The Kayak (kindof)

Ever since I took a walk to the mangrove area behind the house where we live, I’ve wanted to have a kayak to explore it. Since kayaks are pretty much non-existant here in Babatngon, except for a tourist area about 10 miles away, my options were either to buy one of the boats with outriggers that I see everywhere, be branded rich and extravagant by the locals, or try to build my own kayak, since I have the time, be branded ‘not so rich and extravagant, but definitely wealthy, and a little bit crazy’ by the locals, and have a good time with it.
So, after questioning some of my coworkers and friends here about durable native materials, and where to buy them, I set about on my journey to make a kayak from native vines, bamboo, a tarp (sent by Merv, Selena’s dad, (gotta give credit where credit’s due)), all tied and woven together with a native vine for making rope. Just so that everyone is caught up, I engage in projects like this one all the time. I was caught by dad when I was little, making a fishing pole from sumac poles, gourd slices for eyelits, and 12 lb test, and he warned me against reinventing the wheel. I think that most of my endeavors since then have been stubborn rebuttals to that. (Oh, and no, the fishing pole didn’t go well, I think I caught a red eye in Dry River, snagged by the dorsal fin)
Just my luck, the suppliers of bamboo mats and vines from the mountains live in the next village, about 3 miles away, a place called Barangay San Ricardo. I went there on April 30, and asked around about where to get Balukawi vine, a native vine that I had been told is the most durable in the whole island. Unfortunately, they did not have any available, since it is seldom used, but a middle aged man, about 5’5’’ and proud, came forward and offered to go to the mountains and get it. He didn’t know English, but explained that he would spend the day walking and climbing, get me 13 meters of vine (the amount I had determined I would need) and have it the next afternoon for 400 pesos (about $8.50.) I agreed, we shook on it, and the next day I returned, twice that amount lying in front of the man’s small nipa hut, enough for me to choose pieces from that matched my needs. I picked my pieces, payed the man who was visibly happy to have the work and threw them on top of the next jeepney to come lumbering by. I waved as the man’s neighbors tried to sell me their goods as well, thinking that they might take advantage of the American buying vines.
For the next week, I bent and tied and squirmed with the vines to make them into loops, to be joined together by bamboo slats and tied of with mangrove reeds called Uway (oo-wigh.) I was able to buy the bamboo slats for 20 pesos apiece from the man next door to my friend before, and the Uway reeds for tying I bought near the market in town. After all of the hoops were tied and slats were in place, the kayak started to take shape and seep like something that might just work.
Next was the tarp, the material that I’d use to keep water out and keep the boat displacing enough water to keep me buoyant, (if not just long enough for a photo op and some paddling in the mangroves.) The kayak didn’t look quite as good with the tarp on, but was gaining functionality by the day.
Finally, towards the end of June, I returned back to San Ricardo, and asked the maker of Amacan Mats (Mats made of bamboo, tacked up on the sides of nipa huts for walls) to make me two mats, 4 feet by 8 feet to protect the tarp from punctures, roots and mangrove limbs that could damage it. Two days later, I returned to her hut, got my mats, and piled them onto a motorcycle trike and rode away. Since the mats are made of inflexible bamboo, I had to fill up the buckets here with water and drench the mats, tie them, and warp them, little by little in the sun. After putting mats around the entire boat a week later, I was left with a boat that could float, tarp protected through the mangroves, not exactly beautiful, but functional nonetheless.
Finally, I needed a pole or something to propel me through the water, ofcourse a kayak paddle would be nice, but that’s not an option, so the brother of our host family helped me out. He took me down into the jungle a ways and we found a good tall piece of bamboo and cut it down. I kept telling him that all I needed was about 8 feet, but for some reason, we returned to the house, dragging two segments of a 40-foot bamboo shoot.
On June 30, 2010, NoyNoy Aquino was inaugurated as president of the Philippines, first to be elected by means of computerized votes. Also, on that day, Peter H. Barlow set sail in his kayak, made from vines, bamboo, and a tarp, and he did not drown. Yes dad, I reinvented the wheel, and it was fun.