Plans include installation of VCP and Flush Wood Hatches ...both 100% water tight.
Building the Outer Island		by Jay Babina

I’m now addicted to building a wood boat each winter. It gives me something to look forward to during the shorter and less desirable evenings. Woodworking was always a hobby of mine, and I learned a lot of skills building acoustic guitars. The natural transition of building and kayaking came together.

I named my design after the last island of the thimbles in Branford where I’m always playing. Having built two kayaks previously, I designed the Outer Island because the type of kayak I wanted to build was not available in plans. The kayak is not a computer designed vessel. I use the computer to help in my drafting chores, but there’s no magic button to loft and fair out a kayak. I relied a lot on my paddling experience and artistic taste.

I basically lofted forms based on what I saw in other boats and tried to incorporate all the traits that were favorable to me. It took about 6 months of cutting, correcting and swearing. Every time I corrected one form, it seemed that two forms each way now had to be changed. When I finally completed the boat, I dragged it out of the basement, laid it on the lawn and was disapointed. It was a little too beefy looking. My heart sank and I lived in denial for about two days. Then the saw came out. I chopped the entire boat in two and lowered it. I also chopped some sections off the sides and re-constructed the entire thing.

People who saw it were already asking about plans. And if they rolled it, they wanted it! It’s now two generations old and I’m building another right now. I’m always tweaking the forms a bit ... like a 16th off here etc. 8 years from now I’ll probably be paddling around on a board. This is an expensive hobby. There are 8 being built, and I’m about $1500. in the red ..mostly because of advertising costs. I’m having a great time with it and meeting the nicest people from all over the world and that’s worth every nickel.

21" X 17'10"

The Outer Island is a low volume kayak following the West Greenland lines. The kayak is designed for intermediate and advanced paddlers with it’s 21 inch beam ...yet its quite stable ...comparable to many boats in the intermediate level. (tippy doesn’t mean better) It’s quite fast with a stronger tracking characteristic yet plenty maneuverable for sea touring, playing in waves and winding along rocky shores. It rolls easily and will lay on it’s side with very little sculling effort. Paddlers who know the technique can easily balance brace it! These characteristics were well thought out in advance and incorporated in to the hull shape ...a major criteria of mine. Paddlers who like to play in their boats will fully appreciate it’s forgiving traits. Don’t be misled. There’s no ideal kayak and all boat designs are a series of trade-offs. The boat you’re most comfortable in is the one for you. I’m being as honest as possible with my enthusiasm. Paddlers who have tried this kayak share my feelings.

If you’re thinking of venturing into building a strip built kayak, get used to having people around your boat, because they will be. As far as beauty, strip built boats stand alone. I’m now used to a few spectators around my car. Although it looks very intimidating, the strip building process is very forgiving. You can easily correct and hide any lack of craftsmanship, and with the use of fiberglass and epoxy resins, create an extremely strong vessel. It allows for very smooth transitions of curves, it’s inexpensive and allows for a lot of creativity in the use of various woods.

Basically, you cut forms out of plywood in the shape of the boat and mount them on a strongback (a 2 x 4" T-beam). Long strips of wood 1/4" thick by 3/4" are stapled into the forms to form the boat shape. Carpenter’s glue is used between the strips. The strips are sanded to a smooth hull shape and fiberglassed inside and out with epoxy. Soft woods are primarily used in stripbuilding because of their light weight as well as their workability. Fortunately they are also readily available.

The strength of the strip built boat comes from the epoxy bonded skin of fiberglass cloth on both the inner and outer surfaces. Once this skin is cured, the boat is actually much stiffer than an all fiberglass boat and substantially lighter -except for the kevlar super-light types. Balsa cored construction is commonly used in the boatbuilding industry on more expensive finer boats. Balsa cored panels are known for their light weight and extreme rigidity. Like the stripbuilt boat, it’s not the wood that’s rigid, but the sandwich of the hard skins bonded to a thickness layer which achieves this rigid property. These wonderful characteristics are an added bonus, for it is the total availability of the method that attracts the home builder to this form of boatbuilding. Building a strip built kayak is a great 4 month project.

Most people who jump into an endeavor like this already like to work with wood, therefore have some experience and some tools. Most of all they have the desire make something beautiful, and are probably involved in the sport of Kayaking in some way. The experience of building can be very rewarding as you conquer your various challenges and see the progression of the vessel take shape. "How much did it cost you to make?" is is probably one of the most asked question I get as people admire the boat. On my last boat, I kept a stricter eye on time since I knew I wanted to write about it. I averaged an hour a strip, which translates into about 48 hours of stripping. This is not counting time to shop for wood, cut wood strips, build forms and a strongback, glassing, sanding, building hatches, cockpit coamings, seat, other details and final varnishing. In actual out of pocket costs, (1996) about $150 in wood, $170 for epoxy and fiberglass cloth and about $70 misc. (sandpaper, varnish, glue etc.). This is assuming you have all the tools.

There’s no reason you can’t build one in a winter, putting time in after work and a few hours on the weekend. Working outside in warm weather is even nicer. Working full time, you could complete one of these kayaks in a couple weeks. There’s days when you don't want to see it and times when endless enjoyable hours fly by.Many times I visit it before I go off to work. When it’s done and you paddle it, you’ll truly appreciate your efforts. There’s no other one like yours. This is what all boatbuilders experience. If you like to work with wood, the building experience is very rewarding. There’s a lot of plywood strip and glue types available if the strip building seems a little intimidating. I always encourage perspective builders to contact the other builders who have plans available. If you do want to venture in, try to paddle the boat before you build. Many builders can refer you to one of their clients near you. Mine is always available in Branford CT and on some of the MASK trips.

There are paddlers out there who might desire an even lower volume boat. It’s very easy to cut half inch or more through the center of each station plan and tape it back together. You leave below the water line alone and reduce the volume from the center to the deck. I’ve done this and it works out fine. I weigh 180 lbs.

The last thing I wanted to do was use the MASK newsletter for advertising. I present this material for your reading enjoyment. If anyone is interested in further information about plans or a video, I can be contacted at: Jay Babina 7 Jeffrey Lane N. Branford, CT 06471 (203) 481-3221  Best wishes, hope to see you on the water.-Jay Babina

Paddle Home

Comments & Questions E-Mail Webmaster mail