Idaho engineer Chuck Corwin has spent the past 10 years designing a lightweight, foldable kayak for use on the alpine lakes around his home. Chuck finally realized his dream of creating a recreational kayak, weighing no more than ten pounds, that he can carry while hiking up to the lakes, while leaving room enough to pack all the necessities for the day.
The project inspiration came from one of Chuck's regular hikes up to Alice Lake where he always wished he was able to get out on the water. The trail to the lake is a rough six miles with 1,600ft elevation gain and six stream crossings, so not exactly portage friendly.
Fittingly called Alice, the recreational kayak's structural framework is made up of three pairs of lightweight carbon trusses in five sections. The skin fabric is made from a heavyweight aircraft Dacron polyester or Ceconite. Once the skin is heat shrunk to the framework, it is waterproofed with a Hypalon coating.
Now you too can make your own 10 pound foldable kayak. For $100, Chuck will send you a 16ft roll of full scale plans plus a 54 page book of instructions including list of materials and templates. He estimates the cost of materials will run around $850, not including the 300 hours of your time it will take for construction. Simply send Chuck an email: aliceboat@cox.net.
I would love to have one of these up in Tahoe as there are so many beautiful remote alpine lakes that would be fun to kayak on. Anyone have a spare 300 hours to build one for me?
(via getoutdoors)