Making miniatures has been a part of my life since my early teens. I had grown up living in an environment where my father, an artist and industrial designer, and I enjoyed the art in skeletal designs in nature and building construction. My mother has also immersed herself in miniatures, creating intricately detailed and charming doll houses (Pats' miniatures).
Through the months of building the West Greenland kayak, I came to know every aspect and could build one with little reference to my notes. The first model was built 1 inch to the foot scale - 17.8” long. It’s enjoyable to hold and view from all angles. For reasons of scale and economy of time, I decided not to make the joints of traditional mortise and tenon, but glued them instead.
Working from my illustrations as a guide, I was able to determine shapes for all pieces. The form in the center, shown below, was used to hold each white oak rib in position after steaming.
The second model was quite a bit larger, built one-fourth full size - 53" long, 5.5” beam.
Here, I had the luxury of creating a work of art. I used similar woods as in the full-size version - clear pine for the deck beams, keelson and chines; and steamed white oak for the ribs and coaming. The masik was carved from cherry.
Using my enlarged illustration for reference, I proceeded to cut out and assemble the parts, making sure all parts were aligned.
The traditional-shaped coaming hoop was fashioned from white oak strips and glued around a pattern to retain its egg shape. The strip ends where tapered like the full-sized version. After sanding the outer edges to a uniform thickness, a lip made from a thinner white oak strip was crafted and glued in place.
Lashing, replicating those on the full-sized kayak, was reproduced in miniature. The keelson and chines were lashed using the running-lash method described by Chris Cunningham in his book.
The deck beams, as well as the keelson, deck ridges and stem plates, were secured using tooth-pick pegs as mini dowels.
The Journey of Building
a West Greenland Kayak
by Jeffrey W. Balazs
A 62-page book filled with
construction details and
122 images.
Building kayaks
Coaming support
& padded cockpit
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