Shaman Kayaks by Ventura Artist John Petersen



	"What sort of storage space is there?"
	Greenland kayaks were not made to store anything in them which is why they are such a low volume kayak. The Inuit hunter either towed his catch in the water or it was placed on the rear deck. With today's methods and practices, it is possible to stow gear within the flotation bags kept inside the kayak at the bow or stern, inserted through the cockpit. Hatches to load or access gear are not typically built on traditional SOFs. Additional storage on a Greenland kayak can be achieved with gear bags attached to the fore and rear deck. With the hunting practices of the Unangan(Aleuts), the larger volume Baidarka evolved to carry much gear as well as their catch within the kayak. This kind of kayak is perfectly suited for trips greater than 3 days duration although the Baidarka can be made into a lower volume kayak if you do not need this requirement. My personal Baidarka is a low volume one and I still feel she has more than enough carrying capacity should I need it.
	"How do you repair a hole in the skin or what if a rib happens to crack?"
	Make sure the damaged area is thoroughly dry before attempting any repairs. Holes are repaired by first roughening the surrounding surface a little and then sewing a patch of 8.5oz ballistic nylon over the hole. Apply Spirit Line Kayaks 2 part polyurethane sealant next, following their directions. In an emergency, a temporary repair can be made with Duct tape. In the rare circumstances that a rib should crack or the lashing holding the rib to a stringer is cut for instance, can be ignored! This aspect of the SOF is one of it's remarkable features because it is the skin that puts all the structural components in compression locking everything in place, but still allowing flexibility. Polyurethane sealant has a tendency to lock the frame/lashings to the skin as well.
	"How long will the kayak last?"
	Properly stored and cared for, the skin on my kayaks should last 8 to 10 years through typical recreational usage, at which point the frame can easily be recovered. The frame itself will outlive you provided rain water, for example, has not been sitting in the hull creating wood rot. Salt water takes longer to rot wood than Fresh water does but still should not be allowed to sit in the hull for months and months. Wood tends to blacken when it's been submersed in water for long periods and hasn't dried.

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