Margie’s Great Auk Kayak

All projects have a beginning…

This project began three years ago at the 10th Annual Cape Fear Community College (CFCC) Boat Show. Margie had a Goldilocks moment when she sat in Steve Garret’s Great Auk at that boat show—it was just right. She suggested to Omar that building her a Great Auk would be a perfect project for him since he was beginning the CFCC Wood Boat Building Program. The boat building program at CFCC is one of only a handful of full-time programs in the country.

The station molds were purchased in December’09, materials were gathered to build the strong back, and the strips for the boat were milled in the shop at the school. The first strip to build the boat was applied to the molds on June 19, 2010.

The hull was completed July 5th; the deck on July 23rd; and the unfinished boat was displayed at the 2010 CFCC Annual Wooden Boat Show.

The boat was sanded then fiberglass applied in the school shop early Fall 2010, then displayed at the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show.

The project was put on hold until March 2011. More epoxy was applied; the coaming for the cockpit installed; and deck fittings designed, manufactured, and installed. Then more sanding and epoxy. The almost finished boat was displayed in May at the Beaufort Wooden Boat Show, winning an award for the “Best Up-and-Coming Boatbuilder”.

Once again back in the shop, additional fiberglass was added as reinforcement to the bottom of the hull for Margie’s hard landings on shells and rocks. Hatches were cut, then their frames and hold-downs manufactured and installed. The boat was wet-sanded up through 320 grit then sent out to clear coat on July 15th.

The fully outfitted boat had her inaugural launch July 2, 2011 in Wrightsville Sound. The boat was displayed at the 2011 Southport Wooden Boat Show and won for “Best Non-Power Row/Paddle.”

This kayak was built from plans and is a Nick Schade design. It has a hull made from bead and cove strips of Atlantic White Cedar (Juniper) and the deck is stripped in African Mahogany and White Ash. The hardwood strips were applied to the deck in the order they were cut from the plank. The kayak is a composite structure encased in fiberglass cloth and epoxy resin with 6 oz. cloth on the interior and 4 oz. cloth on the exterior. No metal staples or fasteners were used in construction and the ready to paddle weight is 48 lbs. It has an overall length of 17’ and the beam is 24”.