Connect with Feathercraft

I hope you are enjoying reading our weekly blog.

We are trying to cover a wide breadth of topics, from local classes being offered, to environmental concerns, to kayaking functions, to our own product line.

We feel a blog is an unobtrusive way of supplying information to the kayak community.

So far, it has been a pleasure to contribute to. We appreciate all the positive Feedback that readers have shown us on Facebook and on Google +.

If you have any kayak related events that you would like us to share on our blog, you can email us at feathercraft.kayaks.vancouver@gmail.com. We would also love to hear about any recent trips or expeditions, especially if they involved a Feathercraft kayak. Send us your photos and your stories and we'll publish them on our blog.

For day-to-day updates, follow us on Twitter or befriend us on Facebook. 

Curious about our skin kayak designs? 

Connect with us.

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide. 

The CycoPod Bike Bag

What cycling accessory can you buy for your friend's birthday that will have them singing your praises as they ride across town?

The answer is the CycoPod. The CycoPod is a detachable storage compartment created by the intrepid inventors at Canada's foremost kayak company - Feathercraft Kayaks.

It will hold your books, lunch, a six-pack, a change of clothes or even your laptop computer.

The storage unit fits just below the average touring seat and extends over the back tire of the bicycle. It comes in two handy sizes, large and small, with the large version having a 13 litre volume capacity.

The seams on the CycoPod, like our kayaks, are welded for maximum water resistance. The exterior case is a double urethane coated fabric, again, the same material and construction used to make our kayaks.

It will keep your textbooks safe and dry, it won't pull you to one side like a one-sided pannier and it will make an excellent gift to the roadie who seems to have it all.

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.

Knoydart Sea Kayaks

After a long and healthy partnership with Knoydart Sea Kayaking, Feathercraft is parting ways. Knoydart will no longer sell our products. The company is currently developing a line of kayaks and will be focusing on the manufacturing of their own boats.

We are sad to lose Knoydart as our UK dealer, but we are excited to see their new products.

For our UK customers, boats can be purchased online at our website or at our dealers in Germany, Sweden, Austria, Denmark or Switzerland. For a full list of our European dealers, please contact our website. 

Parting is always bittersweet, but It paves the way for new beginnings and offers a moment for nostalgic reflection.

Thank you Knoydart, for all your business and support over the years.

*For customer enquires and warranty issues, please contact the Feathercraft factory directly.

**All oversea purchases are subject to taxes and import duties. Please factor these into your pricing when ordering directly from Feathercraft.

Contact Info:

4-1244 Cartwright St.

Granville Island

Vancouver B.C.

V6H 3R8

Toll Free: 1-888-681-8437

Local: 1-604-681-8437

Email: info@feathercraft.com

Website: feathercraft.com

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.

Space Saver

The world population grows, housing prices rise and our private spaces shrink. The room we have to store our outdoor toys is constantly being reduced. We crave the exhilaration that comes from our outdoor activities, but the biggest burden becomes storage.

Skis, harnesses, wakeboards, bikes... they all take up room. Add a canoe or kayak into the mix and your living room space could quickly be a thing of the past.

Enter Feathercraft. A Feathercraft kayak is designed for those people with a passion for outdoor play. Feathercraft knows that outdoor gear quickly adds up (you should see our bike locker), so we designed a kayak that can be folded neatly into a backpack. This bag can then be stored in a closet, in an apartment storage locker, or underneath the stairs.

You don't need to fill your carport with a cumbersome boat or rent a drydock slip at the marina. You can own a boat and store it next to your shoes.

Crazy, we know – but it’s true.

"See that space between the pillow and the shoes...? 

You could fit a kayak there!"

Interested in seeing one of our boats assembled? Check out this sped-up video of a young couple assembling one of our kayaks in less than 30 minutes. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g8YWsdpyQI

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide. 

Rudder Envy

Whether at an outdoor exhibition, or on tour in Japan, or on a beach in the Bahamas, our boats attract attention. A kayak that folds into a backpack is a beautiful thing.

Often the item of interest is the rudder, at the stern of our kayaks.

Every Feathercraft we sell comes with a unique rudder system to keep our boats heading in the right direction. Hardshell kayak owners have admired these rudders for years.

Fortunately, for those set in their hardshell ways, we offer adaptable rudder systems for a variety of kayak types. For doubles, we have a large fin design that comes in three mounting options. We make a cotter pin design for a stern mounting bracket, an end pour pin that fits into the stern deck and a threaded bolt mount. For singles, we offer the same options with a smaller, sleeker fin.

The fins and bolting packages can be purchased separately or as a package. These can be bought online at our website or at our factory store on Granville Island, in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

Double Rudder with Threaded Bolt Mounting Pin

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.

Granville Island

Granville Island is the home of the Feathercraft factory. It is also the site of the world famous Public Market, two theatre venues, a plethora of artisan shops, the Emily Carr School of Design, the Granville Island Brewery, a kids water park, a cement factory and the Granville Island Hotel. Any visit to the city of Vancouver should include a trip to this unique district.

Feathercaft is one of the oldest operating companies on Granville Island. When the area was developed for commercial use in the late 1970s, Feathercraft was operating out of a small yellow shack, to narrow for a double boat to spin. In 1985, operations moved to the current location, on the eastern corner, near the Granville Island Hotel.

The factory now has the capacity to produce a full line of handmade kayaks that are shipped and sold all around the world.

Interested in visiting? Stop by between business hours and we will be more than happy to give you a tour.

If you have trouble finding our location, call us for directions. You can arrive by Aquabus, ride the seawall, take a public bus or park your vehicle within a one-minute walk.

If you're in Vancouver, it's worth your time to visit the home of one of Canada's most unique exports. 

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.

The Stable Life

Sponsons, on a Feathercraft kayak, are the urethane compartments filled with air that give our boats stability. They also stretch the deck and hull fabric of our kayaks, providing a necessary tension between the aluminum frame and the exterior skin.

Like the top layer, the urethane components needed to create the sealed sponson chambers are welded together seamlessly.  

The sponsons of a Feathercraft can be blown-up with a few hard breaths; no additional hand or foot pump is needed.

For patching a sponson, use an Aquaseal adhesive with a Cotol accelerant.

If you plan on storing your Feathercraft kayak in its built format, always remember to release a portion of the air held in the sponsons. This is especially important if you are leaving your boat in the sun.

You can see the rounded sponson compartments on either side of the kayak, just above the foot pedals.

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.

Kayak Spotlight: "Klondike"

The Klondike is one of our most adaptable boats that we make. It can be used as a single kayak, a double or a double with a smaller third party option, for a child or pet.

Its unique open deck design allows you the flexibility (there's that word again) to alter your boat’s structure with a simple seat adjustment, crossrib move and a change of spray skirts. 

The open deck design gives you easy access to edible items, fishing gear or camera equipment.

The Klondike is considered a medium volume kayak, with a recommended max trip length of two weeks.

Klondike's Specs:

Skill Level: Intermediate

Assembly: 45 min

Length: 5.43 m x 77.5 cm (17' 10" x 31")

Weight: 34.25 kg (75.5 lbs)

Cockpit Size: 209 cm x 53 cm (83" x 20.75")

Rudder: Included

Borrowing a certain slogan from a delicious ice cream bar company - we ask the question:
"What would you do 'with' a Klondike?"
We would paddle the world. And we have. 

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.

Made in Canada

What does a 'Made in Canada' tag mean to you?

To us, it means quality control, environmental responsibility and a commitment to the local economy.

When a product is built in Canada, it is manufactured under strict regulations. It is built to preform at a certain standard and function safely. When products are constructed offshore, the manufacturing quality has the potential to suffer dramatically. 

With fewer environmental checks and balances, many offshore factories produce a higher quantity of industrial admissions. These admissions are adding to the global degradation of our atmosphere and are making the planet a little less habitable every day.

When products are produced overseas, the amount of transportation pollution increases ten-fold. When Canadian companies construct their own products, they eliminate the extra pollution produced by shipping.

A 'Made in Canada' tag also tells you that Canadians were employed in the manufacturing process. With the current economic climate, keeping jobs in Canada is important to every Canadian. A strong manufacturing industry encourages foreign investment and increases the value of Canadian products worldwide. 

Feathercraft is committed to building quality kayaks in a safe, environmentally conscious, local environment. That is why each one of our boats comes with a 'Made in Canada' tag.

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.

The Idea of a Folding Kayak

Why do we create folding kayaks instead of rigid boats? The answer is simple: flexibility.

With a folding kayak you can store your boat in almost any living space. Every kayak we manufacture comes apart in a simple disassembly process. The skin, hull, rudder and skirt all fit into specifically designed backpacks for easy storage.

Assembled, or in its compact form, a Feathercraft kayak is one of the lightest boats on the market. Our ultralight K-Light weighs approximately 14.9 kg, just under 33 lbs. A rigid frame kayak is much heavier.

With a light boat that can be disassembled, the options for travel dramatically increase. Check your boat on a plane, carry it in the back of your hatchback or portage with freedom - with a folding kayak their are no limitations. 

Flexibility also extends to the paddle experience. A folding kayak is unique in the way it joins the paddler and the body of water it is traveling over. Wave energy is absorbed effortlessly with a skin design, allowing for a safer, less disruptive ride.  

Environmental connection, increased travel possibilities, lighter boats, easier storage - Why make folding kayaks...? Why would we make anything else?

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.

Our New Blog

Welcome to Feathercraft's new blog site.
Feathercraft is Canada's leading designer and manufacturer of folding kayaks. Our kayaks are based on an ancient skin design. We have replaced animal hides with urethane fabrics, welded together to create a seamless skin composed of a deck and hull layer. Our aluminum frames are ultralight and are made of the same alloy utilized in airline construction.  Buoyancy is achieved with the help of sponson chambers that run along the inside of the frame.

Each kayak that we design folds up and fits in a backpack that can be stored easily in the closet of any home. 

These unique boats are all handmade by the skilled staff at our factory on Granville Island, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

We hope you enjoy reading our posts.

Feathercraft. Made in Canada. Paddled Worldwide.