: BUT if I could build a
: folding kayak myself and be able to hop on a plane. . . well then all
: KINDS of possibilities open up, no?

Yup.

: Could it be done cheaply and well?

Definitely

: I figure worse case scenario would be a spectacular failure - the likes of
: which provide my friends and family with hours of enjoyment. (Since I'd
: test it out well after building AND since I've loads of backcountry
: experience backpacking solo, I'm not worried about spectacular failures in
: the wild at this point)

Are we talking video tape here? A spectacular failure captured on video, and submitted to one of the TV shows that display these things, could pay for the project.

Anyhow, what you want to do is take a look at the plans that Clark Craft has fora folding kayak. The model # is BK12 and the plans cost $30. You can get them from www.clarkcraft.com. The boat is 13.5 feet long and 27 inches wide and fits into two bags. The biggest bag is 7 feet long, which is about the length of skis, so you can probably check it as baggage on most airlines.

A couple of caveats (gee, now you have ME talking in Latin). Some of the materials specified in the parts list may be difficult to obtain. Son't be dismayed, substitutes are perfectly fine. The biggest roblem I've had has been in finding a suitable skin material. while the Clarkcraft catalog calls this a canvas covered kayak, the plans call for a covering made from rubberized fabric, which I have not been able to obtain. However, you can actually make a suitable skin yourself from liquid hypalon or neoprene rubber painted over a tough, thick polyester fabric.

There are several others who have made take-apart SOF (skin-on-frame) kayaks from by working from the plans for regular SOF boats. They modify these plans in a few ways to make the long stringers (the pieces that go the length of the boat, from end to end) either fold, or come apart into shorter pieces. There are many ways to rejoin these pieces so they are rigid and strong.

When picking a design for possibly building as a take-apart, look for plasn that have fewer ribs that are spaced rather widely, rather than one that has lots of closely spaced ribs. You'll have less to pack. Look for places in the design where components are held together with screws, and consider replacing these with bolts and nuts, or bolts and "T" nuts.

Many SOF kayaks have the outer skin attached to the frame with tacks of staples. You'll need to make the skin removeable. If you lay up the fabric for the skin on a completed frame and hold the pieces in place with a few thumbtacks, you can use dressmakers pins to hold the pieces of fabric to each other so the entire skin can be sewn into a one piece pouch or envelope that will later slip over the frame after youhave coated it with a flexible rubberized waterproofing coating. If you can't sew this yourself, you might try to find a local awning maker or reupholsterer and contact them about doing the sewing.

Commercial collapsible kayaks are assembled into portions of framework, which are inserted into the skin through the large cockpit for final connections. The BK12 has its own way of doing this connection which can be adapted to other kayak plans. Or, you can assemble the complete frame and slip on a skin which laces up on the forward (or aft) deck) like a boot. By attaching the eyelets for the laces about a foot away from the actual edge of the fabric, you'll have an excess flaps of fabric which you can roll and fold tgether to provide a watertight closure that is then held in place by your laces. The advantage of the lace-up approach is the freedom you have in frame assembly and cockpit design. You don't need a big, open cockpit, and you don;t need fancy folding hardware.

Commercially built boats can be assembled in 5 to 20 minutes, with no tools. If you permit yourself a few more minutes for assembly, and maybe a couple of wrenches, or a pliers, you can use conventional fasteners which are much cheaper.

Hope this helps

PGJ

Clark-Craft's BK12 collapsible kayak: