I would like to design my own modular touring style sea kayak from an older fiberglass boat. I have been looking for different designs and I have seen photos of the Ukai Adventurer but I think it may be too difficult to duplicate. I saw photos of an older modular composite boat but I couldn’t find a name or good pictures/videos of how it works. If you know of any modular kayak designs I would appreciate advice for what to look at.
Thanks!
SECTIONAL SEA KAYAK: Fadedred's Nordkapp HM Valley Three Piece Kayak The gold standard. Photos give you a good idea of what got and the
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Thanks so much! looks like I have a lot to read on this site, I didn’t realize there was such a community behind these! I like how you did flat bulkheads, it is probably how I will do mine. Is there a benefit of not making them flat?
Thanks!
There used to be a number of 3 piece seaworthy modular kayaks. NDK, Rockpool and Valley all made versions of their high end sea kayaks in sectionals.
There have been other discussions of these on this forum and others:
The easiest and lightest way to build one from scratch is to go skin on frame (SOF). Many of the Yostwerks SOF’s could be made as sectionals. Here are photos of a 3 piece SOF made by Lodro Dawa of Oregon (I have one his hand built one piece kayaks – super fast and light). Here is an excerpt from a 2007 blog post. I would guess this kayak weighs under 35 pounds. My 18’ similar one piece Lodro boat is only 31 pounds:
Remember Super Secret Kayak Project X that I reported about back in February? That was the skin-on-frame kayak commissioned by Dick Mahler, designed and constructed by Portland, Oregon kayak builder Lodro Dawa of Monkcraft Kayaks. Well I missed the South Sound Traditional Inuit Sea Kayak Symposium (SSTIKS) this year so I didn’t get to see it unveiled.
The kayak is a three piece Greenland-style skin-on-frame. It has watertight hatches and bulkheads which attach together with bolts. Dick told me that Chris Cunningham, editor of Sea Kayaker Magazine wanted to do an article for Sea Kayaker on it. Chris requested that Dick make sure that no pictures of it get out on the Internet before his magazine article came out. Well, too bad, because the cat’s already out of the bag! Remember you saw it here first! These are some of the pics that Stephen S published recently on his awesome SSTIKS gallery.
Great job, Lodro! I heard she’s a pretty sweet ride too!
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Seaward does it two on their tandem 22’.
What a beautiful boat! I am definitely not qualified to be building a skin on frame but learning how they are made is certainly interesting to me. I’ll definitely be reading to figure out how they managed to build a sectional skin on frame, managing to get all of the lines on that correct must have been a nightmare, certainly one of the most impressive custom boats Ive seen!
i don’t believe it is as complex as you imagine. I am pretty sure Lodro built a one piece frame, just doubling up the ribs at the points where it would be severed, then cut it into the 3 pieces. Then he added the solid wood plates for the connector bolts and skinned each section separately.
If you are not already familiar with them. Brian Schulz, a master skin boat designer and builder in Oregon has two fascinating blogs and a website plus on line videos on everything skin boat related. capefalconkayaks.com
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Similar to the other ones that have been posted, but one of the builders in Japan makes sectional composite kayaks by basically making reinforced bulkheads with pin and screw attachments.
Easy Rider made some as well.
Valley still offers sectional/modular for their line of kayaks, as an option. Occasionally, you will see one in the used market.