Building your own kayak with Nina and Nico of Yamana Boats

A new kayak building kit from Yamana Boats in Oslo beautifully embodies design ideals that are getting ever more relevant:

Local production, use of natural materials, intuitive design and infinite repairability.

As they launch their first Kickstarter, we had the chance to meet with designers Nina Havermans and Nico Ibaceta about boat building, makerspaces and finding time to spend time outdoors.

# How did you discover the world of boat building - and each other?

Nico: There is an ancestral culture in southern Chile, which is called Yamana. They built their boats with rudimentary materials to live paddling the seas and fjords of southern Chile as Nomads of the Sea.

In my early age, the inspiring idea of living as a nomad of the sea awoke a curiosity for boat building and the Yamana culture. Later I did my architecture studies and postgraduate in boat design, but it was not until I worked with an artist with a boat project, that the adventure really began.

Nina: When people ask us what we do, we say we build boats with and for the people we cross paths with in our lives. This goes for ourselves as well. Though we had briefly met on a few occasions, we only really stood still at the intersection of our paths when building boats during our first month together, in Chile.

The Yamana Kayak Kit was shown in context of the Elementa UT project on the Designers Saturday exhibition at Doga in Oslo, September 2019.

What is the experience of putting together a Yamana Kayak about?

The experience is about hands-on creation and fabrication, having the means to build your own kayak, and enhancing confidence in your abilities to create. We value creation with one’s own hands and local materials, to offer everyone this unique journey from fabrication to a playful exploration of nature.

In the bigger picture, this is about nurturing an appreciative relationship between us, our objects and nature. Having built your own kayak, you will understand how to maintain it. We believe this process creates a relationship with your piece and meaningful connections with nature will follow from your first trip onwards.

It can look bit overwhelming to build, how much work is needed - and how technically competent do you need to be to do so?

We designed, tested and developed this KIT exactly with the purpose of making kayak building accessible for everyone, within 3 days, regardless of technical competence.

The provided jacket makes an impregnable, waterproof outer layer. Therefore, no resins or coatings have to be applied, leaving the main task being the building of the wooden skeleton.

We have tested several iterations to identify where the difficulties lie in the process of making to be able to simplify.

For example the keel with its diagonal pieces, that together with a checklist of do’s and don’t along the way, assures the core of the kayak to always be perfect, both for navigation and handling in the water, as well as for fitting the jacket. Together with its simple instructions, it is a process we are confident that everyone can follow through.

# Yamana boats is situated at the Kroloftet in Oslo - what role do makerspace culture and community play in your work?

Makerspaces, typically spaces where you can share tools, technology and equipment, workshops and workspaces, are practically essential to how we work. At Kroloftet we find everything we need, wood workshops, CNC technology, desks and space to create.

Here we can also connect with a community of people practicing other disciplines, sharing their unique insight, experiences and another perspective to what we do.

# How do you envision the future for Yamana Boats?

We are happy acknowledging this to be the great unknown! What we do know, is that we share an enthusiasm to experiment within the universe of objects, spaces, materials, and fabrication. So for example we have been discussing a course for design students creating vessels based on the techniques we use, exploring form more experimentally.

Another path we are looking into is using exclusively recycled and/or bio-based materials, such as certain bioplastics and biocomposites, and eliminating all glues. We are planning to have a season of boatbuilding in the Netherlands as well, and expanding to small sailing vessels!

# We all know we should hang out more outdoors. I'd love to spend time in the water, but I cannot find the time. What should I do?

Buy our Yamana Kayak KIT on our Kickstarter and sign up for a free 2-day course in Oslo, where we guide you to building and finishing your frame.

At the end of these 2 days we’ll show you how easy it is to put on the jacket, take your finished kayak on top of your car, or walking with a pair of wheels, and you’re ready to go to the water!

Perhaps ask family or a friend to join, someone you’d like to take out on the waters. And once you start crossing paths with others and other places, exploring and making memories, finding time will be less and less of an issue.

Links:
Yamana Boats project on Kickstarter.

Yamana Boats website