Seaward Kayaks
Founded in Penticton in 1986, Seaward moved first to Ladysmith — “they were building boats out of the old train station,” Seaward general manager Doug Godkin says — before relocating to Chemainus “10 or 11 years” ago.
Seaward is the last Canadian kayak manufacturer that remains both family-owned and committed to producing 100 per cent of its product here in Canada, Godkin says. Seaward’s competition, meanwhile, has either sold out to large conglomerates or moved their manufacturing facilities overseas.
Seaward’s success stems from stringent quality standards rather than low prices and high sales volumes, Godkin says.
“We’re the highest-end kayak on the market,” Godkin adds. “We’re the benchmark for quality, build, strength and durability. That’s what sets Seaward apart from everybody else.”
That guiding philosophy has paid off for the company by earning Seaward both a loyal customer base and a number of awards. Seaward’s Passat won Sea Kayaker Magazine’s Readers Choice Award for best double kayak in 2011, and Outside magazine saw fit to award Seaward’s Halo SR 130 a 2013 Gear of the Year award last month.
An appearance on CBC’s Dragons’ Den is sure to add fuel to the company fire. Godkin visited CBC’s Toronto studio April 6 with Seaward owners Steven and Jacquie Ree to tape an appearance for the show’s eighth season. Their appearance won’t air until later this year, and until it does, a confidentiality agreement prevents them from discussing the results.
Contact Seaward by phone at 250-246-2223 or via their website at www.seawardkayaks.com.
Thermoform boats
Geoff Workman — above left — has worked in the kayaking industry for “30-plus years.” He began his career with Necky Kayaks, then left Necky to found Seaward with Steven Ree in 1986. Workman designed Seaward’s award-winning double kayak, the Passat, and continues to be “the guy that makes it all happen.”
Seaward’s plastic kayaks, including their award-winning Halo, are “thermoformed” in-house.
The process involves placing single sheets of plastic one eighth of an inch thick in the company oven and heating them to 450 F (230 C), Workman says. The heat-softened plastic is lowered onto a vacuum mould then removed from the oven. Boat parts are cooled on the mould for two minutes, then removed and allowed to air dry for two additional minutes. Once cooled, excess plastic is cut away from each moulded part — like the hull pictured above — and recycled.
Francis Cambran — below left — is responsible for finishing Seaward’s thermoform boats. Cambran processes plastic boats in batches of seven, he says. He installs the seats, rudders and rigging before he cleans and polishes the boats, a ritual that takes him a day and a half to complete. From the oven to the shipping shed, Godkin says nine hours worth of labour is invested in each thermoform Seaward boat.
Fibreglass boats
Seaward manufactures boats like its Passat “the old-fashioned way,” Godkin says. Laying up a fibreglass deck and hull by hand takes Seaward employees Cliff Tromp and Fred Izon — pictured above right — three and a half hours.
The process begins with a coloured “gel coat” being sprayed into the mould, Godkin says, followed by the application of three layers of fibreglass and resin. Freshly glassed boats and decks cure overnight before they’re removed from their moulds.
Once the hatches are cut and the decks are installed, production manager Tyson Desmerais and his assistant Alex Walker — pictured below right — take over.
To finish each fibreglass boat, they apply a “flood coat” to the boat’s interior, sand down the hatch rims, polish the deck, and install the rudder, ropes and rigging.
From start to finish, a fibreglass boat takes roughly 30 hours to complete, Godkin says.
