Building the Greenland Kayak: A Manual for Its Contruction and Use

by Christopher Cunningham

Overview

This step-by-step guide to building a lashed-frame, fabriccovered sea kayak is both a means to a sleek, fast, universally admired boat and an excellent introduction to woodworking and boatbuilding for hobbyists. The Inuit design scales up or down to fit the paddler and can be built using $150 worth of hardware-store materials, a few basic tools, and a minimal investment of time. Also included: plans for a low-volume version designed for Eskimo rolling; an especially stable version for children; and discussions of kayaking equipment, paddling, and rolling techniques.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780071392372
Publisher:	McGraw Hill LLC
Publication date:	11/26/2002
Edition description:	Net
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.80(w) x 9.30(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Christopher Cunningham has been the editor of Sea Kayaker magazine since 1989 and has been building kayaks since 1979. He has taught Greenland kayak construction at the WoodenBoat School and has built scale models of traditional kayaks for the Alaska State Museum. His Greenland kayak construction and paddling skills have been documented in several videos, and he has lectured on and demonstrated those skills in North America and Europe.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Design
The Greenland Design as a Recreational Kayak
Anthropometric Measurement
2. Tools
Circular Saw Blades
Drill Bits
Keeping Your Tools Sharp
The Art of the Jig
The Steam Box
Safety
Wood Dust
Safety Glasses and Hearing Protection
On the Water
3. Materials
Wood
Grain Orientation
Bending Stock
Fabric
Deck Lines
Deck Fittings
4. Fastenings
Lashing Material
Knots and Lashings
The Eskimo Knot
The Water Knot
Lashings
Trunnels
5. Milling
Ripping
Ripping Gunwales to Thickness
Stationary Circular Saw Ripping Jig
Ripping on a Table Saw
Planing
Wedge Bench Holdfast
Machine Planing
Scarfing
Glue Scarfs
Traditional Scarf Joints
Hooked Scarfs for Chines and Keelson
6. Getting Started
Laying Out the Gunwales
Building Forms
7. The Framework
Orienting the Gunwales
Marking the Gunwales
Cutting Rib Mortises
Mortising by Hand
Mortise Machine
Router Mortising
Shaping the Gunwales
Cutting the Deck Beam Mortises
Mortising by Hand
Mortise Machine
Beveling the Gunwales
The Building Forms
Beveling the Gunwale Tips
Hollowing the Sheer
Preparing for Deck Beams
Straight Deck Beams
Cutting the Straight Deck Beams to Length
Marking the Tenons
Arched Deck Beams
Cutting Tenons
Cutting Tenons on Arched Deck Beams
Cutting Tenons on Straight Deck Beams
Test Fitting
An Alternative to Mortise-and-Tenon Joints for the Deck Beams
Assembling the Gunwales
Locking the Gunwales and Deck Beams
Trunnels to Join the Ends of the Gunwales
Pegging the Tenons
Deck Beam Lashings
8. The Hull
The Rib Gauge
Cutting Ribs to Size
Thinning the Ends of the Ribs
The Jointer
The Router Table
The Table Saw
Hand Tools
The Bending Jig
Steaming and Bending
Pinning the Ribs
Bow and Stern Blocks
Attaching the Keelson
Adjusting the Sheer and Rocker
Pegging the Keelson
Trimming the Ends of the Keelson
Centering the Keelson
Fairing Blocks
The Running Lashing
Running Lashings Through Holes
Chines
Positioning the Chines
Lashing the Chines
9. Finishing the Frame
Stem Plates
Masik
The Masik Pattern
Naturally Curved Stock
A Laminated Masik
Straight-Grained Stock
A 3-D Template for the Masik Notches
Installing the Masik
Deck Ridges
Trial Run
Oiling the Frame
The Cockpit Hoop
The Coaming Flange
Floorboards
10. Skinning the Kayak
Pulling Longitudinal Tension
Pulling Transverse Tension
Working Solo
Working with a Partner
The Decks
Stretching the Decks
Sewing
Installing the Coaming
Lacing the Coaming
Coatings
Aircraft Dope
Two-Part Urethane
11. Deck Fittings
Leather
Beads
Sliders
Deck-Line Placement
12. The Paddle
Laminating a Paddle Blank
Shaping the Paddle
Paddle Armor
Tapering the Blades
Rounding the Shaft
Trimming the Blade Edges
Oiling the Paddle
My Paddle Modifications
Storm Paddles
13. Clothing
The Tuilik
The Pattern
Cutting the Pieces
Sewing
Spray Skirt
The Spray Skirt Pattern
14. Float Bags, Hunting Equipment, and Skegs
Float Bags
Heat-Sealable Fabric
Traditional Floats
Towing Float
Hunting Float
The Rolling Stick
Skegs
Strap-On Skegs
A Hybrid Skeg
15. Eskimo Rolling
Capsizing in Comfort
Wet Exit
Hip Bracing
Swimming with the Kayak
Sculling
Sculling Back Brace
Sculling Chest Brace
Deep Sculling
Balance Brace
Forward Extended Roll
Backward Sweep Roll
Saving Rolls
Window-Shade Roll
Float Rolls
Hunting-Float Roll
Towing Float Roll
Throwing-Board Roll
16. Getting In and Paddling
Getting Aboard
Entry from a Steep or Rocky Beach
Entry from a Dock
Rough-Water Launching
Landing
The Forward Stroke
The Sliding Stroke
17. Variations of the Greenland Kayak
The Rolling Kayak
The Folding Kayak
Kid's Kayak
Rockers
Balance Stool
Balance Sacks
Appendix
Materials List
Metric Conversion Factors
Sources of Supplies
Bibliography
Index