Belcher Island Kayak Plans

The Belcher Island Kayak was collected in 1958 from Great Whale River where it was built by “Adlaykok” or Allaiquq. It appears as figure 46 in E.Y. Arima’s Inuit Kayaks in Canada: A Review of Historical Records and Construction, Based Mainly on the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s Collection

. Arima notes that it was likely built for demonstration, and that its 22-foot length and 29.5-inch beam would make for a good trade kayak between the Belcher Islands and mainland. He also notes that it’s likely as much as a single paddler could handle by himself.

The condition of the kayak was rather poor when the lines were taken. The bottom was collapsed and the stern warped upward. Arima notes that this collapse and warping was corrected in the drawings. I further corrected what looked like warping to my eye in his drawings.

Linesplan

The Belcher Island kayak is definitely different looking that many modern kayaks. Here’s the linesplans.

Belcher Island Kayak Plans Specifications

Design length 22.750 ft
Design beam 29.5 in
Design draught 0.400 ft
Length on waterline 19.397 ft
Beam on waterline 2.376 ft
Displacement 1000 lbs
Block coefficient 0.6885
Prismatic coefficient 0.5650
Waterplane coefficient 0.6549
Vert. prismatic coefficient 0.6509

Kayak and Canoe Building Books

I drew the plans for cedar strip building. If you plan on doing that, you’ll need a book that will help you. These are the three to consider.

• The Strip-Built Sea Kayak: Three Rugged, Beautiful Boats You Can Build: If you only buy one book, then buy this one.
• Building Strip-Planked Boats: Contains updates to lots of the techniques found in The Strip-Built Sea Kayak.
• Kayakcraft: Fine Woodstrip Kayak Construction: Some really good ideas.

For more, check out my canoe and kayak building books review.

Get the Drawing Package

The drawing package includes the full-sized study plan and each station and stem drawn separately on a PDF that prints full sized on ARCH D size paper (nestings). You can cut these out and glue them to plywood to cut full-sized forms. A pdf of the electronic drawing package. is available for this kayak. You can print the file on 24- by 36-inch paper on your own.

• Click to get the drawing package

Free Kayak Plans Downloads

The free kayak plans for the Belcher Island kayak are yours to examine for free. If you want to build a kayak from these free kayak plans, you can enlarge it and attempt a build. Other options are available as well.

• Belcher Island Kayak Plans