Karen Dillon

Karen writes about the people and places of Smith Mountain Lake in "Shorelines," published bi-weekly.

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What do handcrafted wooden guitars and kayaks have in common? Lake resident Larry Sakayama.

About two years ago, the Wirtz resident and his wife, Sally, were looking to buy a kayak to use on the lake. In the end, Sakayama decided instead of buying he would build his own kayak out of wood. He got started by purchasing and reading the book "Strip Built Sea Kayak" by Nick Schade.

"Until that point, the most woodworking experience I had was building shelves for the garage," admitted Sakayama, a computer programmer who has degrees in mathematics (with a minor in physics).

What he built turned out to be as much a work of art as it was a functional open kayak. Sakayama painstakingly took time to cut and piece together his kayak. He even designed a distinct pattern in the vessel with wooden strips of mahogany and two types of cedar: Atlantic and western red.

"Part of the fun was laying out the wood and doing the patterns," he said.

Sakayama estimated it took between 100 and 120 hours over the course of many months to create his 27-pound boat.

"If I added in all the time I spent staring at it, the hours would go way up," said Sakayama with a laugh.

The process was recorded in great detail by Sakayama through photographs. As he scrolled through the pictures on his laptop computer, Sakayama paused to look at the details of his kayak's hull.

"Once the hull is built it looks like you're done, but it's only a third of the way done," he explained.

Sakayama said there's a great deal of prep work he had to do before the actual boat building began, including constructing the forms upon which to build the kayak.

"Before you start building a boat, you've got to build a lot of other stuff first," he said.

Sakayama is almost finished with his second open kayak and has created a form on which to build a 17-foot sea kayak.

"This boat," he said, "should really glide through the water."

From cutting pieces of wood into narrow strips and gluing them together to applying fiberglass and coats of resin to the hull, Sakayama can recall every step in minute detail.

"It's really not that hard," he said. "It's a matter of just taking the time to do it."

Probably what's most unique about Sakayama's kayaks is they don't contain any nails or screws.

"There's no metal at all in these boats," he said.

Sakayama said he would love to make a living by selling his boats, but is not sure there's a market for them because people may be apprehensive about using them in the water, even though he uses his regularly to paddle around his Three Quarter Point home.

With that in mind, Sakayama began making guitars using pieces of wood leftover from his kayaks.

"My goal is to become a guitar maker, for my guitars to sound good enough for people to buy them from me," he said.

Sakayama should know a little something about guitars, given he's been a musician most of his life. He's also read lots of books about guitars and the process of making them, including Allen St. John's book, "Clapton's Guitar: Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument," about one of Virginia's more famous guitar makers.

Like the construction of a kayak, making a guitar takes time and lots of patience.

"Every stage is actually a whole new set of skills," said Sakayama.

Great care goes into the wood he chooses for the instruments, too. One of the guitars has a cedar top which, according to Sakayama, produces a "very warm sound." The other guitar is crafted with a spruce top and rosewood sides and back.

"Rosewood," he explained, "produces rich overtones in the bass and treble so this one should sound very full."

Each piece Sakayama creates, whether it is a kayak or a guitar, has his signature and distinct Blackwater River logo branded on it. And while he has yet to begin marketing his products, there's no doubt Sakayama will tackle the process with the exact precision and patience that's gone into making his kayaks and guitars.

For more information, contact Sakayama at 721-3838 or e-mail larrysak3@yahoo.com.