How To Make A Plywood Kayak

Learning how to make a plywood kayak from scratch may seem incredibly difficult to some, but the truth is that folks have been making kayaks for hundreds of years. Why should today's great outdoors lovers be any different? Learning how to make a plywood kayak might not be simple, but it can be mastered with a little patience. What is more is that it is way cheaper than buying a plywood kayak from the store, and the creator controls the amount of detail and craftsmanship put into the kayak. This equates to top quality for a low price.

To make a plywood kayak, you will need:

• Four large scale sheets of marine-approved plywood, around 24 inches by 36 inches each
• A drill
• A sander
• Paint
• Fiberglass
• Glass tape
• Resin for glue
• Wire

1. First, draw the pattern for each individual part on plywood. Be sure to measure the parts and keep everything uniform.
2. Carefully cut out the plywood pieces. Very carefully cut out the measured plywood pieces that will eventually make up the kayak.
3. Drill holes for wire. These holes should be approximately every three to five inches along the edge of the plywood pieces. These holes will be used to wire together the kayak pattern.
4. Use thick wire to stitch the hull together. Weave a thick metal wire through the drilled holes. This will be used to hold the hull together when the kayak is complete.
5. Attach the interior seams with a combination of glue and glass tape. Do this by first gluing a thick line of resin to the interior seems and then using glass tape as a backup for extra protection.
6. Repeat steps four and five for the deck of the kayak. Use the same technique of wiring, gluing and glass taping. The kayak should be starting to look more like the finished product by this point. Bond together the deck and hull with glue and wire.
7. Cut and sand the wires. It is an extremely important safety step to make sure that the wires are all sanded or cut down so no one gets cut.
8. Paint the bottom with fiberglass. Glassing the boat is a personal choice. Though optional, glassing the bottom of the boat is highly recommended.
9. Create paddles. This is the final step in creating a kayak. Simply fashion paddles for your plywood kayak.