Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Building a Greenland kayak (Part 1)

In addition to enjoying my son and family, written a MSc thesis, working full time as a doctor at the Department of Neurology (saving up for my current paternal leave) and having had a few exams this winter, I have also been building a Greenland kayak with the local crew.
Gunwales, futtocks, a keel and keel ends. Deck beams and stringers and strakes. A masik and plates of veneer. Many knots and dowels, and a fair amount of glue. Two different steaming cannons. And a cockpit.

The wooden frame of the kayak is finished after quite some labour and good clean fun. A more thorough explanation and lots of photos are available here (click on "Building a kayak").

Next up is covering the skeleton with cloth, stitching it together and making it impermeable. Then the carpentering of a double-bladed paddle and the sewing of a spraydeck. Hopefully all done prior to the club's ceremony of ship naming and launching in early summer, which means I will be back with more of this in part 2.