Guillemot Night Heron
I wanted to share with you a couple photographs of my Night Heron kayak (LOA 18′, beam of 20″), designed by Nick Shade of Guillemot Kayaks . The boat took nearly two years of weekends and evenings to complete, with work proceeding at a glacial pace during some periods. The boat was first launched on a cold, windy day in February, 2012 on Jordan Lake, located in central NC. It performed wonderfully despite the weather conditions and my kayaking skills being a bit rusty.
For those of you not familiar with Nick’s designs, it is constructed with thin strips of wood which are then encapsulated in fiberglass and epoxy. For this build I used what was generically referred to as “spruce” from a locally-owned builders’ supply (Fitch Lumber) in Carrboro, NC. All other building supplies came from Chesapeake Light Craft. I decided to paint the hull and cockpit coaming white and leave the hull bright. Final weight of the kayak is in the neighborhood of 43lbs.
DESIGN SPECS
| LOA (feet): | 18′ 0″ |
| Beam (feet): | 1′ 8″ |
| Type/Rig/Power: | Double paddle |
| Home Port: | Chapel Hill, NC |
| Designer Name: | Nick Shade |
| Builder Name: | Stirling Cummings |
| Launching Date: | February 12, 2012 |
Comments
Greetings from a fellow North Carolinian
Excellent work! The combination of the white hull and bright deck is particularly attractive. I built a version of Nick Schade's Guillemot back in 1999. She's a lumberyard special like yours, with a douglas fir bottom and a white pine deck. It's finished bright, but I may just go back and copy your finish scheme.
This is my first visit to the online "Launchings" page, and it was a pleasant surprise to see one so close to where I live. Fitch Lumber is right across the street from Elmo's Diner where my wife and I go to breakfast nearly every Saturday morning. I think I'll pay 'em a visit soon...
Congratulations on a fine build!
-Larry