Free Kayak Plan: U.S. Coast Guard Museum Greenland Kayak

We may earn commissions if you shop through the links below.

The U.S. Coast Guard Museum Greenland Kayak was collected in 1967 and then donated to the museum. When Mark Starr surveyed the kayak, he noted that the skin had shrunk enough to crush the center of the boat. He drew it as he thought it should look with an almost flat keel. He also noted that there was evidence that the boat once had an exterior mounted skeg. The kayak’s sheerline has a subtle curve, and its multi-chine hull shape looks like the Goodnow Kayak. The cockpit coaming is only 12-1/2 inches wide. I doubt someone who weighed very much could fit in the cockpit opening, so I drew it with a small displacement and only a 3-1/2-inch waterline. The boat appears on page 110 of Building a Greenland Kayak.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

I’ve now drawn 14 canoes or kayaks using Delftship. Most were drawn for my Winter Free Canoe and Kayak Plan Project. With each boat, I get faster. For this free plan, I figured out how to round the stem point in my CAD program. Until the other day, doing a turn like that seemed over my head, but I discovered how to draw it when drawing a prototype solo canoe portage yoke. Now, I think I’ll add rounded stem points when the original plans show it. The stern in this kayak didn’t show it. Other than the hope that some of these boats get built, now I know that I’m learning a new skill. That increases the value of the project for me.

Join REI and Earn $30 towards your next gear purchase.

p.s. I love the green/yellow color scheme I used on this boat.

Specifications

Length: 16 feet 4 inches
Width: 20-3/4 inches

Kayak and Canoe Building Books

These three books are the best. You’ll need one to figure out how to build from these plans.

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.