These pages detail the methods that Jenny and I use to build proprietary composite kayaks for our own expeditionary use. The boat pictured below, Siku kayak, emerged from our workshop the spring of 1996 and traveled 1,400 miles along the West and North coast of Arctic Alaska.

The process begins by computer designing the kayak. Hand lofting from an existing set of tables would also work, but the computer is easier, faster, and more accurate. It also allows us to configure the design to our specifications, and to predict its performance.

The computer program (written by myself, former aerospace engineer) outputs data in the form of mold frames and bow & stern profile pieces. This can be output to AutoCad for machine plotting a set of full-sized patterns, or simply printed as a table of offsets for hand plotting.

We hand plot our offset data onto a sheet of particleboard. The frames do not become part of the boat. They simply define the mold. The horizontal reference is my designed waterline for the kayak loaded, in this case, with 637 pounds. This is our target weight of boat, ourselves, cold-weather clothing, equipment, drinking water, and food for three weeks.