Wooden Strip Built Sea Kayak 18ft, Hardly Used

This beautiful 18 ft wooden strip built kayak is reluctantly offered for sale. It was the third sea kayak I built and has seen almost no use since completion, and it has been carefully dry-stored and out of sunlight for the last few years. It is a shame for something as beautiful as this not to see the light of day and even worse for it not to have some adventures as it truly is a fantastic craft to both behold and to paddle. It is based on the plans of Nick Schade's Guillemot kayak, but as I was building it for me I decided to increase the size to accommodate my 6'3" frame with comfort - and therefore it would be a great boat for a taller or larger paddler - if that is you then you will know that many of the commercially built boats can be a bit of a tight fit.The wood used in construction is mostly western red cedar, with some pine highlights, and oak and ash details. And there are many many fine details to take in with this boat.Wooden sea kayaks are something of a rarity in the UK, and they always draw a lot of attention, and questions when in the car park or on the beach.

On the water I think they look about a billion times better than plastic ones, and a million times better than the composite ones. And if you are wondering if they are better, then I would say yes they are! Size for size they are usually lighter than the other types, and stronger - this surprises a lot of people, but the strength comes from the wood core of the boat being coated on both sides with glass fibre cloth and super hard epoxy resin. The boat tracks superbly and is both fast and stable. It has two good sized sealed compartments for stowing gear, and deck lines to attach more stuff to.

Bulkheads are made from 3" closed cell foam which is light and rigid and even in itself adds to the buoyancy of the boat in the event of a capsize. The cockpit takes a standard large keyhole spraydeck. The epoxy resin is protected from UV by 6 thin layers of Marine Varnish - and this can be sanded and re-applied at any time if, for example, the hull gets scratched through use - not something that is so easy with plastic or composite boats.In all the boat represents not only a good deal of cost in the raw materials used but also hundreds of hours of construction and finishing - right down to details like the carbon fibre deck rigging attachments which were all hand made. I do have photos of the construction of the boat which I can share with any future owner.I will also include in the sale the book used as a guide to building the boats, which is not only an interesting read but will also be of use to any future owner of the kayak in terms of maintenance should any be needed. These boats are, as the book says, both beautiful and very rugged, and as such look good at home and perform exceptionally on the sea where they were intended to be.I also have a couple of roof bar brackets made to cradle the boat on a car roof rack which will help the buyer when they pick it up, and of course this is a pick-up only item.

Viewing welcome by appointment.