Lightweight, beautiful, durable and perfectly fitted to YOU.
Whether you're looking for a pair or nesting canoes, or a traditional or modern skin on frame kayak design, we can customize any of our boats to fit you, and your paddling lifestyle. With literally thousands of Cape Falcon Kayak designs being paddled all over the world, our obsession with skin-on-frame quality and customization speaks for itself, and whether you decide to buy or build we will always give you honest advice on choosing the right boat for your needs, even if it's not one of ours! Check out some of our customer feedback HERE.
Most people start by asking about the durability and lifespan of a skin boat, which depends on the construction and the user. In general a well built skin boat has a strength to weight ratio similar to any other type of construction. What is unique is that we can build durable boats in weight ranges that would make other types of construction too fragile. To help you understand the subject better we created this YouTube video about Skin-on-Frame Durability.
To commission a custom skin boat, start by sending an email to brian@capefalconkayaks.com with your height, weight, which design you are interested in, a bit about you and your goals for the craft and any questions you have. You can stick with one of our standard lay-ups for a nice balance between weight and durability, or we can go lighter or heavier depending on your specific needs. All of our boats come in a variety of sizes and can easily be customized further to accommodate for individual needs. Our pack canoes can be made as light as 18lbs, and our kayaks as light as 24. (30 is typical).
There are two different methods we can use to color your boat, Acid Dye applied to the fabric, or Rare Earth Pigment mixed into the coating. Acid dye produces rich vibrant colors which will fade over time with UV exposure. Rare earth pigment comes is a much narrower range of colors but actually looks BETTER the longer it sits in the sun. Which system you choose depends somewhat on color and climate. If you are looking for a lighter, warmer color, and your boat won't be stored in the sun we recommend Acid Dye. If you are looking for a darker color or your kayak will be stored outside in direct sunlight we recommend Rare Earth Pigment. We've created this Color Selection Chart that shows the acid dye colors we offer, and to see some examples of rare earth pigment or to learn more about the tradeoffs, check out our Color Video on YouTube. Our Instagram Feed is another excellent place to browse boats and colors.
Once you've decided on a design we'll take a deposit, get you on the schedule, and start building. We are happy to take photos of your boat being built, just ask! Generally speaking we try to finish custom orders within 30 days, and if it's going to take longer than that we will tell you before you commit.
Once the boat is complete, you can pick it up in person in Portland, Oregon, or we can ship it to you using KAS transport, a small boat specific shipper. KAS has several trucks circling the country and shipping times depend on where they are at any given time. Again, we can get you a shipping cost and time estimate before you commit. Typically boats to the east coast cost around $400 to ship, and that price goes down the closer you get to us here in Portland. Feel free to contact them directly for a shipping quote from Portland OR to your location.
PRICES
Custom Kayak $2400
Kayak Frame Only $1300 (cover it yourself or install it as art, we can also make 1/2 scale models!
10-12ft Pack Canoe $1900
13-14ft Pack Canoe $2100
Full size Solo Canoe $2300
We offer the following add-on options.
Double Lip Coaming: This option increases the lip width from 1/2 to 3/4 inch and allows a sea sock to be used with the kayak. This is now standard at no additional charge.
Brass Bow Stem Band (F1, F2, LPB): Provides extra wear protection at the bow. Not usually necessary but helpful for people who make a lot of hard landings. There is no additional charge for this.
Foam Thigh Hooks (F1, F2, LPB): We will provide you with foam thigh braces that can be installed after you've paddled the boat a few times to dial in the fit. There is no additional charge for this.
$50 Stern Drain Plug: Exactly what it sounds like. Requires additional framing in the kayak, hence the price.
$100 12oz skin: Adds significant durability, but also significant weight (up to 5lbs more). Not usually necessary.
$50 Arched aft deck: This raises the deck behind the cockpit by 1 inch and allows easier access to camping gear, but also reduces the useful functionality of an otherwise flat back deck. I personally wouldn't do this unless I was going on frequent multi-week trips. For camping up to 1 week I find the normal configuration to work fine.
$50 Seat upgrade: Our standard seat is perfectly comfortable, but a suspended fabric seat is a little nicer, traps less moisture, and saves you the hassle of removing the foam pads at the end of a paddle. You can easily make this yourself from our Suspended Seat YouTube Video, and we will give you fabric for this one with your kayak.
$50 Perimeter Lines: Perimeter lines add extra safety in rescue scenarios. You can also easily add these yourself using our Perimeter Line YouTube Video.
Most people start by asking about the durability and lifespan of a skin boat, which depends on the construction and the user. In general a well built skin boat has a strength to weight ratio similar to any other type of construction. What is unique is that we can build durable boats in weight ranges that would make other types of construction too fragile. To help you understand the subject better we created this YouTube video about Skin-on-Frame Durability.
To commission a custom skin boat, start by sending an email to brian@capefalconkayaks.com with your height, weight, which design you are interested in, a bit about you and your goals for the craft and any questions you have. You can stick with one of our standard lay-ups for a nice balance between weight and durability, or we can go lighter or heavier depending on your specific needs. All of our boats come in a variety of sizes and can easily be customized further to accommodate for individual needs. Our pack canoes can be made as light as 18lbs, and our kayaks as light as 24. (30 is typical).
There are two different methods we can use to color your boat, Acid Dye applied to the fabric, or Rare Earth Pigment mixed into the coating. Acid dye produces rich vibrant colors which will fade over time with UV exposure. Rare earth pigment comes is a much narrower range of colors but actually looks BETTER the longer it sits in the sun. Which system you choose depends somewhat on color and climate. If you are looking for a lighter, warmer color, and your boat won't be stored in the sun we recommend Acid Dye. If you are looking for a darker color or your kayak will be stored outside in direct sunlight we recommend Rare Earth Pigment. We've created this Color Selection Chart that shows the acid dye colors we offer, and to see some examples of rare earth pigment or to learn more about the tradeoffs, check out our Color Video on YouTube. Our Instagram Feed is another excellent place to browse boats and colors.
Once you've decided on a design we'll take a deposit, get you on the schedule, and start building. We are happy to take photos of your boat being built, just ask! Generally speaking we try to finish custom orders within 30 days, and if it's going to take longer than that we will tell you before you commit.
Once the boat is complete, you can pick it up in person in Portland, Oregon, or we can ship it to you using KAS transport, a small boat specific shipper. KAS has several trucks circling the country and shipping times depend on where they are at any given time. Again, we can get you a shipping cost and time estimate before you commit. Typically boats to the east coast cost around $400 to ship, and that price goes down the closer you get to us here in Portland. Feel free to contact them directly for a shipping quote from Portland OR to your location.
PRICES
Custom Kayak $2400
Kayak Frame Only $1300 (cover it yourself or install it as art, we can also make 1/2 scale models!
10-12ft Pack Canoe $1900
13-14ft Pack Canoe $2100
Full size Solo Canoe $2300
We offer the following add-on options.
Double Lip Coaming: This option increases the lip width from 1/2 to 3/4 inch and allows a sea sock to be used with the kayak. This is now standard at no additional charge.
Brass Bow Stem Band (F1, F2, LPB): Provides extra wear protection at the bow. Not usually necessary but helpful for people who make a lot of hard landings. There is no additional charge for this.
Foam Thigh Hooks (F1, F2, LPB): We will provide you with foam thigh braces that can be installed after you've paddled the boat a few times to dial in the fit. There is no additional charge for this.
$50 Stern Drain Plug: Exactly what it sounds like. Requires additional framing in the kayak, hence the price.
$100 12oz skin: Adds significant durability, but also significant weight (up to 5lbs more). Not usually necessary.
$50 Arched aft deck: This raises the deck behind the cockpit by 1 inch and allows easier access to camping gear, but also reduces the useful functionality of an otherwise flat back deck. I personally wouldn't do this unless I was going on frequent multi-week trips. For camping up to 1 week I find the normal configuration to work fine.
$50 Seat upgrade: Our standard seat is perfectly comfortable, but a suspended fabric seat is a little nicer, traps less moisture, and saves you the hassle of removing the foam pads at the end of a paddle. You can easily make this yourself from our Suspended Seat YouTube Video, and we will give you fabric for this one with your kayak.
$50 Perimeter Lines: Perimeter lines add extra safety in rescue scenarios. You can also easily add these yourself using our Perimeter Line YouTube Video.
