Featherweight Foam Kayak by Grandpa's Archive: specs and plans

Featherweight Foam Kayak

The Featherweight Kayak is carved from a single big block of foam, which the article compared to making a dugout. A 1/4 in plywood bottom and two fat stabilizing sponsons are added before launching, and the total cost was given as $36.

The hull outline is transferred from a cardboard template to the block, rough cut with a bandsaw or a saber saw guiding a handsaw, and then shaped with a rasp-type file, checking against templates. The sponsons are cut from the waste in the middle and glued on with epoxy, because other glues dissolve the foam or let go. The photograph shows a man carrying it overhead. A light, quick oddity rather than a serious touring boat.

What building a Featherweight Foam Kayak actually takes

Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.

Build logs

Launched

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Median hours

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Median months

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Builds of this boat

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Boats like this one

Same type, closest in length.

Design	Plans from	LOA
10-Foot Little Auk	Chesapeake Light Craft	10′ 0″ (3.05 m)
11-Foot Little Auk	Chesapeake Light Craft	11′ 0″ (3.35 m)
11' 4" Wee Lassie	Newfound Woodworks	11′ 4″ (3.45 m)
11' 9" Otter	Newfound Woodworks	11′ 9″ (3.58 m)
12' 8" Excursion	Newfound Woodworks	12′ 8″ (3.86 m)
13' 3" Wee Lassie II	Newfound Woodworks	13′ 3″ (4.04 m)