Often we don’t realize that objects we use today come from centuries of engineering, of ingenuity in harsh conditions. This is the case of kayaks we enjoy in the summer! The word itself comes from the Greenland Eskimo word ‘qayaq’ meaning ‘small boat of skins’. In this instructable, we will make a model of kayak used by Yup’ik people of Western Alaska, on the shores of Bering Sea.
We will need to know a few terms in kayak building:
Tools: 36×24 laser cutter
Contents: wood or craft glue
Materials: 1/8th inch plywood, 36×24 inches
Make sure you watch the laser while it's cutting!
Laser cut the pieces out of plywood.
The files attached have 2 pages to ‘print’, in alignment:
– One with numbering to make it easier to find the right pieces that can be engraved or scored (a 100% speed laser cut with less than 50% power)
– Second with the actual pieces
Let's put it together.
Organize and glue your pieces, referencing the attached vocabulary poster:
– 3 boat shaped pieces – the gunwales. Glue them like a sandwich with the ones with notches on the top and bottom, full one in the middle.
Make sure that the numbers and letters remain visible, and your fronts and backs are aligned!
Continuing...
– 2 bow pieces, the front of the kayak
– 2 stern pieces, the back
– 4 pairs of sticks – stringers – we’ll use them later