Building Ken Taylor 1959 Kayak-the Igdlorssuit – Launching

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Wetting the kayak in the crystal clear water of Lake Superior was the best reward for almost a year of building. Ilena and I launched the Iggy with little fanfare. John Amren, owner of Superior Coastal Sports in Grand Marais was the only other attendee, and he was there because we choose the beach behind his shop as our point of departure for a tour around the Grand Marais harbor.

The Iggy is a semi-replica of the 1959 Ken Taylor kayak that spawned the Anas Acuta and spurred modern British recreational kayaking. The original Iggy was built as a skin-on-frame in Igdlorssuit (Illorsuit is the new spelling) by Emanuele Korneiliussen. Since then it has been built a number of times in different materials. The materials used in this build were 3/16″ cedar strips dyed blood red, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and plastic hatches.

The Iggy on the Beach before launching.

The Iggy on the Beach before launching.

Heading out to round Artist's Point in some light chop.

Heading out to round Artist

Reflections in the varnish. A KajakSport dayhatch. Carbonfiber coaming rim.

Reflections in the varnish. A KajakSport dayhatch. Carbonfiber coaming rim.

Next to another wooden boat at the North House Folk School.

Next to another wooden boat at the North House Folk School.

Bryan finishing an Angel Roll.

Bryan finishing an Angel Roll.

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4 Comments

  1. Posted November 19, 2010 at 12:46 am | Permalink

    Your Iggy is a real beauty! :)

  2. chris
    Posted December 21, 2011 at 1:14 pm | Permalink

    I plan on building Kajak hatches in my boat. I like the the way you built the recesses for them. Is there anything you would do different in the building process that you have posted?

    • Posted December 21, 2011 at 1:28 pm | Permalink

      I used foam because it was easy to shape. If I do it again, I’d build the forms out of wood and turn them for a perfectly even and repeatable mold, but foam worked great for a one-off. I’d add a bit of a slant to the sides and add a channel to drain the recesses.

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