketto fit the cockpit.Your paddling jacket will then be a sprayskirt as well. The paddling jacket/sprayskirtcombination is a Greenland invention. But unlessyo,r rt" a purist, I think the dual-purposejacketis more convenient and more waterproof. If you paddle primarily in warm or hot weather,the paddling jacket will be too hot and you ought to stick with the rpt"frkitt. A waterproofpaddling jacketservedthe samefunction for the traditional paddler as the drysuit servesfor the modern recreationalpaddler. The pattern for the paddling jacket is shown in Figure rr-4.Minimum length is just abovethe knee.You needthe length if you're going to do rolls. If the jacketis too shortand you lean back, yourll pull the hem of the skirt right offthe coaming.Fit in the body shouldbe loosesoyou can weara winter iacketand your life vestunder the paddling lacket. Watch the dimensionsof the hood. The fit should be snug so you can make it waterproof,but leave engugh rgom-so you""rn wear a diving hood or somekind of hat under the hood in told weather.Don't make the hood too small or you'll end up supportingthe weight of the jacketon your head insteadof on your shoulders.This is especiallyimportant if you get a wave in your lap. Its weight will be pulling down on the paddling iacket. You can sealthe seamsfrom the outside with a product called Aquaseal,which is neoprenein solution.When it's dry it's very tough. It takesrz hours or so to cure but it's well worth the bother.Aquasealis sold in dive shops.

(OppositePage)Figurell-4.Thi traditionalpattemforapaddling iacketeconomizesonseamsto minimizewaterleakage.Aisthe distancefromthetopofyourhea yourshoulders.Bis tothetopof thedistance ftomthetopofyour shoulderstoiustaboveyourknee Cisthebottomofthearmhole. D isthedistance fromthetopof ofthe tothebottom theshouliler PointsmarkedF,C,H, armhole. andlonthebackmatchcone' onthefront. spondingpoints

LifeYest "personal fotaThe Coast Guard calls this item of kayakdressa one' of these-buy one make to try tion device,"or PFD. Don't in you're up when The fit is important. If it's too loose,it'll slide the waterand you'll havea hard time breathingbecausethe front of the vestwill coveryour mouth. You'll alsohave a hard time hearing becausethe sidesof the vestwill be around your ears' If the vest is too tight, you'll have a hard time breathing becauseyou can't expand your chest. If you paddle in cold

KayakDress 129

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weather,make sure the PFD will fit over your jacket or layersof cold weatherwear.

Dressing for theCold The rule whenpaddlingis to dressfor the temperature of the water,not the air. This meansthat if the air temperatureis 8o"F(25'C) andthewateris 5o"F(ro"C)youneedto weara wetsuit or severallayersof clothesanda drysuit. Wearingproperclothingwhenpaddlingis essential to yoursurvivalasa paddler.I saythisasa paddlerwho mostlygoes paddlingon LakeMichigan,which,for ro monthsof the y."r, i, toocoldfor swimming.The goodnewsaboutwateristhatno matter howcoldthe air,waterwill not getmuchcolderthanitsfreezing pointof 3z"F(o'C) for freshwater.If you paddlein waterthat cofd,you shoulddresssoyou cansurvivelongenoughto swim ashore.I havefoundthat a drysuitwith threelayeriof clothes will do the trick. For the first layer,I wearexpeditionweightpolyester longjohnsanda long-sleeve top.OverthatI wearpolyester pile sweatpants anda polyester pile sweater on top.Forthethird layer, I weara polyesterpile vesta sizelargerthan the sweater. It's importantto keepyour clothesfrom bunchingup underyour armpitsor theywill startchafing. Figure1 1-5. Forcoldweatherand coldwaterpaddling,warmglows, boots,and a hoodareessential.

130 TheAleutian Kayak

On my feet,I wear neoprenesocksor boots.On my head, I wear a neoprenediving hood. On my hands,I wear neoprene diving glou"t. Generally,dive shbPshave better headgearand for cold weather than do kayakshops. gloves " If you don't want to wear clothes made from synthetic fibers,you can go with wool. You may haveto go to-anArmy surplus storeto get someitems such aswool pants.I still recommend a drvsuit.however.

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There'scertainlyno shortageof accessories that you could fit to your kayakif you wantedto, and could afford to. Some of them are sold more for commercialreasonsthan practicalreasons, though,solet'stakea critical look at someof the more usefulitems suchasseatcushions,dry bags,airbags, boathooks, and more.

Airbags When I'm playingin surfwherethere is a good chanceof the boat filling with water,I alwayshaveat leastone airbagin the boat;hvo are preferable. A kayakwithout airbagswill float a little, but it will have so much waterin it that it will be hard to move.The kavakwill alsobe susceptibleto damageshould it ram into the bea"h *ith a full load of water.If you'repaddling with someoneelseand you should exit the boat and swampit, wilhout airbagsthe boatwili be Figure 12-1.Flotation bagswill reducethe amount of water that gets into your boat ifyou have to exit. Having one bag in back and one in front is best.

132 TheAle.utian Kayak

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sohear'yyou will find it nearly impossibleto empty unlessyou've had lots of practice.Airbagsare availableat kayakstores.

DryBags If you are camping and carryinga load, your dry bagswill have to provide flotation for your boat. If your dry bagsaren't really dry,line them with plasticgarbagebagsto makethem so. Commercial dry bags,exceptfor the very smallest,will not fit into an Aleut kayak.You are better off making your own bagsout of canvasand waterproofingthem. You can alsomake them out of waterproofedmaterial such ascoatednylon' Canvasis an attractivematerialto use since there is usually someleft over afterskinninga boat. Canvasbagsare alsostiff, which makesthem easierto shoveinto remote regionsof the kayak.However,canvasis bulkier than nylon, making nylon more attractiveif spaceis at an absolutepremium. The besttime to fit the bagsis beforeyou put th'eskin on the boat. I sizethe bagsso one fits in back of the cockpit and hvo fit in front of the cockpit. I make the bagsa little longer than necessaryso I can put grommetsin the edgeand cinch them up with a rope.This sortof closureis not waterproof,so you needto line the insideof the bag with plasticgarbagebags.If you want the bag to be waterproof,try a rolled seamclosureinsteadof grommets. nigure 12-2.Dry bagscanbe madefromcanvasor treated nylon.Fit themto yourboat beforeyou put the skinon.

133 Accessories

The main problem with dry bags is that as you stuff them, they assumea circularcrosssectionwhile the spaceinside your kayakis elliptical.If this is a problem,you may want to go to a two-bag,side-by-side packingschemeinsteadof the single largebag.

SeatCushion Commercial kayaksusuallyhavesomekind of seat.Do not put a seatin your kayak.Line the bottom of the cockpit areawiih an inexpensive foam campingmat doubledor tripled.An actualseat would raiseyour centerof gravitytoo much and make the boat unstable.

BilgePump Figure12-3.A pumpis handyfor gettingwater out of thebottomof yourboatwhenyou'reunderway. But a pump like thisis not useful for emptyinga completely swamped boat.

I've neverhad to usea pump to empty a kayakaftera capsizeand I hopeI neverwill. Pumpingout a swampedbaidarka,evenif it has flotation,could takehalf an hour.Apump takestwo handsto operateso it'suseless in roughwaterunlessyou can stabilizeyour boat by riggingyour paddleasan outrigger.Ifyou travelin " giorrp,you can get a partnerto hold on to your boatwhile you pump. The other problem with a pump is that you need to open _ the sprayskirtto stick ihe end of the pump into the boat.you had betterpump fasterthan new watercomesinto the cockpit.I think a pump is mainly usefulfor gettingresidualwaterout of the boat after a team effort has turned the swampedboat upside down to get mostof the waterout. As wiih all rescueequipment,you'd better give your pump a good trial beforecounting on it to get you out of a jam. Those inirepid Aleutsusedto carryhollow woodentubes, with which they suckedwater out of their boats.I suspectthat thesetubeswere usedasbilge pumps to clear seepageout of the bottom of the boat. I don't think they were practical instruments for emptyinga swampedboat.

Rescue andTowing Ropes I own a rescuerope but haven'thad occasionto useit. peoplewho take inexperiencedkayakersout on trips use them to tow slow

134 TheAleutian Kayak

paddlerson the way back.I supposeyou could tow a disabledpaddler if you had a rope. However,this is one of thosemaneuvers that you need to practice under calm conditions to have any chance of its working when you really need it. The biggestdangerof strayrope is that you'll capsizeand get tangled in it, preventingyou from rolling, and forcing you to exit the boat.

DeckKnife Ifyou carry a rescuerope,you should alsocarrya deck knife so you can cut the rope if you get tangled in it. The other purposeof a knife is to cut a hole in the boat to let the water drain oul I once got blown into some rocksand didn't have enough energyto get off them. As soon as I stepped out of the boat, wavesfilled it with water. Since I was standing in water up to my hips, I couldn't manageto drain the boat. With all the water in it, it was too heavy for me to lift up on the rocks. Someoneon shore had seen me and called the fire department.When they came,I got them to haul the boat up the rocksfor me. If I'd had a knife, I could have cut a hole near the bow to let the water drain out and gottenthe boat up on the rocks by myself.Of course,now I stayawayfrom the rockswhen the surf is up. And I still don't carrya deck knife.

Boathook ,\4- or 5-fooL(rzzcmor r52cm) stickwith somesortof hook on the end is handy for fishingdry bagsout of the boatwhen unloading and pushingthem backin when loading.When you areunderway, you can stowthe boathookon deck,under the decklines.

Compass I own a compass,but I've alwaysdone line-of-sightnavigation. The compasscomesin handywhen you cannotseeyour destination becauseit is obscuredby fog or is beyondthe horizon. There are a number of bookson kayaknavigation.You should refer to one of them if you intend to paddlebeyondthe horizon.

135 Accessories

136 TheAleutianKayak

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Gear Emergency Assorted If you go on longertripswhereyou'llbe somemilesfrom land, gearsuchasflares,smoke, youmaywantto takesomeemergency VHF radio.Yourbestbet,though, markerdye,anda marine-band aresoroughthatyouneed is to stayoffthewaterwhenconditions gear. to usethe distress gearyou takedependsa lot on The typeof emergency nearbusyshippinglanes,sigpaddle. If you operate you where nalingdevicesor a radiocanbring help in a hurry.But if you paddleremoteareas,the chancesarethat no onewill be around to seeor hearyoursignals.

1

(OppositePage)Figure12-4.A boathookis usefulfor fishingbags out of yourkayakand iamming thembackin.

Accessories137

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The proof of your boat is in the paddling.When your boat is finished,wait for a pleasantday and take ii to a nice, friendly body of water.Don't startoffin nastywater. Ifyou have neverpaddledbeforeand your boat feelsa little tippy, don't worry,this feeling will disappearasyou get used to th_eboat. This may take a few outings, but you will get better and feel more comfortable. With experience,you'll learnthat a tippy boatis inherently more seaworthythan an overlystableone. But there'sanotherreason for preferringa tippy boat to startwith. When you're a beginner, a boat that dumps you once or twice will give yo,r " prop., respectfor the water. Peoplewho get in trouble on the *at., are often beginnerswho, becausethey havevery stableboats,can get out on waterfor which their skillsare no match.As the weather changesfor the worseor their strengthwanes,they find themselves capsizedand lookingat a long swim.Without properthermal insulation, this can mean hypothermiaand possiblydiath.

Paddling Skills Ifyou have never kayakedbefore, try to get some lessonsin rolling and other self-rescuetechniquesbefore you venture out on your own. Classesare availableat sea-kayaking symposiums.

138 TheAleutian Kayak

Most large cities near a body of water will have a kayakingclub or other kayakerswilling to help you learn. There is plenty of information in kayakingbooksand magazineson how to paddle. However,jusi in caseyou don't have readyaccessto any of these,I'11covera few of the basics.

ontheWater Going Don't step into a kayakunlessyou are preparedto get wet. It's certainly possibleto paddlea kayakwithout gettingwet, but don't count on it, especiallywhen you are first startingout. This means that if you don't havea drysuitor wetsuitand you wouldr-r'tfeel comfortableswimming back to shore,stayoff the water.

GettingintoYourKayak On a lot of comrnercialkayakswith largecockpits,you can iuststep into the cockpit and sit down. Getting into your Aleut kayakis a little more complicated.The instructionsI offerhere areintended for sandybeaches.Once you'vemasteredthis technique,you can createyour own launching techniquesfor difficult situations. The first stepin launching is to positionyour boat with its bow in the water and the cockpit at the edgeof the water.Next you straddlethe boat and sit down on the deck iust behind the cockpit.Positionyour paddlebehind you soyou are sittingon one blade with the restof the paddle extendedoutwardfrom the boat at a right angle.The paddlewill act asan outriggerand stabilize you while you get into the boat. Next, you need to swishyour feet back and forth in the waterto get the dirt off. Any dirt you bring into the boat will get betweenthe frame and the skin and abradeboth of them. This is importantetiquettefor a skin boaterand somethingyou will also needto teachfriendswith plasticboatsif they want to try your boat. Once your feet are clean,lift them into the boatwhile leaningtowardthe sideon which your paddleis extended.Failure to lean correctly can leave you flopped over on your side. Straightenyour legs,and wiggle forwarduntil your rearclearsthe back of the cockpit.Now lower yourselfto the floor of the boat. All this time, both handsstayon your paddle.If you take your hands off the paddleyou may well find it sweptout of reach

Boat 139 UsingYour

Figure13-1.To get into your kayak, slide fomard with your legs

by an incoming wave.You will then haveto get out ofthe boatand startall overagain. Beforeyou do anythingelse.bring the paddlearoundand restit on the coamingjust in front of you. This will minimizethe chance of incorr-ringsurf washingyour paddle away from you. Now tighten the sprayskirtaround the cockpitcoaming.When the sprayskirt is tight, grab the paddlein your preferredhand and get yourselfthe restof the way into the water as best you can. Technique varies dependingon conditions.Launchingin surf is alwaysmore tricky becausethe edgeof the water-oues aro.,r,d.

straight.

Gettingout ofYourKayak Figurel3-2. Once vou are itt yottr kayak and the spral,skirtis sealed, you d.reready to push yourself into the water, or in this case,slide into the water off the ice.

140 TheAleutianKayak

To get out ofyour kayak,paddleasfar up the beachasyou can. You may haveto wait r,rntilsomeof the biggerwaveshavepushed you up good and high beforeyou try to exit. When you think you are aswell-positionedaspossible,undo the sprayskirtand pLace your paddlebehind you, outriggerstyle.With your handsbehind

you and on your paddle,push yourselfup and wiggleout of the cockpit.This part is usuallyharderthan gettingin. If there is surf,you will often get hit by a waveiust asyou are about halfivayout of the boat.When you stepout of the boat, siepto the side closestto the water.Incoming surf will slam the boat into your legsif you get out on the wrong side.Drag or carry your boat and paddleout ofreach ofthe waves.

TheWetExit If you'venever paddledbefore,take a friend along on your first outing. Your friend will standby you while you do a wet exit. Get into your boat, fastenthe sprayskirt,and paddle into thigh-deepwater.When your friend has waded out and is standing next to you, capsizethe boat and get out of it. There are severalthings to keep in mind when you do this. First,you might want to wear noseplugswhen doing a wet exit. This will minimize the discomfort.Second,since the first thing you'll have to do when you are upsidedown is pull the sprayskirtloose from the cockpit coaming,you might want to practicethis on dry land with one hand and your eyesclosed Don't be scared.Getting out of your kayakwhen it is upsidedown is a lot easierthan either gettinginto or out of it when it is right side up. When you are hanging in your kayakupsidedown, gravity is helping you and slidingout of your kayakis natural.When you do a wet exit, hang on to your paddle. Before you attempt your wet exit, tell your friend that if you slapthe hull of the boat with the flat of your hand threetimes, this meansyou would like him to grabyour arm and pull you up. When you are ready,capsizethe boat while holding the paddle at your side.When you are upsidedown, seizethe grabloop at the front of the sprayskirtand pull out and up. Then put a hand on either side of the cockpit and push yourselffree. Stand up and push your boat back to the beach.You havemasteredthe wet exit and know that if your boat capsizes,you will not be trappedin it.

Bracing An important part of paddlinga boat is bracing.Bracinggives your boat stability.When you haveyour paddle in the water,you

Boat I4l UsingYour

can increasethe effectivewidth of your boat from zr inches (53 cm) to 48 inches(rzzcm) just by leaningon your paddle.When yoq ar-eresting,put the flat of the paddleblade acrossthe cockpit with the other end of the blade sticking out at a right angle. If you lean, lean to the side on which your paddleis exiended.This is one of the reasonsboth bladesof your paddle should be in the sameplane and not featheredas most commercialpaddlesare. When you paddle,you will alsoneed to brace.Bracins while paddlingis nothing more than leaningtowardthe sideoi which the paddle is extended.You will get the hang of this in no time. Be aware,however,that too -,r"h lean wiliput you over on your side.

Survival Kayakingin cold wateris a potentiallydeadlyundertakingeven if you paddle in a group.Your bestline of defenseis not to be on the waterwhen conditionsrequireany kind of survivalskills.Of course,unlessyou are familiar with the weatherand waterconditions in the areawhereyou paddle,you may not recognizedangerousconditions and know enough to stay off the water. If you are new to an area,get as much information about the watei as you can. Talk to other paddlers,find out about currents,listen to weatherreports,and so on. Know your own limits. Practicepaddlingin wind and wavesunder controlled conditionswhere you can pull into shore when conditionsbecome too much for you. A long weekendouting or a vacationtrip is not the time to iestyour liirits. Your second-bestline of defenseis a drysuit with several layersof pile clothesunderneath.A good drysuit with sufficient layerswill allow you to stay in the water for at leasthalf an hour without ill effects.If you paddle near shore,a drysuit will allow you to swim your boat back to shore if you can;t get back in it. I have done tl'rison more than one occasionand can attestto its efficacy. Group rescuesrequirethat you spendsometime in the water while someonedragsyour boat acrosstheir boat to get the waterout of it. By the time this is done and you get back in the boat,you may not be capableof paddling any longer if you aren't wearinga drysuit.You are then endangeringyour partners.

,42 TheAleutian Kayak

r

Your bestbet for continuing to enioy the sport is to exercisegood iudgment. Where most people seemto get themselves in trouble is long crossingsof open water.The water may be perfectly fine when they startbut become nastybeforethey reach their destination. Even the original kayakersdied in large numberswhile kayaking.I believethey did so becausethey had to be out on the waterin pursuit of game.Sooneror later they would get caughtin bad weatherthat they could not survive.I don't think that kayaking hasto be asdangerousfor modern recreationalkayakers.You can stayoff the water when it getsnasty.You can alsoavoid long crossingsuntil you've gotten a weatherforecastthat assuresyou of benign conditions.

Methods Rescue Rescuemethodsare designedto get you into a safeposition after your boat has turned upsidedown. Don't ever rely on any rescue method that you haven'tpracticedunder the conditionsin which you'll actually need it. Don't count on somethingthat worked in a calm swimming pool to work in cold waterwith breakingwaves and a 3o-m.p.h.wind. If you expectto paddle cold water and rough weather, practiceyour rescuesin cold water and rough weather.If you are counting on group rescues,practicethem with your friends in cold water and rough weather.If your friendsdon't want to practice under theseconditions,don't go paddling with them in cold water and rough weather.

SelfRescue The bestmethod of rescueis self rescue.If you paddlealone,il is the only method.The bestmethod of self rescueis the roll. It is a good method becauseit is fastand expendslittle energy.In really rough water, any other kind of self rescueis ineffective. Once you get out of your boat, gettingback in and bailing the water out usesup a tremendousamount of energy. If the weatheris so rough that it knockedyou over once, it will probably knock you over again,especiallyafter you used up all your energygettingback in the boat and pumping it out.

Boat 143 UsingYour

Figure13-3.lf youarewearing therightgear.doingrollsevenin coldwateris nota problem.

Rolling The easiestway to learn rolling is to have someoneelse show you how. Once you have learnedone roll, you can practicethat roll until you are very good at it. You will then find other rolls easierto learn becauseif you do blow a new roll, you can get up with vour old roll. Somepeoplesimplycan'tlearnhow to roll. If you areone of these,concentrateon otherself-rescue techniquesand grouprescues.You can find out aboutthesemethodsin kayakhow-tobooks. Figure13-4.You cangeta considerable amountof gearinto a kayak.

144 TheAleutian Kayak

Figure 13-5.Whatetteryou can't get into the kayakendsup on the deck.Anythingon the deckis Iikely to be washedoff unlessit is tied down. In this case,gear that shouldhavebeenin the boat endedup on deck,displacedby clothestoo warm to wear.

GroupRescue Group resclleis intrinsicallylessreliablethan selfrescuebecause it requiresat leasttwo people.The rescuewill only be asreliable as the leastreliablepersonin the grouP.Group rescuesare a favoriteof tour guidesbecausethey are the only way to get inexperiencedpeopleback into a boat.

Cruising Your Aleut kayakis a very good cruisingboat. If you pack carefully, you can get a week'swortl'rof food into it. If you pack dried food, you can probablyget two weeks'worthof food in' If you gear,you can probablyget three pack low-bulk, backpacking-type weeks'worthof food in.

Boat 145 UsingYour

ilnr| € Fixuns

g Bepilirs APPilNilIX Got a problem? This appendixprobably describessome waysto deal with it. The problemstouchedon here are onesyou might encounter in building aswell as onesyou might run into after the boat is finished. First let me repeatthe obviousway of avoidingproblems: Treat your boat well and it will treat you well. If you don't maintain your boat properly,it will remind you of your neglect.If you do your maintenancefaithfully, your boat will respondin kind.

Figure1. If yourstingersbreak, youcansblint and lashthem.

Figure2 (opposite page).lf brokenpartsareinaccessible, you mayneedto slit thedeckseamto getat them.

,45

TheAleutianKayak

FixupsandRepairs 147

Broken RibsandStringers If you breaka rib or stringeron a finishedboat and the breakis accessible,carvea splint to bridge the break and lash it to the broken part. If you break a rib or stringerin a place where you can't get at it, slit the deck seam to get access.peel back the skin, unlash_the_affected part, replaceit or splint it, and ,eplaceand resewthe skin.

PaintMaintenance If the canvashas been exposed,simply spot-paintit. Resistthe temptation to give your boat a whole new coat of paint everyso often. Not only will this add pounds to the weighiof your btat, it will alsoacceleratethe tendencyof the painito crack.If you have used oil paint on the skin and the paint has developed some hairline cracks,apply a thin coat of boiled linseedoil with a rag. Repeatif necessary. The linseed oil will fill the cracksin the skin.

SkinRepair

Figure3. Closetearsin the skinby sewing(left),thenweayethethread alongthetear(ight) , tofurther strengthen therepair.Finishup by paintingtherepairto makeit watertight.If thetearisbig,you maywanttogluea patchoverit afteryouhavedonethesewing.

148 TheAleutian Kayak

You can apply a patch to a small hole in the skin. Cut a canvas patch and glue it on with whateverworksfor you. I havefound latexroofi-ngpaint to be very effective.After the patch dries,paint it to match the surroundingarea. If the skin tears,you need to mend it. Use a curved nee_ dle and cotton twine and sewin the patternshown in Figure If 3. there'sa gap,weavesome twine back and forth betr.ie"r,ih. stitchesto fill in the gap.When you're done, fill the gapswith paint or with latex roofing paint. Don't worry about looks.The repair will give your boat more character.

Parts Sized Wrongly If a deck beam is too low and therelsa gapbetweenit and the deck stringer,fill the gap with a small woodenblock or shim. Lashings will keep the shim in place.The samegoesfor gapsbetweenribs and stringers.Shim if you don't feel like redoinga rib' If a deck beam is too high and you're afraid of weakening it by removing too much wood, cut a notch in the deck stringerto compensatefor the extraelevation. With wood beingplentiful and relativelycheap,thereisn't much virtue in salvaginga messedup part. I think it's more a matter of losing momentum when you stopto redo a part' A quick fix will keep you moving towardyour goal and minimize the likelihood that you'll give up becauseyou aren'tmaking any Progress.

Holesin the Wood If you drilled a hole in the wrong place,where it'svisible,and you don't like its looks, selector carvea matching dowel, put a little glue on it, and plug the hole. Trim the endsflush with the piece.

FitYou Whatto Doif YourBoatDoesn't Ifyou check your boat againstthe size ofyour body beforeyou commit to building it a certain size,you shouldn't haveany trou.ble fitting it. However,you can unintentionally make a boat too tight. I have done this more than once. If that happensto you, don't despair.You can alwaysdo and reassemblyof a boat to make it fit better some disassembly Compare this to the experienceof a friend of mine who built a kayak using glued wood construction.When he was done, he found the boat too tight for his feet and sold it for little more than the costof materials.Skin-on-framekayaksare more forgivingand you can alwaysdo some rearrangingof partsto make a boat with marginal fit into a boat with good fit. On one baidarkaI made, the spacebetweenthe knee brace and the ribs wastoo small for my legs.I could squeezeinto the spaceif I was wearing shorts,but fitting with long pantswas out of the question.I solvedthe problem by carvingllinch out of the undersideof the deck beam. The first boat I everbuilt wasa Greenlandkayak.After

andRepairs 149 Fixups

paddling it for over ayear,l finally concludedthat the cockpit was too fbr forward for my size.The bow was riding too low and the tail wasstickingup too high. Every time the *i"nd bl.*, the boat would want to turn into the wind. The boat wasalsoa little tisht to get into becausethe knee bracewastoo low. In the meantime,I had built somebaidarkas and could pull the Greenlandkayakinto drydockwithout losinganypaddling time. I cut all the lashingsthat held the cockpit coamingto the skin.I openedthe deckseamso I could get at the junction of the deck beam and the gunwaleson eithersideof the cockpit.I sawed offthe backbraceand put a new one in place3 inchesbehindthe old one. I left the old kneebracein placeand just addedanother one, 3 inchesbehind it. I madethe new kneebracetaller aswell, so getting in and out of the boat would be easier.Then I sewedup the deckseam.I had to trim the skin at the backand patch in more skin in front of the cockpit. Then I replacedthe coaming and repaintedthe seamand the new canvas. Among other things, the boat had too much rocker, which I hadn't fixed.But now the tail sata little lower and the bow rosemuch betterinto oncomingwaves.So it is possibleto open up a skin boat and rearrangeits parts.

150 TheAleutian Kayak

$teillnboxo$ ilnilHihs AI'PUNilIX If you should happen to live where there are no willows or other plants with slendertwigs,you can cut and shapeyour ribs out of any lumber that is suitablefor steambending.I haveusedoak and ash.Both bend well. If you can't get either of these,experiment with the wood you can get. Accordingto Bill Tcheripanoff,asinterviewedby foelle Robert-Lamblin,his faiher usedyellow cedar.He soakedthe ribs and then cold-bentthem, usinghis teethto crimp the ribs in the tight bends.I havetried this and it works,but it isveryhard on teeth. In general,I don't recommendthis techniquesinceyou can easily do more damageto your teeth than your whole boat is worth.

Makinga SteamBox A steam box can be any kind of container that will let steam fow over the ribs. You can make the box out of y'-inch(r3 mm) or %-inch (ro mm) plywood. You can also make it out of foam insulation board that has a reflective backing. The box should be about 36 inches (9r cm) long with some wires or small dowels going through it for the ribs to rest on while steaming.One end of [h" bo" should be open and the other end should be capped.When the ribs are in the box steaming,the open end needsto be coveredwith a rag to keep the heat in.

and Ribs 15l Steamboxes

The sourceof the steamcan be an ordinary cooking pot with about a gallon (4 liter) capacity.The source of heat can be a cook stoveif you have one in your shop or a camping stoveif you don't. Keep a window open when using a camping stove,to ventilatethe fumes.You can alsouse an electrichot plate if you can find one that throwsoffenoush heat to keep a good flow ofsteam going. The steampot needsa lid with a hole in it. You can either set the steambox right over a hole and havea matching hole in ihe steambox, or connectthe hole in the lid to the hole in the steambox with a hoseor a pipe. Figure1. Thissteamboxmaylook crudebut it'sactuallyvery effective. Thecampingstove suppliesthe heatto generate the steam.Thebrickon top of the steamboxensures a tight seal.A pieceof plywoodwith a holein it is usedasa lid on thewaterpot. Theholein the lid matchesup with a holein thebottomof the steambox.

Figure2.Youcanmakean adiustableib-bendingformout of twopiecesof plywood.

152 TheAleutian Kayak

Cutting theRibStock As I said,I've usedboth ash and oak for ribs. If you can get the rib stock from a sawmill before it has been dried, it wili bend much more easilythan seasonedwood. In either case,cut the wood into stripsabout z8 inches(7r cm) long and %inch x / inch (ro mm x ro mm) in crosssection.Round the edgeswith a spokeshaveto give the ribs a circular crosssection.Soik them in water for three or four days.You will need about 4o ribs if you space them 4 inches (ro cm) apart.Allow ro extra for breakagea.rd wrong bendingif you'restartingwith greenwood, and a few more if you're startingwith dried wood.

RibForms You will needto fix a battenthat marksthe heightof thekeelson-justasyouwouldif you wereusinggreentwigs.(SeeChapter8 for instructions on riggingthat up.) If you want to get more elaborate,you can make an adjustable plywoodbendingformandbend your ribsoverit. This form is mostusefulfor the ribsnearthe centerof the boat.You may needto bendribsat the endsof the boatfreehandor makeadditionalbendingforms.

theRibs Bending ribsis a little harderthanbendinggreentwigs, Steam-bending sinceyoucanworkthemonlyfor abouta minutebeforetheycool and siiffen.You can,of course,takea chanceand bendthe ribs freehandif you can affordto losea fewbeforeyou getthe shape fingers,you'll needgloves you want.Unlessyou haveasbestos whenyou removethe ribsfrom the steambox.When the steam is goingstrong,you shouldsteamthe ribsfor 5 to ro minutes beforebendingthem. a partnerto helpyouwith therib bendIfyou canpersuade ing, the pio""tt *ill go a lot easier.Afteryou'vebenta rib, you'll n.id to hold it insidethe boatwhile yourpartnermarkswhereit Youwill then needto trim the rib I inch (r3 meetsthe gunwales. mm) pastihe mark,whittledownthe endsa little,andslidethem youdon'tneedto fit AsI'vepointedout already, into the mortises. theribstightlyin the mortises. fu a matterof fact,ribson traditionalboatsalwaysseemto havebeenfittedlooselyto givethem someroom to workasthe boatbendsin use.If the rib is too tall, trim the ends.If a rib is too short,startoveror try to useit on a narrowerpartof the boat. If you find that morethan a third of your ribscrackor splinterwhenyou arebendingthem,stopandponder'Y9u may flowof steam.Turn up theheatunderyour not havean adequate waterpot. If you usea gasstoveor campstove,this shouldbe no problem.Somesmallelectrichot platessimplymaynotput out enoughheatto do the iob. If this is the case,try to find a heat sourcewith a higherwattage.

andRibs 153 Steamboxes

tlofiisedDe Bealn$ APPilN$IX

Figure1. With thegunwales spread,markthepositionof the deckbeamson thegunwales(left) Onceyou havemarkedthe positions of all thedeckbeams, youcandrill the mortises (right) and squarethemup with a chisel.

Mortised deck beamsare shapedlike peggeddeck beams,but need to be cut longer so they can have tenons on either end. Those tenonsmust be long enough to go through the gunwales. Although mortised deck beams require more worklhan the p_:gq"dkind, they have a greatadvantage:They're self-aligning. With peggeddeck beams,you need to keep a constanteye on the deck to make sure it doesn'tget warped.

Marking theMortises After you'vemarkedthe deck beam positionsand spreadthe gunwales,lay a straightedge acrossboth gunwalesand drawlinei on

s/d'1t.m)

154 TheAleutian Kayak

Figure2. Cut tenonson thedeck beamsto matchthe mortises. Tenons(A) mustbeat leastas longasthegunwalesarethick. after Youcan tim excess assembly.

either end of where the deck beam will intersectthe gunwales' This line will be at an angleto the gunwalesand not perpendicular. This is the angleat which you must cut the mortise.Mortisesare# inch (ro mm) tall and r/ inches(3.8cm) wide and # inch (16mm) from the top edgeof the gunwale.

theMortises Cutting Drill holesthrough the gunwalesat either end of the mortiseand removethe wood in betweenwith a chisel.Rememberto drill the holes at an angle to the face but parallel to the top edge of the gunwales.

theTenons Cutting to go through Tenonsshould be cut a little longer than necessary the tenons Mark assembly. after trimmed then the gunwalesand back saw. fine-tooth a as shown in Figure z. Cut the tenonswith Clean them up with a chisel.Testtheir fit in the mortises.

i I II

DeckBeams 155 Mortised

Sails ilnd & Builderu

PPNNI|IX

we know for a fact that the Aleuts usedboth sailsand rudderson their kayaksbecausethereare examplesof both in museumcollections.Strangely,though, I don't tnow of any photographsor drawingsthat showeithersailsor ruddersin use.Sothev iust haue usedthem veryinfrequently-perhapsonly to run befoiethe wind. They certainlydidn't carryleeboardsot "ny other equipmentto maketackingor reachingpractical. I once made a rudder and sail for one of my baidarkasbut found them to be more of a nuisancethan they'reworth. Howeverif you experiment,you might be able to come up with a combination that will giveyousome relief from paddling on long trips. For more backgroundon this iopic, readGeorgeDyson's ' Baidarka.You'll alsofind someinnovativesail plansth"ere.

TheRudder The rudderkeepsthe boat on coursewhen you are running beforethewind.SeeFigurer for construction deiails.The bottori of the rudderis tied to the draintube.The top of the rudderhas a hollowknuckle,which fitsthe endof the taiipiece.It is held in placeby a line thatrunsaroundthe cockpitcoaming.If youknot the line in the exactcenter,you canjudgeyour,,_,"dd.i trim by whetherthe knot is rightor left of the coclpit center.

156 lhe Aleutian Kayak

r

Figure1. Therudderis tied to the drain tubeat thebottomand held in placeon top by linesleadingto thecockpit.

Figure2. SamplesailPIanfor a baidarka.

sd (azr*;m)

andRudders 157 Sails /

f TheSail The sailplan shownin Figurez is basedon a drawingby David zimmerly. To be frank,I found that this amountof sailwasineffgcjivgexceptin fairlyhigh winds.perhapsthis sailareawasjust right for the strongwind conditionstypicallyencountered by Aleuts. If you don'tlive in theAleutians,you mightwantto con_ siderincreasing the ",t._"by 5opercent.The mast"is mountedjust forwardof the seconddeckbeam.To usea sair,youmustbe sure to install 1-1t stepbeforeyousewon the skin.The maststepis justa blockof woodwith a holein it, lashedacross trvoribsadjacentto the keelson,to accommodate the bottomof the mast. Youwill alsohaveto makea hole in the skinof the deck for the mastto slidethrough.To keepwaterout of the hole,sew a tube of skinto the hole.This tubewill rookrike a little "i,i*neycomingout of the deck.when you don't havea mastin the tube,roll up the tubeandtie it off.

158 lhe Aleutian Kayak

Kavilk illfioffilonsilnil 0heckllsts

APP$NI}IX

This appendixcontainsa summaryof the boat'sdimensionsand a l-r,r-b.i of checkliststo give you a quick overviewof the boat and the building process.

BoatDimensions Figure r is a drawingof a completedboat.A.summaryof somekey diirensions "pp."i, below. Remember that you may have to adjust ro-" oith"se dimensionsto make the boat fit you or to suit your personalneedsand desires.. Total length

16'8"(5o8cm)

Gunwale length

r4'ro"(45zcm)

Width at front of cockpit (beam)

zr" (53cm)

Width at tail end of gunwales

9" (z3cm)

Width at bow end of gunwales

7" (r8cm)

Insidelength of cockPitcoaming

24" (6rcm)

andChecklists159 Dimensions Kayak

Insidewidth of cockpitcoaming

r8" (46cm)

Depthto sheerat cockpit

81" (zzcrn)

Depthto sheerat bowendof gunwales 61" Q6.5cm) Depthto sheerat tail endof gunwales 7t/0"(zocm) Totalweieht

35lbs(r6kg)

Figure1.AleutKayakFrame

A .

L]J

9

I

@

ThePartsof the Boat The following is a list of all the partsthat make up your kayak. z gunwales 4o ribs 8 hull stringers 7 deck beams z bow crossblocks z tail crossblocks r bow piece r tail piece

160 TheAleutian Kayak

(continued)

3 keelsections z deckstringers r cockpitcoaming z coamingstanchions to coamingafterskinis on) r coaminglip (attached lashingshing assorted 5 deckstraps ro deckstraptoggles r skin(6 yardsofcanvas) oil paint' boiledlinseedoil varnish

ToolList Minimum The followingis the absoluteminimum of toolsthat-youneedto build the boat accordingto the instructionsin this manual. Traditionalbuilders*o,tld haveaddedan adzeto this list and taPe. deletedthe measuring crosscut saw carvingknife drill andbit hammer taPeor Yardstick measuring

ToolList Advanced The followingareadditionaltoolsthat will makethe iob go a little faster.ThJ arenice to havebut not essential' adze Powersaw andChecklistsl5l KayakDimensions

hand plane spokeshave

ShopRequirements A shopissimplyaspacethatisbig enoughfor youto workon your boat.If the weatheris nice,thiscan"u.r, b" outside. spacezo'x 8' (6.7mx 3m) z sawhorses light

Building Checklist The followingis list of siepsin the buildingof a kayak.This list is meantto help you trackyour progress. If you duiifully record yourprogress on thisbuildingchecklist,then restarting aftera breakshouldbe assimpleastakingup with the nexiunJhecked item on the checklist. If youwouldlike to seewhereyourtime went,thenyoucanalsorecordthenumberof hoursspenton each partof the buildingprocess. Buylumberfor a paddle Makea paddle If you wereableto makea paddle,you'reableto build a boat.So proceed. Buy lumberfor yourboat Ordercanvas Setup yourshop Setup andlevelyoursawhorses Cut gunwales Planegunwales Checkgunwales for symmetry Mark gunwales for deckbeampositions

152 TheAleutian Kayak

r i

for rib mortises Mark gunwales Drill rib mortises with temporaryspreaders Spreadgunwales Carvedeckbeamson eithersideof the cockpit Installdeckbeamson eithersideof the cockpii Measureelevationof remainingdeckbeams Carveand installremainingdeckbeams Carveand installbowcrossblocks Carveand installtail crossblocks Drill andlashdeckbeamsto gunwales Stainyourdeck keelstringer Turn yourdeckoverand installa temporary Cut or collectyourrib stock Installribs Carvethe upperbowpiece andupperbowpiece Installkeelsections to the ribs Lashkeelsections Cut hull stringers Shapehull stringers to the ribs Lashhull stringers Carvetail piece Carvedeckstringers Cut cockpitcoamingblank Bendcockpitcoaming cockpitcoaming,and tail pieceto each Fit deckstringers, other to the deckandthe cockpitcoaming Lashdeckstringers

andChecklists153 KayakDimensions

Lashcockpitcoamingto the gunwalesby wayof the cockpit stanchions Installtail pieceand lashit to the keelsonand backdeck stringer Lashbowdeckstringerto the bowpiece Stainall unstained pieces Oil or varnishthe entirehull Carvetogglesfor the deckstraps Stretchthe skinon the hull Tiim excess canvas Sewin dartsin frontandbackof the cockpit Sewthefirstseamon theskinandinstalldeckstraps asyougo Trirn alongthe seam Sewthe secondseam Sewaroundthe cockpitcoaming Cut stripof woodfor cockpitlip Sewcockpitlip aroundthe coaming Put firstcoatofpaint on ihe skin Sandthe skin Put secondcoatof painton the skin Sandthe skin Put final coatof painton the bottomof the hull Sandbottomof the hull I-aunchyourboat Be careful Startthinkingaboutyournextboat

154 TheAleutian Kayak

-

filo$$ilry As you build boatsand read boatbuilding literature and talk to other boatbuilders,you begin to accumulatenew wordsin your vocabulary.I havecollectedthesewordsin a glossaryand provided somedefinitionsfor thosewho might find sometermsforeign. "boat" in Russian.This is what Baidara-Probably means the Russianscalled the Aleuts' large boats,which are called umiakselsewherein the Arctic. Baidarka-The Russianword for kayak.The diminutive of baidara. Chine-Edges in the boai'shull that run fore and aft. In a kayak,a chine is formed by the skin going over one of the hull stringers.Since there are many stringersin a baidarka,chinesare soft;that is, there is no abruptchange in angle as the skin passesover them. In contrast,boats such is Greenlandkayaksare saidto be hard-chined.The term chine is sometimesalso used to refer to the hull stringersthemselves. Frame-Another word for rib. In traditional wooden hull boatbuilding,the planking of the hull is nailed through the frames. Gunwales-These are the two boardsthat establishthe shape of the deck when viewed from above.The gunwalesare the main strengthmembersin a kayakand are primarily responsiblefor stiffeningthe boat. Hog-When a boat crestsa wave and the ends of the boat sag into the troughs on either side of the crest,this is

Glossary165

calledhogging.When a boat is built so the keel is hisher at the centerthan at the ends,it is saidto be hoelottomed.Baidarkasare not built hog bottomedbut they will hog when crestinga wave,especially when loaded. Keelson-A keel that runs insidethe hull of the boatand does not projectdown below it. In the caseof a kavak.the keelson is insidethe skin. Mortise-A hole in a pieceof wood into which a tenon is fitted. Resaw-To resawa boardis to cut it in half with the bladeparallel to the faces.If you resawat/+inchx3 inch board,you get two %inch x 3 inch boards. Rip-To rip a board is to cut it down the long dimension, along the grain, ratherthan acrossit. Rocker-The amount of curvaturein the keel line, also appliedto curvaturein the chines.Rockerallowsa boatto move behveenthe troughsand crestsof heavyseaswithout undue pitching and plunging,first into the face of a waveand then down into the trough. However,too much rockerin the chinesmakesfor a sl-orerboaton flat water. Sheer-This is upward curvaturein the gunwalesfrom the middle towardthe ends.If the gunwrl., "r. lower in the middle than at the ends,the ioat is said to have some sheer.This is the normal condition in boats.If the sunwalesarelevel from end to end, the boat is saidto hav"e.,o sheer.If the gunwalesare higher in the middle than at the ends,the boat is saidto havereversesheer.Do not confuse sheerwith rocker,which is the amount of curvature in ihe keel line. Stringer-A slenderpieceof wood running the leneth of the boatalongthe hull or deck. Stringersin a kayal support ihe skin and alsogive the boat longitudinal stiffness. Tenon-An extensionto a piece of wood that fits into a mortise.A tenon is usuallynarroweror thinner than the piece of wood it sticksout of. Umiak-An open skin-on-frameboat. The Aleut versionwas calleda baidara.

166 TheAleutian Kayak

Heferonle$ Here'sa list of somebookscontaininginformationthatmaybe helpfulto you whenyoubuild yourAleutkayak' Adney,EdwinT., and HowardI. Chapelle'1983'Thebark and skincraft of North America.Washington, cctnoes InstitutionPress. D.C.: Smithsonian Adney put togetherthe materialon canoes,and chapters the bookandaddedseveral Chapelleorganized on ,kin boati.fohn Heathprovidedan appendixon the EskimoRoll.The bookhastwo drawingsof baidarkas' This is a newedition.Fora longtime,theoriginaledition wasthe only bookthat containedanyinformationabout traditionalcraft. to kayakstudArima,EugeneY., Editor.r9gt.Contributions SeriesPaper Mercury Service Ethnology ies.Canadian Civilization' rzz.Hull, Quebec:CanadianMuseumof This book is about kayaksof all kinds, not iust baidarkas,but five of the elevenpapersare about baidarkas. Essex, Brand,fohn. r98r.Thelittle kayakbook.Colchester, England.Self-published. the hull linesof a baidarkain This bookreproduces the BritishMuseum.It alsohasdrawingsof a number of otherkayaks. JohnBrandfollowedthis bookwith two more Little KayakBooks,which focusmoreheavilyon the bookshimself'His Greenlandkayaks. fohn publishes shouldyou wishto orderfrom him, is:Bramble address,

References157

Tye, StanwayGreen, Colchester,Essex,CO3 5M, GreatBritain. Dyson,George.ry86. Baidarfta.Edmonds,

Alaska

NorthwestPublishingCompany. This is the book that first introducedme to baidarkas. It_containslots of photographsand drawingsof genuine Aleut kayaks.It alsocontainsquite a bit of historyof th"r" craft and has color picturesof the placeswhere Aleuts paddledthesecraft.Finally, it has picturesof George Dyson building all kinds of baidarkasof differentsizes and shapes,continuing, as he puts it, the evolution of the craft.

Gardner,fohn. 1987.The dorybooft.Mystic, Seaport Museum.

Mystic

This book has no information about baidarkasbut it doeshave a good treatmentof scarfingshort planks to make long ones. The dory, incidentally, became the Aleut workboatof choice after the decline of seaotter hunting and the baidarka. Robert-Lamblin, foelle. r98o. "Le kayakAleoute vu par son constructeuret utilisateuret la chassei la loutrede mer." ObietsetMondes zo (r): 5 - zo. Paris,France. This is a fairly thorough overviewof Aleut baidarkas and hunting methods.If you don't readFrench,or can't get hold of this article, don't fret; most of the information is availablein Dyson'sBaidarka.The major piece of new information in this article is baidarkadimensionsin termsof the builder'sbody dimensions. Short, Derrel, and JerryMartini, photographer."The Kodiak kayak."WoodenBoatmagazine#58. Kodiak kayaksare sufficientlysimilar to baidarkasfor you to get somegood constructionhints out of this article. Zimmerly, David W. 1986.Q,\YAQ: Kayaksof Siberia and Alaska.funeau,AK: Divisionof StateMuseums,1986. This book hastwo drawingsof one-holebaidarkas,one drawingof a double,and one drawingof a three-holer.It alsohasa number of photographsof peoplein baidarkas.

168 TheAleutian Kayak

-----'-"-_....---

"Building the one-holeAleut Zimmerly, David W. 1983. bidarka." Small Boat loumal, February/Marchand April/X4ayr983. This constructionarticle appearedin two parts. Accordingto GeorgeDyson,it inspiredthe buildingof Well worth consulting,if you severaldozenbaidarkas. the article. find a copy of can

References169

Index A Airbags,Li.z-33 Aleuts,ix-x,l, z, 5o,96,n5, n7-28,34,ry6 Arima,Eugene,x B Backrest, ro-u fitting,67 Baidara,4t65, Baidarka,z, 168 Baidarka HistoricalSociety, 4o Baidarka, historyof, viii, x, r, 2, IL-13

Baranov,Alexander,viii

Boathook,ry5,ry6 Books,67-69 Borges, forgeLuis,ix Bow,ro-rr Bowcrosspieces, ro-1r,62,t6t cuttingbowblock,6Z-6+ shapingbowblock,6z-63 Bowpiece,making,77 Bowplate,7j,76 Bowslit,ro-rr Bracing,r4r-+ Brand,John,168 BritishMuseum,rz Buildingchecklist,6z-64

Bark,removing,84-86 Bark Canoesand SkinCraft of North America, 167 Beeswax,Tz-77 Bergsland,Knut, rr Bezezekoff,Steve,x Bilge pump, r34 170 TheAleutian Kayak

C Canvas, J,6,zt,togrc. Seea/soSkin fitting, rrr-rz lacingdeck,n4-r5 paintfor, rz7-24 repairof, r48 selecting, rro-rr

sewingbow,rrz Lr7-zr sewingseams, of, 39 sources stretching,nz-14 trimming,u5-16 Chine,165 Chinestringers, 35 Clothing,for kayaking,n6-7t in coldweather,ri.o-1.L Coaming,cockpit,Lo-rr,12, r6r bending,rc4-oj cutting,ro4 installing,ro5-o6 makingformfor,ro3 Coamingrim, tzr-zz Coamingstanchion,rr carving,rc6--o7 numberof, 16r Cockpit,r8-r9,22-25,L27, r39-+L r35 Compass, Constructionchecklist,16z Constructiontechniques alignment,4T cutting,4z dowling,44,4, drilling,+-44 gluing,44-4j,47 lashing,45 marking,4r-42 scarfjoints,45-47 Contributionsto Kayak Studies,Lr,r3, t67 Cruising,r45

D Deck,assembling,6r building,5z-74 checkingfitof,74 gunwales, 5z-56 lashing,Tz-73 oiling,73-74 painting,Tz ridged,r9 sewingseam,tt7 Deckbeams,to--rl,j4, 44 determiningelevationof, 68-69 joiningto gunwales ,64-67 lashingholesin, 7r-72 markingpositions, 58 mortised,154-55 numberof, 16r sizing,6S-61 Deckknife,r35 116,16r Deckstraps, ro-11,35 Deckstringers, carving, too-ol

fitting, ror-oz lashing,ro3 numberof, 16r Dory Book,The,46,168 Dry bags,r)3-74 Drysuit,rzg,r4 Dyson,George,vlTi-x,z, rz, 13,11o,156,168-69 E Emergencygear,r77 Ermeloff,Bill, ix, x lndex l7l

F

Hog,165

Fittingthe boat,zr-25 afterit'sdone,L4g-So

Hull construcIion,7 5-9g.See a/soRibs form,8o-8r notchinggunwales, 75 shapeof, fi-lg strengthof,79

Flares, r37 Footbrace,rr fitting,56-57 ForestProductsLaboratory, 36 Frame,165 Framework, lo-u, 13,19,)7, 75-ro8 staining,ro8 Freeboard, r5

Hull stringers, to-n,35, 46 lashing,g7-g8,gg making,97 numberof, r6t repairof, 46,48 staining,97,rc8 I lkyax, r

G Gardner, John,46,t6g Gear,inside,rc7,13j-34,144 on deck,16-17,r44-4j Glossary,65-66 Goodman,Frank,i6 Gunwales,ro-rr, 35,44,46, 16r,165 cutting,5z-54 foiningwith deckbeams, 64-67, 154-55 marking,59-60 notchingfrontof,T5 spreading, 54-56 H HearstMuseum, rr-r2,17,4j Heath,fohn,x 172 TheAleutian Kayak

K Kayak,Aleutian.Seealso Baidarka advantages of,3-4 beam,15-16 construction time,3,6-7 costof, 4-1.,, T depthof, r8,zz designfeatures, r3 development of, ix dimensions, r59-6o gettinginto,r39-4o gettingoutof,r4o-4r lengthof, r7-r8,zr-zz,2j natureof, ro-zo seaworthiness, t3-r4 size,4,6, t5, zt-25,159-6o speedof, r4-r5 stabilityo[, r5-r7 strength,,, rg-2o useof, zz

using,ry8-45

volumeof, 15 wet exit,r4r why build?,3-5 width of, 15-16,zz-23 Kayak,Greenland,5, rz5, r49-ro Kayak,kits,4o Kayak,Kodiak,168 Kayak,Nordkapp,16 Kayakorganizations, 4o Kayak,plastic,3-5 Kayaksof SiberiaandAlaska, r68

Life vest,r2g-r3o LittleKayakBook,The,167 Lowerbow,ro-rr 8-9 Lumber,dimensions, selecting, 34-36 M Maintenance,146-15o Martini,ferry,168 Materials,33-4o sourcesfor,3839 in construcMeasurements, tion,8 8-9 Metric conversions,

ro-r1,19,35,45,75, Keelson, 79, 166 aligning,9j-96 assembling, 97-95 lashing,q6-gl settingup, 90-93

Mortiseddeckbeams,rj4-rr, t66

Kelly,Kevin,ix

NikolskiBay,ix, x

Kneebrace,ro-rr fitting, 67-68

o

L

nativeboat,4o Organizations,

Lantis,Margaret,rz Lashing,deckbeams,7z-7j drillingdeckholesfor,7v7z keelson,g6-gl materialsfor, 38 techniques,45 Kurt, ix Lasswitz, Laughlin,WilliamS.,ix, x

N NativeWatercraftSociety, 4o

OregonStateMuseum,r7

P Paddle carving,4g-5r painting,5o-5r sizing,48,49 woodfor,49 Paddling,6, r4-tJ, 5o,178-79, r42 lndex 173

Paddling jacket, r27-tzg Painting, deck,Tz skin, nz-25

Rip,167

Paint maintenance,148

Robert-Lamblin, Joelle,zr, 34, r5r,168

Parkas,:u.7-28

Rocker,167

Partsofa kayak,ro-rr, 16o-16r list ofl 16o-16r wrong-sized,r49

Rolling,r44 Ropes,rescueandtowing, r34-)5

Personalflotation device, r2g-)o

Rubstrip,rz5

Petersen, H.C., 16

Rudder,ry6-57

Problems,what to do, 8

Russian AmericanCompany,

Pump, r34

R Radio, VHF,r37 References, 168-69 Repairs,46-5o stringers, 146 Resaw,167 Rescuemethods,r4z-45 grouP,r+, r45 self,r43 Rib mortises, drilling,5o-5r marking,j9-6o Ribs,ro-rr bending,r53 cuttingstock,r5z form for, 8o-8r,r5z gatheringstock,8z-84 installing,84-9o number of, r6t removingbarkfrom,8a-86 174 TheAleutian Kayak

woodfor, 37,8v84,5r

Russians, r-2,rz S Safety,r)-14, r2g,r37,LF-45 Sails,r56-58 Scarfs, dropleaf,9o Seaotterhunters, ix, z Seatcushion,r34 Seatslats,ro7-o8 Seaworthiness, r3-r4,9o,r38 Sewingtheskin, tt2-22

Sheerline,167 Shop requirements,16z Short, Derrel, 168 Size,ofkayaker,zr. See also Fitting

Skin,5,6, zo,rog-25.Seealso Canvas linen,1o9-ro materialsfor, ro9-ro repairsto, tto rro synthetics, The, of Green-land, Skinboats 16 r4-r5 Speed, 6r Spiritline,carving, rz7 Sprayskirt, Spreaders, 54-56 ro8 Staining, Steambox,making,r5L-jz using,rc4-oJ, rrr-52, r53 Sterncrossblock,63,16r Sticks,for ribs,8z-84 pith coreof, 83 bags,fitting,ro7, Storage r33-34 Stringer,167.Seea/soDeck andHull Stringers Survival,rp-43

Thompson'sWater Seal,rz3 Tools,16-4 adze,29,4t block plane, z7-28,44 chisel,3r clamps,3o-3r crookedknife, z8 crosscutsaw,27 dovetail saw,27 drill and bits,27,

+-44

electricsaw,31 gauge(marking),)r-iz, F hammer,z8 listsof, 16l_62 needles(sewing), T, 39-40 68 sawhorses, 33, sewingmachine,rz6 of, 33 sharpening slidingbevel,7z sourcesof,3839 z8 spokeshave, square,32 straightknife,z9 8 Troubleshooting, Tuningskinboats,4 U Umiaks,r, 167

T ro-1r,63,t6r Tail crosspiece, Tailfin,r, !!-!J, 7i-77, 95, tor, t6t

making,77-78

UmnakIsland,rz V V-bottom,r9

Tcheripanoff,Bill, zr, rir

w

basicconstrucTechniques, tion,47

Weight, of kayak,16o ofkayaker,r5, zr lndex 175

Wood cutting,4z diilling, elasticityof,36-77 markingo[,4r-42 pluggingholesin, r49 specificgravitiesof, 76-77 strength,Z6-y o[,3t37 __.types ''W6odHandbook, 76

Workbench,ST-i.4 Workmanship,standards of, 4r Workspace,33-34 Z Zimmeiy, David,r58,169

6009 30 475 lhe Aleutian Kayak