How to Make a Plywood Kayak
Anyone can make a plywood kayak with a little patience and the right guidance. By far the easiest way to make a plywood kayak is to work from a kit that includes detailed instructions and plans. One such kit is available from Uncle John's in Louisiana. The kit includes the necessary stems and ribs, as well as the plans to build a Cajun pirogue---a type of flat-bottom kayak. The cost of the complete kit, all the plywood and hardware, fiberglass, and varnish or paint for finishing a 16-foot kayak comes to less than $300.
- Difficulty:
- Challenging
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Cajun pirogue kit from Uncle John's
- Basic hand and power tools
- Block plane for finishing edges
- Wood glue
- 1-inch wood screws
- Pencil
- Inexpensive marine polyester or vinylester resin and hardener
- Popsicle stick or tongue depressor
- 6-ounce sheet fiberglass
- Fiberglass tape
- Monocoloidal silica
- Paint, stain or varnish
- Safety equipment: goggles, respirator and latex gloves
-
-
1
Open the kit and remove all the parts. Ensure that you have two stem pieces and the correct number of rib pieces based on the number (three or four, depending on the finished length of the kayak) of frames called for.
-
2
Cut the sideboards and bottom panels of the kayak according to the patterns provided. You should be able to build a 15 foot 8 inch kayak with only two sheets of 0.25-inch plywood. Splice the two bottom panels together using a butt splice and then splice the two sets of side panels together using a butt splice and fiberglass tape. Allow 24 hours for the fiberglass to cure.
-
3
Stack the two sideboards atop each other and cut a 45-degree angle from top to bottom at each end. This will ensure both sides of the boat are even and true. Attach a stem piece to both ends of one of the sideboards with wood glue. For added strength, use 1-inch wood screws in addition to the glue. Attach one end of the remaining sideboard to one of the stems with wood glue and 1-inch wood screws. Allow 2 hours for the glue to cure. Pull the hull together by aligning the remaining end of the sideboard with the other stem. Glue and screw.
-
4
Assemble the ribs according to the instructions. Again, it is a good idea to use wood screws for additional strength in the construction of the ribs. Once the glue cures, drop the ribs in place inside the hull. Clamp the ribs in place with removable C-clamps. Attach ribs to the sideboards with 1-inch wood screws.
-
5
Attach the rubrails. Rubrails protect the sides of the kayak from damage and provide rigidity to the frame. Use 16-foot lengths of 0.75 inch x 1.25 inch plywood for the rubrails. Begin in the middle of the kayak and work your way to the edges, clamping the rubrail in place as you go. When satisfied with the placement of the rubrail, use 1-inch wood screws spaced every 4 inches to hold the rubrail in place.
-
6
Attach the bottom. Turn the siderails upside down on sawhorses and lay the bottom piece on the bottom side of the siderails. Use a pencil to trace the outline of the outboard side of the siderails on the bottom piece. Remove the bottom piece and cut along the outline. Lay the bottom piece back on the upside-down siderails. There will be some overhang. Attach the bottom with 1-inch wood screws screwed into the underside of the interior ribs. Once the bottom is firmly fastened, use a block plane to shave off the excess until the bottom panel is flush with the sideboards.
-
7
Fiberglass the kayak. Begin by mixing monocoloidal silica with polyester or vinylester resin and hardener to create a paste. With a Popsicle stick or tongue depressor, spread the paste along every interior seam of the kayak. Every place where two different pieces of wood meet should be filled with this fiberglass paste. Once the paste is given time to cure, sand it smooth and apply fiberglass tape to every interior seam. After this cures, apply fiberglass tape to every exterior seam. As soon as the tape has cured, roll out the sheet fiberglass and cover the entire exterior of the hull, including the bottom.
-
8
Finish the boat with paint, stain or varnish. High gloss interior paint is good for rubrails while exterior house paint works well for the hull itself. It is important to finish the hull with either paint or varnish, as fiberglass degrades if left unprotected in sunlight.
-
1
