Damien Smith continues to build his own boats as the fancy takes him, a recent one being this replica Inuit kayak. Weighing only 14 kg, these remarkabe craft are covered in canvas and held together only with lashings and wooden pegs, with no glue or nails used in the construction.
This 1000 year old traditional classic design is amazingly structurally efficient. Conventional structural analysis of the Inuit kayak suggested that the kayak should break up. A more detailed analysis of the kayak's frame, using high tech Finite Element Analysis (the same process used to design the structure of the C Class Catamaran Ronstan) showed that the traditional scantlings are a perfectly balanced piece of design. The flexibility of the ribs, keel and chine stringers are matched to shed localised peak loads into the surrounding structure.
Traditional structures are often well adapted to their environment, the available materials and construction techniques. Modern interpretations of traditional designs require sympathetic application of modern naval architectural principles to avoid losing the lightness and fundamental character of the designs.
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Replica Inuit Kayak 
