Wooden kayaks
A wooden kayak can be a beautiful contruction. There is a long tradition of wooden boats in Michigan and Maine. Birch is a very commonly used wood here. The craftsmen who can produce a wooden boat are absolute experts at their trade and can give you something of lasting value.
Save money and look into building your own wooden kayaks.
There are two major types of wooden kayaks: those you buy, and those you make for yourself. A lot of people have found that they enjoy the time spent working on their own wooden kayak. If you're one of those people, then you should definitely check online for how-to guides and other information about how to build your own kayak. If you're worried that you won't be able to find accurate information online, then you can check for books that have been written on the subject.
There are a few things that you should consider about a home made kayak, as well. In fact, if you have the time to build your own kayak, then there are plenty of great reasons to do so.
The first reason is simply the cost. If you've been shopping around for high quality kayaks, you'll know that most of them are very expensive, especially if they are made out of fiberglass instead of just plastic. By building your own kayak, you'll be able to make the one that you want - and you'll only have to pay for the wood you use while you're building it.
One disadvantage of wooden kayaks is that they require a lot of maintenance. This is definitely a problem if you do not have a lot of extra time on your hands - but if you have time to build a kayak to start with, then you'll probably have enough time to do all the major up-keep on it as well. There are also even some hidden advantages to all the maintenance that you have to do - since you'll be able to do all the maintenance yourself, and wooden kayaks can often be maintained just like new while other types of kayaks will show wear and tear relatively early on.
While all of the kayak materials are pretty sturdy, you should also note that wooden kayaks (when made properly) are almost as sturdy as the other types of kayaks. What this means is that you'll be able to take your wooden kayak almost anywhere you'd like to go.
One thing you should keep in mind, however, is that most of the instructions you'll find on how to build wooden kayaks are meant to be recreational or touring kayaks. Even though wooden kayaks are fairly sturdy, you'll probably not want to take one on a whitewater racing course.
Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.kayakhelp.com. Please visit his complete kayaking guide for all skills and ages. |
