Pakayak is a high performance hard-shell kayak that happens to come apart and pack down to 3.5 feet. And, it'll change the world. Go where you want, store it where you want, carry it on your back, take it in your convertible and paddle it just like a traditional hard-shell kayak.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Fixtures Update
about 8 years ago
– Tue, Jan 02, 2018 at 04:51:31 PM
Dear Backers,
The fixtures that were promised to us before Christmas have yet to be delivered. We are currently waiting for an update from our manufacturer as to their status. Since their facility was shut down from December 23rd until today, we are only just being made aware of this now.
As soon as we know more, we’ll post another update.
As always we remain, gratefully yours, Team Pakayak (Doug, Zinelle, Day and Phil)
Manufacturing / Quality Control
over 8 years ago
– Mon, Dec 18, 2017 at 03:22:30 PM
Dear Backers,
While we were outfitting the first run of boats, our QC Team (quality control) found an inconsistency with the clamp cut-outs and installation. We found that the fixture that our manufacturer was using to cutout and locate the clamps was changing the clamp location and tension from clamp to clamp. This type of inconsistency could leave us with not enough tension to maintain a seal or give us so much tension that the clamps cannot be closed.
We worked quickly with our manufacturer’s engineering and design team to create a better method. We believe that we now have the best method to proceed and have already begun creating the new fixtures.
We expect the new fixtures to be tested on our parts by tomorrow and in the hands of our QC by the end of Wednesday. Assuming the fixtures work as well as we expect them to, we will immediately resume producing and assembling once again before the manufacturer shuts down for the holidays.
To keep your enthusiasm going, below are videos of the molding process.
And, to feed your anticipation, below are photos of the parts and molded pieces.
Sunshine resin
Roll of gasket
Sections 1 and 6 cooling
Section 4 cooling
Test boats
We'll be in touch again soon. Happy Holiday Season!
As always we remain, gratefully yours,
Team Pakayak (Doug, Zinelle, Day and Phil)
Shipping Soon!
over 8 years ago
– Sat, Dec 09, 2017 at 10:28:49 PM
Dear Backers,
We expect be shipping boats soon! Hopefully by the end of this coming week!
Training the workers who will be handling our assembly process has taken a bit longer then expected. There are many steps which are unique to our boats and they must become proficient at each step. The assembly team will be working diligently over the weekend completing those tasks and setting-up the assembly work stations.
Parts and Molds
When a part comes out of the mold, it does not yet look like a finished section of our boat. At this point it is a solid shell that is hollow on the inside. First, it must cool. Then it needs to be trimmed. That means that the ends, hatch and cockpit areas are cut out and all the fuzzies, feathers and sharp edges are removed. Then, they take a torch and “flash” the outside of the piece so it’s nice and shiny. THEN, it goes to the assembly stations where they install each particular part’s hardware and rigging. 6 parts means 6 stations to set up.
Once each part is completely outfitted with all the deck rigging, handles and foot braces, each boat will be clamped together to ensure a perfect fit, then taken apart and packed into the bag. A few goodies are added to the bag then the bag goes into a box. If you have ordered a paddle, that will be added too. Then, off they go to your house.
Production is in Progress!
over 8 years ago
– Wed, Nov 29, 2017 at 09:36:07 PM
Dearest Backers,
The WAIT is FINALLY OVER! To say that we are super excited would be a huge understatement!
We are so happy to be getting boats out to you. Thank you again for all your patience and support!
We thought that you would be VERY interested to see this video of our Pakayak molds going around on the spider (that’s shop talk for the armatures used in the Rotomolding industry). Check it out at :07, you can see it so clearly! A Pakayak!!!! Well, at least two of the sections. Those are sections #2 (bow) and #5 (stern). Section #3 is on the opposite side.
After they go through the oven, the parts are removed from the molds and put into cooling fixtures. We use these to keep the shape consistent throughout all different manufacturing times, temperatures and humidity. Here are a couple Pakayak parts cooling in their fixtures.
Pakayak parts in cooling fixtures
Here's the color order we will be running:
First - Chili Second - Sunshine Third - Surf Last - Habañero
From here, it’s off to trimming, assembly, quality control, packaging and preparation for shipping. We’ll let you know when the first batch is ready for shipping. You will receive an email from BackerKit asking you to finalize your shipping address.
Stay tuned for more detailed info!!!!
As always, we remain, gratefully yours, Team Pakayak (Doug, Zinelle, Day and Phil)
Closing In!
over 8 years ago
– Mon, Nov 20, 2017 at 11:45:53 PM
Dear Backers,
Our manufacturer is running our molds through their preproduction cycling. They make minor adjustments to the molding process during this time to ensure the consistency of the parts that will be run for production. This process only occurs prior to the very first production run and typically takes about three days which means we will be in production next week.
We will start shipping boats as soon as we can but know that the process is slow at first to make sure all is perfect. As time goes by, production times will shorten and boats shipped per week will increase. That being said, we hope to have most if not all of your boats shipped by the 22nd of December when the shop shuts down for the holidays. Then, when production starts up again, we’ll ship the balance if any.
Regarding details like the order in which the colors will be produced, we promise we’ll tell you as soon as we know. A few days before we start shipping, we’ll send you a notice through BackerKit to make sure your shipping address is correct. Please also make sure your email is correct. We are using UPS as our shipper and you will get a notice including a tracking number when it ships.
As this is a short week for us here in the states due to the Thanksgiving holiday, we will be on premises next week and will take some pictures and videos to send your way. So exciting!
