: Hi Everyone,
: We launched the Yost Sea Flea 11 kayak that I built for my daughters nearly
: two weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon. The launch was a hurried affair as
: some weather was rolling in and the rain started while the second daughter
: had her turn. The next day we took it out for a more extensive run. Both
: girls had a lot of fun in the kayak.

: The kayak is the 11 foot version of the Sea Flea:
: http://yostwerks.com/SeaFlea3.html

: I constructed it with a wood frame, using scarfed cedar stringers and
: 1/2" plywood cross sections (stations). I coated the entire frame in
: epoxy, and painted the visible portions of the frame (and some extra) and
: cockpit yellow using Tremclad paint (aka Rustoleum). I picked that
: particular paint because I was shopping at a hardware store with limited
: selection and priming wasn't required. The kayak was skinned with 18 ounce
: PVC fabric purchased locally (Denham Awning Makers). The colours and
: designs used were selected by my daughters. I tried to include them as
: much as I could through the build. Of course this wasn't really very much
: and sometimes was insignificant things (holding something for me that
: didn't absolutely need holding) but they really enjoyed being part of it
: and are very proud of the boat they built. The cartoon orca on the deck
: was done using scrap pieces of PVC fabric, thrown in when I bought the
: fabric for the rest of the kayak.

: I built fore & aft flotation chambers using the instructions on Tom
: Yost's web site. http://yostwerks.com/FloatbagA.html

: A block of minicell foam was cut to fit tightly between the gunwale stringers
: as a foot brace. It's quite secure like that and when her legs are longer
: if it needs to move I can trim it and move it forward.

: The outrigger is similar to that designed in the Cunningham SOF kayak
: building book. It uses boat bumpers as floats with the floats being held
: in place by bungee and a webbing strap. I also added small wood pieces to
: the underside of the cross piece to help keep the floats in the right
: spot. I did this because initially I was only going to use the bungee, but
: decided it need something extra so added the webbing around the float

: The paddle that I made to go with the kayak was constructed of a cedar shaft
: (left over wood from making the stringers) with 1/8" birch plywood
: blades. The shaft is 7/8 x 1" and the total paddle length is about
: 55". The blades were drawn out to what looked about right and are
: symmetrical with a curved power face. The blades were painted, each
: daughter putting her own special touch on one of the blades. The blade
: painting was done before attachment to the shaft. The blades were edged
: with a 14 gauge bare copper wire for protection (tacked in place initially
: with crazy glue then held permanently with epoxy). The blades were covered
: on the power face with 1 layer of 6 ounce glass (I planned on using 4
: ounce, but forgot where I put it for a few hours).

: As usual, I have kept a blog of the progress. The link at the bottom will
: take you to all posts pertaining to the Sea Flea build (or use the label
: "kid kayak").

: The launch write-up and a few photos can be found here:
: http://pawistik.blogspot.com/2008/06/launch-of-sea-flea.html

: Many thanks to Tom Yost for the design and making the plans available to the
: community. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!

: Cheers,
: Bryan Sarauer

Hi Bryan,

Very cool I too like the outriggers.

Bill H.