A seakayak(DIY Kayak plan) family for homebuilders and DIY addicted, with hull lines optimized for coastal cruising and sea-camping , suited to be easily build by a homebuilder in plywood and epoxy.
Model |
Bette 500 HV (High Volume) |
Bette 500 LV (Low Volume) |
Alenu 540 |
Raju 500 |
Dentex 420 |
Mariposa 420 |
|
| Hull Length | 5,00 m | 5,00 m | 5,40 m | 5,00 m | 4,20 m | 4,20 m | |
| Hull Beam | 64 cm | 64 cm | 69 cm | 58 cm (or 54 cm “narrow” version) | 80 cm | 65 cm | |
| Paddler weight range | 70-100 kg | 70-95 kg | 130 -190 (crew of two) | 55-80 kg | 70-95 kg | 50-75 kg | |
| Kayak weight (approximately) | 22 kg | 21 kg | 26 kg | 19 kg | 22 kg | 18 kg | |
| total recommended maximum weight | 170 kg | 160 kg | 215 kg | 130 kg | 170 kg | 110 kg | |
| Notes | single seat long range tourer | single seat for average range tourers; with low volume hull | two seater cruising seakayak |
technical single seater for asverage/long range cruising |
sit on top kayak, perfect for kayak fishing | single seat for unexperienced light paddlers | |
| plans can be purchased here: | Bette 500 order page | Bette 500 order page (specify on order if HV or LV) | Alenu 540 order page | Raju 500 Order Page (specify standard or narrow on order) | Dentex 420 order page | Mariposa 420 order page |
DIY Kayak plans
These are the available plans:
- Bette 500 HV (High Volume): the founder of the family, maximum initial stability, and a very good compromise among performances, ease of use and drag, with a really huge load capability, to whitstand all the stuffs needed for a long range coastal camping use; two huge sealed volumes on bow and stern guarantee floating no matter what you (reasonably…) do. See our blog for further infos and sea-trials
- Bette 500 LV (Low Volume): the logical development of the High Volume version: lower flanks, paddler seats lower, she still has real good storage volumes and a huge stability, but the hull has less windage, this kayak is the perfect choice for long range trips in windy areas.
- Mariposa 420: seakayak suited for lightweight paddler and girls that are beginning to paddle and need a sound a stable kayak; two lockers featuring good loading capabilities, and a huge amount of initial stability. Don’t expect rocket speed.
- Alenu 540: double seakayak, a good compromise among hull lenght, load capaibilities, and initial stability.
- Raju 500 : a more technical seatouring kayak featuring the same easy plywood and epoxy building system, suited for medium skilled to expert paddlers: narrower hull, reduced drag, good loading capabilities, quite low on the water, reduced cockpit volume, very light and sturdy construction, the perfect choice for technical sea-tourers. Available in two version, the “standard” one with a 58 cm beam and a “narrow” version featuring 54 cm of maximum beam, low drag on the water and a very good speed , the best choice in our range for experienced paddlers.
- Dentex 420 : a sit-on-top kayak , large hull, high stability, low on the water, can be loaded as a real workhorse, the perfect choice for a kayak fishing do it yourself boat or a perfect mate for relaxed coastal exploring without the complications of an closed cockpit classic kayak. Currently our best seller !
The building of these DIY Kayak plans are based on “stitch & glue” system, so you basically stitch the plywood panels with copper wire points and then glue them with thickened epoxy resin and finish the chines with epoxy laminated glass tape, a task perfectly suited for a newbye homebuilder; anyway, don’t worry, just take a look at our blog section and you’ll find a super-detailed step-by- step tutorial.
Building is suited for homebuilders with a very basic level of experience in woodworking; it will take probably something between 60 and 85 hours to complete the kayak, depending on your level of skill; the purchase of plywood , epoxy resin, glass tape and other stuffs will cost around 450 € , depending mostly on prices of 4 mm oukumè plywood and epoxy resin on your local market.
These plans can be seen as the first step for a newbye boatbuilder , kind of practice if you want to built a “serious” boat, or a good way to employ some hours and a reasonable amount of money to built a fascinating object that will lead you to explore new environments, take you away from crowded beaches, and taste a little bit of adventure.
Plans are available in two versions: just drawings (parts have to be manually lofted on plywood sheets), drawings plus dxf templates file (to be printed 1:1 scale or CNC routed to gain an easier and more precise lofting). All seakayaks can be shrinked or enlarged in the range +/- 7 % simply rescaling the templates to better fit huge or skinny paddlers.
