Qajaqs

It was around the time of my daughter’s birth.  My mom was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and it slowly took away all that she loved to do: her passion for the outdoors; hiking, skiing, gardening, and kayaking.  It was my mother’s little, 9.5’, blue Perception Keowee kayak, no longer used and sitting abandoned, that got me started and got me hooked.  She and her friend loved to paddle their little keowees out on Newfound Lake, enjoying the beautiful scenery in the safety of their stout little lake-worthy crafts.  Shortly after her beloved kayak feel into disuse, as her disease took away her ability to paddle, I brought it home. My daughter was 2 years old and she fit very nicely into the little seat that snapped into the kayak, just in front of the paddler’s seat.  Having grown up, thus far, living aboard a sailboat, my sea-legged daughter loved the water.  She even had her own rowing dingy, so it was no surprise when she announced that she wanted her own kayak, sometime around the time it was apparent that she was getting too big to sit in front of me on that little seat.   It had to be just like mine, but purple, and so it was.

Soon, the two of us were paddling around as happy as could be, albeit she in a kayak that was much too huge, but we were having the time of our lives.   A few years passed…

Having some familiarity with the coastline of Massachusetts, my husband and I, having missed our life on the water since selling our sailboat, took the keowees on a 6-mile journey around West Island in Buzzards Bay.  It was not long before we realized that these kayaks were ill equipped to handle the swell and chop we encountered on that day.  We had a lot of fun, though!  We knew we had to buy more seaworthy kayaks so we could explore more of the coast, so we attended a demo-day on a local lake to try out a few different sea kayaks.  We each found a kayak we liked and later that day, after making many phone calls to find these kayaks in stock at local kayak dealers, my husband hopped in the car on a mission.  After hours of driving all over the place, at 11 PM the car pulled into the driveway with a new Thule rack and two brand new kayaks, a Current Designs Storm and a Current Designs Squall.  Later, we picked up a used Piccolo kayak for our daughter, and this enabled her to keep up with us (or leave us in the dust).  We enjoyed those kayaks for many years, using them for day trips and camping.

Somewhere along this journey I subscribed to SeaKayaker Magazine and I saw a picture of a beautiful wooden kayak.  I had never seen one before and I had to have one!  My wonderful, obliging husband ordered a kit and built me a gorgeous 17’ Pygmy Arctic Tern.

Apparently there were many others who had never seen a wooden kayak because it was a real head turner and received compliments wherever I went. Another wooden kayak soon joined our fleet, a stunning; beauty whose sister-ship once graced the cover of Wooden Boat magazine, a CLC Cape Charles.

A few years later we picked up a few fiberglass kayaks (because we just couldn’t pass up a good deal) and another plastic kayak for a friend who was living with us.  Having too many kayaks, we decided to part with the CLC Cape Charles and sold it to a wooden boat lover from Maine. Soon after that we added a beautiful cedar stripped Night Heron to the fleet.

Things were really getting out of control in the garage, but it was hard to even think of getting rid of such good old friends.  I finally decided that it was silly to have so many kayaks that were not being used and a bunch were sold.  I also secretly realized that this freed up more space in the garage.

Then, the worst possible thing happened!  You may have guessed by now. I was trying to figure out what to give my husband for his birthday.  I just don’t know why a kayak came to mind, since we had more than we knew what to do with, even having sold a bunch. I saw an advertisement for a weeklong kayak building class at Essex Ship Building Museum, on the North Shore of Massachusetts.  That sure sounded interesting!  We called the instructor, Brain Schulz of Cape Falcon Kayak and asked if we could both go and just build one kayak.  He said an extra pair of hands would be nice.  Boy, was that prophetic!  We rented a nice little cottage on the North shore and showed up for our first day of building.  Brian showed up, too, but he was on crutches, having broken his foot just before leaving Oregon.  That extra pair of hands sure came in handy!

During our class, we built a skin-on-frame museum replica, West Greenland hunting kayak and a Greenland paddle.  On the maiden voyage, I fell in love with the kayak and the paddle within minutes.  Soon, I wondered why everyone wasn’t paddling a s-o-f.  They are beautiful; they are lightweight, and fun to paddle if you have basic paddling skills.  Heck, one of the students had only been in a kayak once before and she paddled all over the place for hours on her maiden voyage in her new s-o-f, thinking nothing of the “tippiness”.  There were really big smiles all around.

Since then, we’ve met others who paddle skin-on-frame kayaks.  Most of our new friends spend as much time upside down as right side up.

Learning a few of the many Greenlandrolls has been a blast.  I never thought I could have so much fun in a kayak.

I even began to use my s-o-f as my day kayak, as I felt at home in it, even though it is a little big for me, as skin-on-frames go.   I began to think of looking for a lower volume kayak to make it easier to learn some of the more difficult Greenland rolls.

In earnest, I finally began my search for the perfect rolling kayak. The journey took me to Scarborough, Maine where I purchased a very low volume, 17’7” long x 18” wide kayak, weighing less than 25#, made by Michael Silvius, a talented local builder whom I had previously met through my contacts with other Greenland-style paddlers.  It is an innovative and unique design with a wood/fiberglass hull and a cloth deck with enclosed bulkheads.   It fits like it were made for me and it is a head turner!  Mission accomplished.  I like it so much, that it may take the place of my s-o-f as my favorite day kayak, and if anyone ever takes a picture of me in it, I’ll put it right here.  Still waiting…….OK, how about a video instead: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpU3cYzjxH8

Another friend from Georgetown, Maine, Fred Randall builds museum replica skin-on-frames.

Fred's Ken Taylor Replica

With talented builders such as these and the good looks, history, and durability (yes, they are durable!) of a custom made skin-on-frame or wooden kayak, I expect and hope to see more of these stunning kayaks out on the water.  Oh, and did I mention light weight?

So, the next time you are thinking about a new kayak, don’t forget there are a lot of options.  Maybe you’ll build your own or seek out a local builder to make one for you.  Maybe you’ll never be on a search for the perfect rolling kayak or build a museum replica, but, if you think outside the box, you might just find yourself with a real gem, one that is perfectly suited to you and your paddling style.  A skin-on-frame or custom kayak does not have to be a replica or a low volume rolling kayak.  It can be anything you want!