Design
Northwind
Designed by Grandpa's Archive
This is Northwind, a flat-bottomed cruising kayak by M. E. Alford from Mechanix Illustrated, just under 20 ft overall. The article says she proved herself on windy lakes and fast rivers in the Yukon, and that buoyancy chambers make her nearly unsinkable. The flat bottom gives a very shallow draft even with a heavy load, and an enclosed after deck with a hatch holds cargo.
No jig or form is needed. The bottom is laid out on a long sheet of 1/4 in exterior fir plywood with the chine curve drawn by bending a batten, frames are glued and nailed in place, and the sides follow. A plywood boat for long trips that a first-time builder could manage.
What building a Northwind 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.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Northwind here yet.
If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.
Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-Foot Little Auk | Chesapeake Light Craft | 10′ 0″ (3.05 m) | 0 |
| 11-Foot Little Auk | Chesapeake Light Craft | 11′ 0″ (3.35 m) | 0 |
| 11' 4" Wee Lassie | Newfound Woodworks | 11′ 4″ (3.45 m) | 0 |
| 11' 9" Otter | Newfound Woodworks | 11′ 9″ (3.58 m) | 0 |
| 12' 8" Excursion | Newfound Woodworks | 12′ 8″ (3.86 m) | 0 |
| 13' 3" Wee Lassie II | Newfound Woodworks | 13′ 3″ (4.04 m) | 0 |