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From: Justin Gural December 09, 2010 |
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Photo: DuckworksMagazine.com / Chuck Corwin
Corwin hiking into Alice Lake with the Alice Boat
packed tightly away in the backpack carrier.File this one under super niche... and super cool.
A retired engineer near Sun Valley, Idaho recently unveiled his 10-year dream: to design a foldable kayak that's light enough to pack on your back for a hike to alpine lakes.
Chuck Corwin calls his creation an Alice Boat, named after Alice Lake -- a pristine mountain lake at the end of a challenging hike west of Pettit Lake in the Sawtooth Mountains north of Ketchum.
Photo: DuckworksMagazine.com / Chuck Corwin
The Alice Boat, bear bones and all... sans skin.Indigenous cultures have been making skin-on-frame vessels for thousands of years, and even modern versions are available on the market, but non are available that weigh 10 pounds and take roughly 30 minutes to construct in the field.
The finished product is a 12-foot kayak made of carbon fiber tubing, five wooden bulkheads and a skin made from Hypalon -- the same material used in the construction of lightweight airplane wings. For anyone interested in making their own Alice Boat, Corwin offers a builders package for $100 which includes full specs, directions and a few jigs.
Photo: DuckworksMagazine.com / Chuck Corwin
Corwin assembling the Alice Boat along the shores of
its namesake, Alice Lake.If you're a craftsman hunkering down for the winter, and you have an extra $1,000 stashed away for your next project, email Corwin for the plans. Your indigenous roots will thank you.
Chuck Corwin here. Thank you Editor for the posting. I should point out this is a flat water boat. Not meant to be rolled. A recreation kayak is probably the correct designation. Though I wouldn't consider it a quick build, in my mind, construction doesn't take great skill. And with the clear understanding that the only person who believes that a set of plans and instructions are clear and complete is the person who wrote them, I also believe that the directions are reasonably easy to follow. But the most important point is that being able to get out on some of the remote bodies of water in a real boat is absolute magic.. Anybody interested in learning more should read my original article - simply google : duckworks-A Boat Named Alice.