Launchings

Over a pandemic winter Carl Frey built the NOELLE Q, an 8′ long, 26-pound kayak (19″ beam) from his own plans.

Here floats RED RYDER in a swimming pool with her builder, Rip Graham of St. Simons Island, Georgia, aboard.  His wife Charlotte took the pictures and shared Rip’s project with us. Rip built modified version of Tom Yost’s Nikumi design for a 17′ x 22″ Aluetian Baidarka touring kayak.

Lee Sandifur built KARI-SAN (15'2" x 4'10") from plans by Samuel Devlin using stitch-and-glue construction. He launched her in Olympia, WA on August 18, 2001. She carries a 13' long mast, which he built of Alaskan cedar.

My Ozona X nesting Pram was launched in St Joseph Sound, FL on November 30th 2020. Photo by Simon Lewandowski

Native is a 1955 15′ Stafford (high hat boats line) built in Sanford Fl. Plywood hull. She is powered by a 1953 Evinrude Big Twin 25 HP. The boat sat for almost 20 years. We have yet to find another Stafford still in use tho we’re sure there must be a few.

Lofting the plans from Nick Schade's book, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, Kevin Rautio built this 17′ Guillemot Sea Kayak from Spanish cedar. He spent about a year building it, including the lofting and scratch-building everything, even the strips.

This 15,5 foot (4,75m) vintage looking Jericho Bay Lobster Skiff, designed by Joel White is based on typical American lobster boat lines. She has flat planing sections, slightly concave bottom and tumblehome worked into the hull aft.

Both are loosely based off of Smith Island outboard skiffs. MARY has a traditional style transom, and SUSAN has a tumblehome style transom. Traditional style construction, Cross planked bottom. Yellow Pine.

John and Barbara Strattan built these kayaks in 2003. They are Mill Creek 13 kayaks, designed by Chris Kulczyki of CLC. They use the pair on the streams and rivers of north central Kentucky.

Today I launched my winter 2013 project, a hybrid 17′ Chesapeake kayak by CLC boats. Learned so much building her and she paddles like a dream. The hull is made from mahogany plywood, while the deck is bead & cove cedar strip.