Danish kayak builder and teacher Svend Ulstrup, sent me some photos of the work he is doing in Denmark. Apparently, his students just finished building 48 baidarkas or iqyan.
One of Svends innovations is to put hatches like miniature cockpit coamings on his boats. He also has his students add sea socks which keep sand out of the boats and can double as backpacks.
Unlike most builders in the US, Svend uses all plant derived products products for building his kayaks, lashings are hemp or jute, sewing twine is cotton, boat skins are linen and sealant is linseed oil. Although he seems to be adding some synthetic colorings these days.
For more info on Svend, see his website
