Building a Redfish King
I have built three other boats: first the Bear Mountain Redbird canoe with my friend John, next was the One Ocean Storm LT kayak for my
daughter, and my friend Guang's Bear Mountain Ranger canoe.  Each was an enjoyable experience yet I didn't have a boat of my own.

After paddling the Storm, I was quite smitten and thought long and hard about building a kayak.  The hardest part was deciding which
design.  The boats I considered were the One Ocean Expedition, Guillemot Night Heron, Outer Island.  In the end I settled on the King, a
Redfish Kayak design.

I purchased the plans in September 2007 and began work on the forms while I milled the wood into strips.  Stripping began September
26, 2007.  I completed the kayak in July 2008.  The finished kayak is constructed of 351 separate pieces of wood glued together.
I planned to use redwood and
western red cedar in this boat with
accent strips of basswood and
walnut.  The cockpit will be made of
mahogany, as are the outer stems.

At first I considered a deck pattern
similar to the one on the left, with
the dark areas in redwood, against
a cedar background.

However, this changed due to
wood selection and a general
feeling once the deck was stripped.
 The images to the right shows the
final pattern.
the plan
in process
finished