West Greenland-Style Kayak

After building McKinley's Blue Bomber I decided to build a full-size West Greenland-style SOF boat for myself. Unlike McKinley's junior-sized craft, my taller stature (6'2") and greater weight (210 lbs.) demanded a larger craft. The overall length of the boat is 18' 1", with a beam of 20 1/4". It was built using a combination of Chris Cunningham's design and Robert Morris' design, along with a few things I picked up along the way. Build time was about 50 hours over four weeks.

	The completed frame after oiling. I used premium-grade Western Red Cedar for the gunwales, keelson, and chines. Everything else was surplus or salvage from other projects. The cost of the three 20' premium 2x4s was $70, but they were well worth it. As I was building against the clock to get this boat done prior to a paddling get-together, I did not document the construction to the level of the other boats.
A view from the stern. Some different items that I used on this boat were square oak dowels in place of round in many places and a laminated masik made from 10 layers of pine and cedar.
	The skin is on and the first coat of polyurethane is drying. The skin is 10 oz. Polyester Canvas from Tacoma Tent and Awning. The Polyurethane is Varathane Diamond Outdoor. Here you can see the laminated masik.
A view towards the stern. All of the deck beams were attached with "through" mortise and tenon joints.
	The view towards the bow. The curved deck beams are visible.
A profile view as the skin dries.
	The long view. The cockpit coaming is steam bent 5/16" x 1 1/2" oak. There is a 5/16" oak lip all around. I actually had a problem with the coaming "snapping back" while it cooled. The result was a coaming that was too wide and too short. I used a cam-ratcheting strap to bend it into the shape I wanted, then dipped each corner into a pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. The water softened the wood enough to allow the bend to stay.
With seven coats of poly applied, it is almost ready for deck lines. My wife chose the color after consulting with her sister who pilots an antique tug boat in the San Francisco Bay. Her advice was that white looks like a whitecap, brown looks like a log, black will never be seen. You want to stick out. Once again, the colorant is paint tints from Home Depot. The actual color is "Desert Glow" (or "don't hit me Yellow").
	Another view.
All rigged and ready to go. I am using oak toggles and braided poly rope for the deck lines. I installed an additional bungee to make use of the paddle park.
	The complete kayak in profile.
The cockpit profile.
	I really liked the paddle parks that have been popping up on strip and stitch-and-glue boats recently, so I made this version for the SOF. The toggles have a depression cut in the top and a lip carved in stern end of the toggle. The bungee pulls rearward and keeps the paddle (shown here) in place.
The thought of having that little board in my back for hours sounded rather painful, so I devised this seat back out of minicell foam and an old mouse pad. It is held in by pressure.
	Here is a view of the seat from the bottom. The foam pillar compresses between the keelson and the deck beam.
The big launch at Poulsbo. I was very pleased with the performance, though it did take some getting used to. After two days I could sit still without constantly correcting. Compared to many of the other Greenland boats, mine has a good bit of rocker and more "V" to the keel. It is reasonably easy to roll and a lot of fun.

All images and text are copyright by Marcel Rodriguez unless otherwise noted and may not be used for commercial purposes without the prior written approval of the copyright holder. Noncommercial use is permitted.