NGWClub®, Inc.

An old Folbot I picked up last year. After repairing the hull skins and replacing the deck skin, some structural work , today was the maiden voyage!

Amazing what you can see out on the river...

I've always wanted to take one of those on the water- beautiful area to do it, too. How hard was it to refurbish?

My father and I built 2 of these kits back in the '70's, so I do have a little advantage. I also took advantage of new fasteners and chemicals.

Copper tacks that held the skins to the wood frame were replaced with Monel staples.
Seams for the repaired hull skins were sealed with epoxy.
Where the stern met the stringers, everything was tight, but the wood slightly punky.
I used structural foam to reinforce the stern stem, then drilled and filled the plywood stem with flowable epoxy.
Used another type of epoxy to reset joints and even painted it on to seal vulnerable areas of wood.

New vinyl I bought online, the Folbot company long out of business, and even longer out of the wood kit business. They switched to more modern frame and skin systems, kinda leaving the old school crew hanging.

Took me a year, but then again I am self employed and the kayak hung in the rafters until I got a break in business. I left the skilled carpentry to a skilled carpenter friend, he did the coamings.

They used to be simple plywood, now they are solid tiger wood.

I see a swamp monster in the 2nd photo!

Someone must have helped stage that a bit. Roobiie doooo

That boat must be easy access for gators. Yikes, I’m a northerner.

You do realize wild gators want nothing to do with people?
Gators socialized by people feeding them while living in close proximity...those are the ones you worry about!
Very easy to turn from food provider to foodstuff in that primitive brain...

Who wants to see more Folbot pix?

Need to watch where you put your feets ....

Gord (nice work)Jones

Thanks for the info- it is a pretty ride. Very cool. It's not the gators that I can see that worry me....

I saw my first alligator in the wild in Texas, in a canoe, at the age of 10. It was young, still with a heavy stripe. Fascinated me, so much that I did a report for school. Learned that while a gator is still that young, mom is never very far away, and very protective. I wanted so badly to touch the 'cute' little gator. Good thing my dad was in the canoe to stop me.

Picked up another kayak after a recent short trip exposed that my 10ft blow-mold boat wasnt up to the load.
Got a modern iteration of the boat above, the Folbot Yukon. 13ft, ought disperse my weight a bit better!