Over the past few years, I’ve been experimenting with different ways of finishing wood kayaks. Most homemade kayaks are finished bright to show off the wood grain and color, but other techniques can be used to make a kayak unique and expressive. On the most recent boats I’ve built, I’ve painted the whole kayak one color, and on another I stained the wood and added touches of paint. I’ve used high-tech fabric blends for their aesthetic appeal and I’ve added colorful designs by laminating patterned fabric under fiberglass or using specialty fiberglass that has been custom printed.None of these techniques is difficult for anyone who can put down a layer of fiberglass and epoxy clean enough to be finished bright. I’ll start with the simplest and work through the materials I’ve tried on these kayaks.
Paint
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They look great. What plans were used to build them
The white boat is a Shrike R from CNCKayaks. The stripper is a Great Auk from Guillemot kayaks. Caroline’s boat is a Petrel Play from Guillemot. And the fourth one is a Shearwater 14 by Eric Schade, plans from Chesapeake Light Craft.