Modern kayaks use a variety of materials and construction techniques: kevlar, fiberglass, and plastic are the most common. But before all this, people built kayaks from skin stretched over wood frames. We lovingly call these “skin on frame” even though we use nylon instead of skin. Not as messy as killing a seal and tanning its hide.

OOPS, the kayak club I belong to, received a donation of a lovely 16’ skin-on-frame boat, which we will auction off at our Jan 29 Open House.

Following Christopher Cunningham’s book “Building The Greenland Kayak,” this boat was built in the Greenland style. Overall weight of the kayak is about 39 pounds unloaded, and she is in good shape and seaworthy. She does not come with a paddle, but has two floatation bags for added safety.

Included in the package is a lesson on paddling a skin-on-frame kayak, by OOPS member Steve Carrigg, a builder of many skin-on-frame and other traditional crafts.

On a recent test run, this boat had good secondary stability and edged very well. She was a joy to paddle, even in the Willamette when it was running at 59. The ocean style cockpit is larger round than most traditional boats, allowing an easier entry and exit.

Come see this beautiful and well crafted traditional kayak at the Oregon Ocean Paddling Society Open House on January 29th and put in your bid!