Why Build Kayaks

Kayak building is not an easy undertaking. Why would people do this? Here's one answer to that question:

[edit] Roger Nuffer - Why I build kayaks

People sometimes wonder why I would spend time building kayaks, when it would not be overly expensive to just buy them. A fellow writer at the Kayak Builders Board said it so well in a recent posting, it deserves to be repeated:

"Many times I hear or am asked about one of my boats, “How much did that cost?” or, “How long did that take to build?” To me those are difficult questions. Moreover, they might not be the right questions.

There is the cost of the wood and glass and epoxy. Then you have specialized tools to purchase such as an Random Orbital Sander or a Japanese pull saw. And the list goes on. Depending on how inclusive or exclusive the list becomes a kayak could run anywhere from 80 to 3800 dollars. I can buy a nice fiberglass kayak for somewhere in between those marks. I can save countless hours by going out and buying a nice high quality kayak. Just a couple months of overtime and weekend work will pay for it. So why go to all the bother of building?

For me there is more to the equation than dollar bills or time.

There is something very special about taking a chunk of wood, working it and creating what I consider to be art. Running a plane along the gunwales and watching the curls slide off the blade. Wetting out the hull with epoxy. Seeing patterns in the grain come to the surface. There is no price attached to this time or these actions.

Then when the boat is done and you take it out for the maiden voyage. Will it float? Are all the seams going to fly apart when they touch the water? Am I going to have enough initial stability to paddle this thing? What a feeling when the boat I made with my own two hands glides across the water effortlessly. What price can I place on this moment?

So if I take into consideration all the parameters of my life affected by building with my own two hands, I can see the true value of these humble yet beautiful creations. The constant puzzles of joining wood, the removal of tension and escape from working in my shop, the ability to create and make every decision, the knowing that I can improve on the next one. All this to me is a value beyond monetary funds and is time well spent.

I value the feeling of saying, “I made this in my spare time with a few hand tools. This is my creation." I am part of it and it is part of me. I can escape with my boat and paddle away from all that typically surrounds me.

80 dollars or 3800 dollars, it doesn’t matter. The price and time are justified for this voyage of peace. I seek the calming affects and the serenity that my home made boats bring to me."

Roger Nuffer 27 September 2002