Design
Bette 500 LV
Designed by Cristian Pilo
A 5.0 m single sea kayak by Cristian Pilo of Modern Wooden Boat, the Low Volume development of his Bette 500. Lower sides and a lower seat cut windage, which the designer recommends for long trips in windy areas, while keeping useful storage and plenty of stability. Beam is 64 cm, weight about 21 kg, paddler range 70 to 95 kg and recommended maximum load 160 kg. Plans are sold through Nautikit; say LV when ordering.
Construction is stitch and glue in 4 mm okoume plywood: panels wired together, glued with thickened epoxy and glass taped along the chines. Cristian Pilo rates the family for builders with basic woodworking experience and quotes 60 to 85 hours depending on skill. Real hours from logged builds are below.
What building a Bette 500 LV 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.
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Builds of this boat
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