Customer Reviews

Building the Greenland Kayak : A Manual for Its Contruction and Use

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are interested in building a traditional, relatively authentic West Greenland ocean kayak, one of the most gorgeous watercraft ever built, this is your book. Cunningham lays out the task from beginning to end with clarity and wit, and the process is topped off with explanations and plans for traditional paddling gear such as floats and tuiliks, the one piece "dry suits" that fit over the coaming. The book can be confusing in places, but this rests in large part on the fact that the measurements are anthropometric in nature. There can't be measured drawings for something that is going to be different for every person. The kayak you build will be completely custom made to fit you, and noone else, so he can't get too energetic with the tape measure. What you do get are step by step explanations for HOW you arrive at those measurements, so that you can make boats for yourself and anyone else. The frame is pretty authentic, other than that dimensioned lumber is used - you would have trouble telling a drawing of this frame from a drawing of an original Inuit frame. Of course the big departure is the skin, which in our case is not seal skin but rather ballistic nylon and two part polyurethane dope. Not traditional, but gorgeous, waterproof and long lasting. You can expect to get 10 years out of a well cared for boat - not bad for a boat you built yourself in a few weekends, for about the cost of a good touring paddle. If you're looking for a quicky project, or one that you can knock together out of plywood with the Scout Troop, look elsewhere. But if you're looking for the real deal, you've found it. Highly recommended.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Cunningham has a lot of knowledge about traditional building techniques. However, I found several areas where I was confused, while building the kayak. I found myself hi-liting certain, critical areas, and reading some phrases over and over to make sure that I was interpreting it correctly. More drawings with dimensions would have eliminated the vagaries of prepositions and interpretations.

The instruction on determining rib lengths using a hand-drawn graph was confusing. I read it over and over, then after figuring out what was being done, I simply put the data in a spreadsheet to calculate the lengths.

The directions on making the spray skirt was especially confusing. For example, on sewing the webbing on, it says to sew the webbing such that the legs of the v-shape of the webbing is even with the edge of the fabric. That would mean that the webbing would point in the opposite direction of the finished product. The book never did explain how the the webbing ends up in the correct direction. I strained to interpret from the photo of the person wearing the spray skirt. I finally did end up with a usable spray skirt, but not without some cursing and frustration.

Having built flying model airplanes for many years, I find visual plans much easier to deal with. If I need the dimension for something, I can just glance at the plan to find it, instead of trying to remember which paragraph contained the data.

I wish I could give it more than three stars. There were parts of the book that I enjoyed very much. However, there were times when I was extremely frustrated.

Chris Cunningham has been publishing construction articles for years in Sea Kayaker magazine, so it's not surprising that he's decided to write a full length book on the topic. And an excellent book it is, too. There are hundreds of excellent photos and drawings, extensive detailed instructions and plenty of discussion an alternate methods of construciton.

This is certainly one of the best books on the topic of Greenland kayak construciton yet, and an absolute must-own for anyone interested in building their own traditional kayak. This volume, along with Robert Morris' book (Building Skin on Frame Kayaks) and perhaps H. C. Peterson's "Instruction in Kayak Building" would make as complete a library on kayak construciton as one might imagine.

This is a terrific book. I bought Robert Morris' book on Skin on Frame building and had many questions. Chris Cunningham's book provides lot of details and answered my questions. Both books compliment each other and since I do not know much about this process, I consider both required reading before I build.
I like how this book provides all details on what type of lashing to get, the Eskimo knot, fabric and type of material for sewing seams. It focuses on 1 type of boat only, which allows the author to provide lots of details and pictures during the build. I probably will not use the 2 part polyurethane finish as it shown in the book. I think I would rather use the water based exterior polyurethane as shown in the Morris book. If you plan on building a skin on frame, you have to get this book. Even if you don't plan to build one, it is a great book for those interested in this process.

If you want to build a greenland kayak then this is all you need. Instructions are clear and not wordy. It also has sections on making paddles and paddling clothing. The style shown in this book has slight deviations from the original greenland technique but he specifically states all the changes. I built a kayak from this book with my only help being a second pair of hands, and i am only 15. The boat was exactly to his designs and it is fast, fairly stable, and responsive.

A usfull book for both the historian and any person wiht an interest in Greenland style kayaking. The photos are very detailed as is the text. Well worth the time and the money.

This book was great for a novice builder like myself. The intructions were clear and easy to follow. I like the way the instruction passages started with the result intended followed by detailed instructions.
The jigs were especially helpfull in achieving the results intended.

Easy-to-follow building instructions accompanied by hundreds of photos
Complete lists of all the tools and materials you'll need
Detailed primers in lumber milling, fastening, rib bending, and measuring
Additional instructions for making a Greenland paddle, paddling clothing, float bags, skegs, and more
Pointers on paddling skills, kayak rolling, and children's kayaks

I was searching for a build guide or set of plans to build myself a kayak that I would be proud to be seen in and paddle. After a lot of searching and posting questions on Kayak Build forums I pretty soon discovered that "Building the Greenland Kayak" by Chris Cunningham is one of the most informative and successful guides you can get. So I bought the book and followed along, like any instruction manual there are parts that you don't get the first time, maybe even the third time, but all I can empahisize is that you re-read that section, you'll get it in the end. For me, I got confused in the section to do with rib sizing, I just did not get the instructions the first time I read it. This book takes you step by step on how to re-create an authentic and very pleasing kayak, both to paddle and to look at. My build took me a year and I didn't skin my kayak the way Chris did, I followed a more new age method using balistic nylon and a 2 part polyeurathane resin which worked fabulously. The result is a kayak that starts conversations, gets warm welcomes in any boating circles and usually draws attention at any kayak put in or venue. So if you are shy, buy a plywood kit or a plastic kayak, don't build one of these.

The wood working skills needed to complete this build aren't cabinet maker quality, but you need to be able to plane to a line, cut straight lines and make good joints. If you can cut mortise and tenon joints well by hand you'll have all that you need. Hand power tools are not essentials, but well recommended and all I can stress is that you take your time. The most time consuming piece being the rib cutting, soaking and steaming. Wood varies incredibly when it comes to steaming and soaking, what works for one person may and most likely will not work for another. So be patient, I spent nearly 4 months on getting the ribs right and I'm pleased I took the time and didn't rush or settle for anything less than a near perfectly steamed rib. Make sure you read the book from cover to cover before you start and keep notes for when you build the next one.

The result is a kayak that will paddle very well in the sea and in cross winds, it'll be comfortable, and you'll be the envy of all your kayaking friends. It's well worth the time and effort, you won't be sorry when you get to take the first paddle. The kayak will be light, easy to carry and will handle very well. You'll be very happy you built it and you'll probably end up building more than one.

I have almost finished making my first Greenland kayak and this book has received it's fair share of use. I bought this book together with the book from Robert Morris and the books do differ quite a bit. I would recommend you use both of these books, however if I had to choose one book and I only wanted to make a greenland kayak, this would be the one. This book was worth it just for the jig on bending ribs, an area where i really struggled to get consistent results until i built the jig.

Overall i found this book extremely detailed and exacting, with precise jigs and tooling to ensure a quality result. In comparison, Robert Morris describes more different boats and makes you aware of the many different methods of building a kayak. If you have a solid appreciation for the working characteristics of wood and experience with kayaks to know how your work will affect your boat, Robert Morris provides alot more encouragment for experimentation.

Great book, if you want a Greenland kayak, and info on paddle building, equipment making and technique relating to the Greenland kayak, this is the one.

I have a small library of building skin on frame kayaks. Some are better than others; this is one of the best. Another reviewer commented that this book along with Robert Morris's Building Skin-On-Frame boats would be all you need for a successful build. He has a good point. Cunningham is, of course, extremely knowledgeable and his book while small in size covers a wide range of other kayak topics very well. He is particularly good on using various tools for the same task. It helps a lot since many of us do not have extremely well equipped tool shops and need workarounds.

Fine book, nicely written, with good pictures. I'm glad I bought it.