Boat Building Forum

Find advice on all aspects of building your own kayak, canoe or any lightweight boats

Skin-on-Frame: Yost Sonnet
By:Sean McCauley
Date: 6/15/2017, 1:35 pm

Hi again KayakForum,

For about a year I've been doing the preliminary research for building my first kayak. We have a toddler, so I won't be able to start work for a few months, anyway (let alone take a finished kayak out).

I'm most interested right now in one of Yost's Sonnet inflatable/folding kayaks for the pragmatism of them, but at 6'1" and approx. 210 lbs, I'm unsure which of them to build, or if they are even plausible for me. There would likely be additional cargo weight, too, like clothing and maybe a cooler, etc., or perhaps even light camping gear (?).

I posted months ago about trying to decide which design is best for me and was helped here to decide a Sea Tour 17 EXP would work, but getting it to the water would be a problem unless it were folding, and the inflatables just seem smarter for me right now, especially if I end up making one for my wife, too.

Thank you, gentlemen, in advance,

-Sean in Long Beach, CA