April 7, 2009

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Fairwood Engineer Publishes Cardboard Kayak Book

A college project turned into a lifetime passion for a Fairwood area neighbor.  What makes this an unusual story is Dave Friant’s passion for gigantic origami in the shape of an environmentally responsive, durable and most important, floatable cardboard kayak.

College Project Pays Off Professionally
Friant’s passion began in a college physics class, where students were tasked to make a boat with 36 square feet of cardboard.  The culminating event was to test their boats on Lake Sammamish. 

“Some students were more successful than others, but all threw away their water-soaked boats at the end of our event, except for me,” said Friant.

Because of his success in design, Friant wanted to further develop his creation by drafting a book detailing the kayak’s design to earn additional college credits.  While he worked on this project, a new drafting software technology called Computer Aided Design (CAD) was just introduced to the colleges, now a standard piece of software for architects and engineers. 

Friant saw CAD technology as a tool he could use to draft his kayak drawings and convinced one of his professors to allow him to learn the program in 1983.  The payoff to the teacher was that Friant would teach the teacher when he returned from summer vacation.  Little did he know that this summer of learning would eventually lead Friant (the student) to teach the program to business professionals in evening college classes.  It also placed him in the forefront of a technology that would professionally benefit him for the next 26 years.

Friant capitalized on his acquired knowledge of computer software, working as an expert in the computer industry to provide for his family.  His passion for the cardboard boat never ebbed and he continued to build more boats.  Publishing a book, however, was put on hold as he found himself single with the task of raising three toddlers.

Cardboard Boat Longevity
Friant couldn’t stop tinkering with building cardboard boats, so he continued to dabble in his passion.  One of his kayaks, made 23 years ago, still hangs in his garage. 

“I left this one outside in the rain to show how durable it is.  It’s a little worn, but I can still take it out on the water,” said Friant.  “I’ll take this boat to shows along with the new ones to show people how long these can last.”

Publishing Revisited
Friant’s kids have grown and now he had the time to revisit publishing the how-to book, just completed this past February.  The book's boat plans and directions are comprehensive, enabling a first-time builder to walk through the kayak building process, step by step.

“People ask me construction questions as they work on their boats.  I refer them to specific pages that address their questions, so I know the book will provide the builder with everything they need,” said Friant.

The list of tools needed can be found at your local hardware store.  Environmentally-friendly products are promoted, available through an easy search on the web.

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