Mike Edelman of FoldingKayaks.org put me on to this amazing resource when I asked him if there was an affordable or DIY fold-boat option out there. I was thinking of an open canoe for our most common type of local padding and fishing but the first site Mike put me on to just blew me away. (He later told me about the tiny, ultralight Foldlite folding canoe covered in the next story down.)
Tom Yost designs classic Greenland kayaks that take a half hour to assemble and travel in a dufflebag.
They cost about $500 in materials and take 100 hours to build. Or you can make variants that don’t fold that cost half as much and take half as long.
Storebought folders cost about $1500.
Greenland kayaks are skin on frame to start with, so they work well with the folding concept. (The main article photo is of Greenlanders doing their thing, probably not in Yost boats, but they give a good feel for what’s going down…)
These Yost boats run about 17-18 feet long and 20 inches wide. Narrow and fast. They tend to have low decks. They’re meant to be wet and for GREAT rolling action. They weight about 35 lbs. Sweet.
Oh, and everything is free and online at yostwerks.com. All you need to know. Sure you have to buy all the materials from here and there but have at it for the rest.
I see that he also offers plans for some wood frame and clear vinyl models that weigh as little as 21 lbs and are see-thru. Cool!
I’m just digging the idea of this Greenland scene. These boats are made for wind, water and waves. The low decks mean they don’t get blown around.
So what that they’re low displacement. Some are meant for 190 pounds. Quite a few can handle quite a bit more.
But I think that some boaters with touring on their mind can get carried away when buying/building a boat. You really don’t need or want any excess room. Nor do you want to carry any more junk than you really need. At this point, I’m into ultralight camping action. Stuff is heavy and slows you down and makes things less fun and more tiring. So leave it behind. Bring a small tent, small bag, small pad, twig stove, a few pieces of clothing, some water and food—that’s 20 lbs. No problem.
People rarely go on expeditions. So fergit it. We’re lucky if we get weekends. You don’t need hardly anything. Time flies. If you bring a book you probably won’t even read it—paddling, camp, dinner, dark, tired, morning…
Anyway, enjoy the sweet boats!
