Great Auk Double

Product Description

Based on Nick Schade's Great Auk solo kayaks, the Great Auk Double is a tandem sea kayak that will be comfortable for occasional paddlers while providing an efficient and capable boat for a pair of skilled kayakers. The long waterline allows a couple of strong paddlers to really step out and go fast, while the respectable volume provides enough capacity to carry gear for multi-day trips.

The Great Auk Double is longer and a little wider than the Great Auk, to carry the heavier load of two people plus their gear. It takes the sleek lines of the Great Auk to make a fast and comfortable tandem for intermediate paddlers. This is not just a simple stretch of the Great Auk: Schade has adjusted the shape to add more volume near the ends. This combined with a higher bow will help the boat rise easily over waves.

This boat fits in between the Guillemot Double and Fast Double in terms of performance. It will be faster than the Guillemot Double because it is a little longer and narrower. This makes it a little less stable. But it is not as long or as narrow as the Fast Double.

The kit includes:

• Pre-cut forms and strongback
• A mixture of red cedar strips and paulownia strips with bead-and-cove joints
• Waterproof glue for the wooden strips
• Epoxy resin and activator
• Epoxy fillers
• Woven glass fabric
• Fabric covered foam seats and backbands
• Adjustable footbraces
• Foam knee pads
• Deck hold-down lines (bolt-on)
• Plans and building notes
• The Strip-Built Sea Kayak (book) by Nick Schade
• Free technical support from a competent builder

We supply roughly one-third red cedar strips and two-thirds Paulownia strips as standard but if you have a particular pattern in mind, we can provide a different ratio if you contact us before ordering. We can also supply yellow cedar strips.

What else do I need?

Plans (Not required by kit purchasers)

The plans contain sufficient information to make it possible to build the boat from scratch rather than a kit. They include full size drawings for all the forms. We recommend Nick Schade's book, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, which covers the techniques that are used to build strip-planked kayaks.

Forms and Strongback

For those wanting to obtain the other materials needed to build the boat from other sources, this option contains the pre-cut forms and strongback and the necessary plans to build the boat. The wooden strips are not included (see below).

Wooden Strips

As well as the plans, forms and strongback, 520 m of bead-and-cove cedar strips and/or paulownia strips will be needed to build the Great Auk Double from plans.

Compare this kayak with others.