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Building the Greenland Kayak : A Manual for Its Contruction and Use
Average Rating: 4.5     Total Reviews: 13
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Gret detail     On: 2008-07-08

I have almost finished making my first Greenland kayak and this book has received its fair share of use. I bought this book together with the book from Robert Morris and the books do differ quite a bit. I would recommend you use both of these books, however if I had to choose one book and I only wanted to make a greenland kayak, this would be the one. This book was worth it just for the jig on bending ribs, an area where i really struggled to get consistent results until i built the jig.

Overall i found this book extremely detailed and exacting, with precise jigs and tooling to ensure a quality result. In comparison, Robert Morris describes more different boats and makes you aware of the many different methods of building a kayak. If you have a solid appreciation for the working characteristics of wood and experience with kayaks to know how your work will affect your boat, Robert Morris provides alot more encouragment for experimentation.

Great book, if you want a Greenland kayak, and info on paddle building, equipment making and technique relating to the Greenland kayak, this is the one.
Great detail     On: 2008-07-08

I have almost finished making my first Greenland kayak and this book has received its fair share of use. I bought this book together with the book from Robert Morris and the books do differ quite a bit. I would recommend you use both of these books, however if I had to choose one book and I only wanted to make a greenland kayak, this would be the one. This book was worth it just for the jig on bending ribs, an area where i really struggled to get consistent results until i built the jig.

Overall i found this book extremely detailed and exacting, with precise jigs and tooling to ensure a quality result. In comparison, Robert Morris describes more different boats and makes you aware of the many different methods of building a kayak. If you have a solid appreciation for the working characteristics of wood and experience with kayaks to know how your work will affect your boat, Robert Morris provides alot more encouragment for experimentation.

Great book, if you want a Greenland kayak, and info on paddle building, equipment making and technique relating to the Greenland kayak, this is the one.
Greenland Kayaks     On: 2008-05-13

I have a small library of building skin on frame kayaks. Some are better than others; this is one of the best. Another reviewer commented that this book along with Robert Morriss Building Skin-On-Frame boats would be all you need for a successful build. He has a good point. Cunningham is, of course, extremely knowledgeable and his book while small in size covers a wide range of other kayak topics very well. He is particularly good on using various tools for the same task. It helps a lot since many of us do not have extremely well equipped tool shops and need workarounds.

Fine book, nicely written, with good pictures. Im glad I bought it.
el kayak paso a paso     On: 2007-12-28

This is the basic book everyone shold read to built the wooden kayak. Step by step, piece by piece, tool by tool. But remenber, your hands make the spirit of the water.
Este libro es el "básico". Todo lo que hay que saber para constrir un kayak tradicional, paso a paso. Pero recuerda, no hay que ser tan preciso, tus manos le darán el espíritu del agua
Building your own kayak
by: Anonymous    On: 2007-02-24

My daughter and I are building kayaks in an Adult Ed class using this book as our bible. Luckily, there is an instructor who has built 2 kayaks before using this book. The book contains all you need to know, albiet that you have to spend time reading the words repeatedly because there arent enough sketches to show what is intended. There are lots of photos, but they dont convey the same amount of info as a sketch with dimensions. But, if you keep re-reading the book to figure our how to make the jigs, youll end up with a piece of art, that you can kayak in.
Building your own kayak     On: 2007-02-23

My daughter and I are building kayaks in an Adult Ed class using this book as our bible. Luckily, there is an instructor who has built 2 kayaks before using this book. The book contains all you need to know, albiet that you have to spend time reading the words repeatedly because there arent enough sketches to show what is intended. There are lots of photos, but they dont convey the same amount of info as a sketch with dimensions. But, if you keep re-reading the book to figure our how to make the jigs, youll end up with a piece of art, that you can kayak in.
All You need
by: Anonymous    On: 2006-10-19

If you want to build a greenland kayak then this is all you need. Instructions are clear and not wordy. It also has sections on making paddles and paddling clothing. The style shown in this book has slight deviations from the original greenland technique but he specifically states all the changes. I built a kayak from this book with my only help being a second pair of hands, and i am only 15. The boat was exactly to his designs and it is fast, fairly stable, and responsive.
All You need     On: 2006-10-18

If you want to build a greenland kayak then this is all you need. Instructions are clear and not wordy. It also has sections on making paddles and paddling clothing. The style shown in this book has slight deviations from the original greenland technique but he specifically states all the changes. I built a kayak from this book with my only help being a second pair of hands, and i am only 15. The boat was exactly to his designs and it is fast, fairly stable, and responsive.
Terrific book with lots of details and pictures
by: dsr51262    On: 2006-08-01

This is a terrific book. I bought Robert Morris book on Skin on Frame building and had many questions. Chris Cunninghams book provides lot of details and answered my questions. Both books compliment each other and since I do not know much about this process, I consider both required reading before I build.
I like how this book provides all details on what type of lashing to get, the Eskimo knot, fabric and type of material for sewing seams. It focuses on 1 type of boat only, which allows the author to provide lots of details and pictures during the build. I probably will not use the 2 part polyurethane finish as it shown in the book. I think I would rather use the water based exterior polyurethane as shown in the Morris book. If you plan on building a skin on frame, you have to get this book. Even if you dont plan to build one, it is a great book for those interested in this process.

Great detail and instruction
by: Anonymous    On: 2006-04-19

This book was great for a novice builder like myself. The intructions were clear and easy to follow. I like the way the instruction passages started with the result intended followed by detailed instructions.
The jigs were especially helpfull in achieving the results intended.

Easy-to-follow building instructions accompanied by hundreds of photos
Complete lists of all the tools and materials youll need
Detailed primers in lumber milling, fastening, rib bending, and measuring
Additional instructions for making a Greenland paddle, paddling clothing, float bags, skegs, and more
Pointers on paddling skills, kayak rolling, and childrens kayaks

Another view of skin-on-frame building.
by: Anonymous    On: 2005-08-26

Cunningham provides a very detailed view of the building techniques he uses, complete with jigs and adaptations that work for him. He includes chapters on clothing, equipment, rolling and variations, which you may find useful. This book is a useful addition to Morris "Building Skin-on-Frame Boats" for its practical tips and a different view of the process. A good value and worthwhile addition to the boatbuilding library.
Valuable     On: 2005-08-24

This book is valuable as a basis for planning construction of a SOF. Its approach is a bit different from the Morris one, and is a quite clear but lack precision on some points. For me, having both books is great cause they are completive each other.
Excellent - the one guide you need
by: gunstocker    On: 2004-07-31

If you are interested in building a traditional, relatively authentic West Greenland ocean kayak, one of the most gorgeous watercraft ever built, this is your book. Cunningham lays out the task from beginning to end with clarity and wit, and the process is topped off with explanations and plans for traditional paddling gear such as floats and tuiliks, the one piece "dry suits" that fit over the coaming. The book can be confusing in places, but this rests in large part on the fact that the measurements are anthropometric in nature. There cant be measured drawings for something that is going to be different for every person. The kayak you build will be completely custom made to fit you, and noone else, so he cant get too energetic with the tape measure. What you do get are step by step explanations for HOW you arrive at those measurements, so that you can make boats for yourself and anyone else. The frame is pretty authentic, other than that dimensioned lumber is used - you would have trouble telling a drawing of this frame from a drawing of an original Inuit frame. Of course the big departure is the skin, which in our case is not seal skin but rather ballistic nylon and two part polyurethane dope. Not traditional, but gorgeous, waterproof and long lasting. You can expect to get 10 years out of a well cared for boat - not bad for a boat you built yourself in a few weekends, for about the cost of a good touring paddle. If youre looking for a quicky project, or one that you can knock together out of plywood with the Scout Troop, look elsewhere. But if youre looking for the real deal, youve found it. Highly recommended.
Needs more diagrams     On: 2004-07-13

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Cunningham has a lot of knowledge about traditional building techniques. However, I found several areas where I was confused, while building the kayak. I found myself hi-liting certain, critical areas, and reading some phrases over and over to make sure that I was interpreting it correctly. More drawings with dimensions would have eliminated the vagaries of prepositions and interpretations.

The instruction on determining rib lengths using a hand-drawn graph was confusing. I read it over and over, then after figuring out what was being done, I simply put the data in a spreadsheet to calculate the lengths.

The directions on making the spray skirt was especially confusing. For example, on sewing the webbing on, it says to sew the webbing such that the legs of the v-shape of the webbing is even with the edge of the fabric. That would mean that the webbing would point in the opposite direction of the finished product. The book never did explain how the the webbing ends up in the correct direction. I strained to interpret from the photo of the person wearing the spray skirt. I finally did end up with a usable spray skirt, but not without some cursing and frustration.

Having built flying model airplanes for many years, I find visual plans much easier to deal with. If I need the dimension for something, I can just glance at the plan to find it, instead of trying to remember which paragraph contained the data.

I wish I could give it more than three stars. There were parts of the book that I enjoyed very much. However, there were times when I was extremely frustrated.


Needs more diagrams     On: 2004-07-12

Overall, I enjoyed the book. Cunningham has a lot of knowledge about traditional building techniques. However, I found several areas where I was confused, while building the kayak. I found myself hi-liting certain, critical areas, and reading some phrases over and over to make sure that I was interpreting it correctly. More drawings with dimensions would have eliminated the vagaries of prepositions and interpretations.

The instruction on determining rib lengths using a hand-drawn graph was confusing. I read it over and over, then after figuring out what was being done, I simply put the data in a spreadsheet to calculate the lengths.

The directions on making the spray skirt was especially confusing. For example, on sewing the webbing on, it says to sew the webbing such that the legs of the v-shape of the webbing is even with the edge of the fabric. That would mean that the webbing would point in the opposite direction of the finished product. The book never did explain how the the webbing ends up in the correct direction. I strained to interpret from the photo of the person wearing the spray skirt. I finally did end up with a usable spray skirt, but not without some cursing and frustration.

Having built flying model airplanes for many years, I find visual plans much easier to deal with. If I need the dimension for something, I can just glance at the plan to find it, instead of trying to remember which paragraph contained the data.

I wish I could give it more than three stars. There were parts of the book that I enjoyed very much. However, there were times when I was extremely frustrated.


Another exceelent addition to the literature
by: foldingkayaks    On: 2003-07-01

Chris Cunningham has been publishing construction articles for years in Sea Kayaker magazine, so its not surprising that hes decided to write a full length book on the topic. And an excellent book it is, too. There are hundreds of excellent photos and drawings, extensive detailed instructions and plenty of discussion an alternate methods of construciton.

This is certainly one of the best books on the topic of Greenland kayak construciton yet, and an absolute must-own for anyone interested in building their own traditional kayak. This volume, along with Robert Morris book (Building Skin on Frame Kayaks) and perhaps H. C. Petersons "Instruction in Kayak Building" would make as complete a library on kayak construciton as one might imagine.


Fairly complicated but good     On: 2002-12-17

A usfull book for both the historian and any person wiht an interest in Greenland style kayaking. The photos are very detailed as is the text. Well worth the time and the money.

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