We may earn commissions if you shop through the links below. I received your blog post about the Unalaskan kayak. In 2000, I looked for a kayak design, which was possible to build with strips and suitable for a tour on the coast of Brittany (France). I knew there were sometimes rough conditions from day tours before. I wanted a kayak design that could handle those conditions. I found the kayak I wanted drawn as figure 178 in Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, and I decided to draw it the old fashion way on paper. But the bow and stern seemed to be difficult to build with strips, therefore I changed it a little. I built the stern with a transom. But the forms and the profile were as true as possible. In original, the forms have a little V in the keel, therefore I rounded them. I drew the new ideas on paper, stretched it to 5.8 meters long and 54 cm broad. After drawing the lines and forms I calculated it and found out that the curve of displacement was identical, and that means for me, the characteristics of the kayak is also identical. Join REI and Earn $30 towards your next gear purchase. To paddle on the coast of France it is necessary to have bulkheads, a fast-mounted compass and a built-in pump. It was a challenge to build the kayak, but I succeeded. The kayak is fast and in rough conditions good to handle. Without a rudder it weathercocks, therefore I build a stern rudder. For my next project, I turned to another kayak. Nick Schade published the offsets of a kayak from Akun. With his offsets I draw the forms. A kayak in that dimension seems to be too small for me, so I changed it from inches to mm instead with 2.54x with factor 2.8x. With that I drew a Kayak 5.9 meter long and 49cm broad. In 2014, I found a trunk of a Thuja-tree that was 3.4 m long with a diameter 40 centimeter. I bought it and milled strips. For the full length I joined each strip. The stern is built nearly like the original but I did not build the bifid bow. I use this kayak only for day tours on the Lake of Constance where I live. I do not know how fast it is; I’m now 84 years and am not able to paddle full speed. With warm regards, Max Watzke