I’m looking at getting a new kayak for small lake and gentle river recreational. I currently have the eddy line skylark and I wanted something lighter so I can load without help. The top of my list was the Sky 10 at 32lbs but i saw a 14ft/ 16lb cedar strip for only 650 and it’s really tempting me. The seller said it tracked straight and was very stable. Does anyone have experience with cedar strip in terms of how they do long term? Susceptible to damage? I’m sure I will have to try it first to see how stable I find it, but it’s a 4hr drive each way and I want more info before I do that.
It seems awful light…
It could be wonderful or it could be garbage depending on the design and the builder. Does it have bulkheads, hatches and deck rigging.
I would pass on it unless you really know what you are looking at.
Maybe legit?
The seller got it from the original builder who ran upon hard times. He had built it for his son but the son lost interest, so he said it’s really sturdy and well-made. It doesn’t have any deck rigging but I didn’t think to ask about the other stuff. Is there anything else I should be looking for?
"It’s a guillemot kayak design, all hand made with wire braid and nail gun. "
nail gun?
Nail gun on a cedar stripper? I’ve built several and can’t imagine what you’d use that for.
If you can find out, see if that was built from a kit or built from plans, can be done both ways. If it’s a kit the odds are better it’s used quality materials.
How good it is depends almost entirely on the builder. Even bad ones are not necessarily bad, just don’t look as nice.
Bill H.
Take a look around the site…
http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/guillemot/14GA
If water has penetrated into the wood you will see black mold like areas.
There is nothing like paddling a good wooden boat.
14’ Guillemots
Gulliemot has at least 3 strip built designs that are 14’: the Micro Bootlegger, the Great Auk and the Simple. The Micro is the lightest listed at roughly 33 lbs, Be nice if the seller knew which model it was. Do you have photos of it?
I personally would not drive 4 hours to see a boat unless the seller would provide me with a lot of detailed photos of the boat with closeups. Virtually everybody has the ability to do that with a phone or can easily post images on a Craigslist ad, so there is really no excuse for not being able to do this, especially for a costly item for sale.
Ditto
This was the advice I was going to post. No point in going without knowing the hull design and seeing photos of its condition.