Thomas Yost Designs

Tom has built approximately 15 boats between 1975 and 2000, with the first 8 being woodstrip/fiberglass sea kayaks. Of that group, two have been Aleut designs constructed from David Zimmerly's offsets in his book "QAJAQ". He built them to scale but made changes to the deck shape. In addition, Tom built a woodstrip version of George Dysons double .

 

Having grown a bit tired of building woodstrips, he decided to try a hand at non folding skin boats. He first made three George Dyson singles, the first two of all wood construction, and the third using wood cross sections with aluminum stringers.

 

He immediately realized that these were more seaworthy than were the woodstrip hulls. The flex in the skin and the concave skin shape between stringers, really slowed down the roll rate as well as allowing the hull to conform to the waves.

 

Above is a photo of the folding single that Tom was building 1998(?). You will notice a striking similarity to the "Feathercraft" designs. Since he paddles a Feathercraft K-Light, the similarity is no accident. You will also notice that there are very few parts. This boat follows the KISS principal. ( Keep It Simple Stupid)!

 

The tubing is all 3/4 in. Aluminum 6061/T6 thin wall. The tubes are attached to the Cross sections using "L" shaped brackets pop riveted to the tubes. The frame weighs about 15 lbs and takes only a few minutes to assemble. The frame has a single stretcher bar at the keel. The skin will be made of 14 oz. pre-shrunk nylon. The material will be coated inside and out with three coats of black Neoprene. The deck will receive additional coats of white hypalon to provide a light color. The boat is 15.5 ft (4.73m) long by 24 in. (61cm) wide.

 

Tom plans to use zippers along the deck ridge for closure and sewn in sponsons to assure a tight fit and to provide additional stability.

 

Thomas Yost

 

Littleton, Colorado 80122

 

Note by Hendrik: At least in my case, the zipper/sponsons solution has worked more than once. Just take care.

 

Dyson Style Single Baidarka by Thomas Yost: Trial Run

 

This George Dyson designed non folding Single has aluminum stringers with wooden cross sections and ends. This combination works better than either all wood or all aluminum. Wood cross sections are easy to make and add a warmer feel to the boat. Aluminum tubing is easier to work with than wood for the construction of Gunwales, stringers etc.. Dysons method of using Nylon/epoxy lashing certainly provides much strength and rigidity.

 

This is the third Dyson single that Tom has constructed. The others were made of Redwood or pine. You will notice that he doesn't build using a split bow. He finds that it is of marginal value and quite frankly isn't very attractive. Photos taken at 10,000 ft. Turquoise Lake, Colorado. Mt.. Massive (14,300 ft.) is in the background.

 

Length 17 ft. width 24 in. Weight 40 lb. Construction Time: 100 hr.+

This is the Dyson designed folding double that Tom built a few years ago. This boat took about 3 hours to assemble which most of us consider unacceptable, but at least Tom and I (Hendrik) have had the strange pleasure to deal with that. At construction time of our first folders, we both had never seen a folding kayak that we just could copy. We were therefore forced to develop our own solutions and certainly learned much from building our first boats.

 

This photo of Tom's Baidarka taken at Tofino, BC.

 

Length 21 ft. Width 28 in. Weight 65 lb. Construction time: 150 hr.

 

Tom included all six chines and all 11 or 12 cross-sections which made for a slow assembly process. The skin laced at the deckridge which further slowed down the process. It took about 3 hours to assemble the boat which was simply too long. However, the remarkable thing was that due to the extra flexibilty of the hull as compared to his non folding skin boats, this turned out to be the most seaworthy boat Tom had ever constructed. The flex was very noticable, but the boat conformed to the waves beautifully. It handled all conditions better than the Dyson Woodstrip double which was the same design. (especially in rough water.) Like most of us, Tom once believed that "rigid" was better but trial and error have shown that's wrong ! This photo of Tom's two-seater Baidarka taken at Tofino, BC.

 

 

Rear construction of Tom's two-seater Baidarka. The inset shows how Tom laced the skin and used a velcro seal to prevent water from coming in. At least in my case, this was not completely watertight. Take care. On the other hand, this is what I (Hendrik) also used for the first try, and I guess many more of us did so. It works.

 

 

This photo of Tom's two-seater Baidarka taken at Tofino, BC.

 

Length 21 ft. Width 28 in. Weight 65 lb. Construction time: 150 hr.

This Dyson designed Woodstrip Double is made of 1/4 in. redwood strips covered with 6 oz. fiberglass and West Systems Epoxy resin. Tom believes that woodstrip kayaks are the stiffest of all construction types, including fiberglass. The overall wall thickness is the key to this. He uses redwood due to its cost and availability. It has many of the same properties as Western Red Cedar but lacks Cedars color variation. Neither wood works well with other types of resin (Polyester/Vinylester) due to the oils present in the wood. The boat is finished in UV Clear Urethane(Deck) and White Urethane(Hull). Photo taken at Clayquot Sound, BC.

 

Length 20 ft. Width 28 in. Weight 85 lb. Construction Time: 350 hr.

MAE 593-76 was built from David Zimmerly's Offsets in "QAJAQ". This is a tippy but very fast boat. I only paddle it on calm days.

 

Photo taken at Clayquot Sound, BC.

 

Length 19 ft. Width 17 in. Weight 35 lb. Construction Time: 250 hr.

'MAE 593-76 by Thomas Yost: Cockpit Detail'

 

I have taken great liberties with the deck shape and the coaming. The large coaming allows easy entry/exit from an otherwise tight fit. The boat was constructed of 3/16 in. redwood and 4oz. fiberglass cloth.

 

Length 19 ft. Width 17 in. Weight 35 lb. Construction Time: 250 hr.

LM 2-14886 by Thomas Yost: Trial Run

 

LM 2-14886 (the single seater in the back) was built from David Zimmerly's Offsets in "QAJAQ". This is a fairly stable and fast design. Once again I have modified the deck shape and the coaming. Finish is UV Urethane.

 

Photo taken at Curecanti Canyon, on the Gunnison river,Colorado. Canyon is 1,000 ft. deep.

 

Length 17 ft. Width 21 in. Weight 33 lb. Construction Time: 250 hr.

 

The second boat in this photo is a David Hazen design from his book "A Strippers Guide To Canoe Building". The boat is highly modified in both dimensions and detail. Construction is redwood with pine inlay. Curecanti Canyon.

 

Length 20 ft. Width 28 in. Weight 85 lb. Construction Time: 350 hr.

 

LM 2-14886 by Thomas Yost: Cockpit Detail

 

LM 2-14886 was built from David Zimmerly's Offsets in "QAJAQ". This is a fairly stable and fast design. Once again I have modified the deck shape and the coaming. Finish is UV Urethane.

Length 17 ft. Width 21 in. Weight 33 lb. Construction Time: 250 hr.

 

Dyson Style Single Baidarka by Thomas Yost

 

This was the first folder that Tom has made. Probably about 1993 or 94. It's a folding wooden(pine) version of a Dyson single. Skin is Nylon/Neoprene/Hypalon. Time to assemble - Forever !

 

His second folder was an Aluminum/Wood Dyson Double (1996).
Third was an Aluminum/Wood single (1997).
Fourth was an Aluminum/HDPE single- FAP-16(2002)
Fifth is an Aluminum/HDPE single - TDY-16(2002).

 

They keep getting lighter, easier to build, and quicker to assemble. TDY-16 was his first with a Stamoid skin(Ivory). All others have been either Nylon/Neoprene/Hypalon or Polyester/Hypalon.

 

Length 17 ft. width 23 in. Weight 40 lb.