People: Living His-Story-Amos Leavitt

April-May 1995

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

From a WaveLength interview by Marika Wilson and Alan Wilson

With the sport of sea kayaking growing rapidly, there are more and more neophyte paddlers on the scene every year. Kayaking is taking off in a big way, but knowledge about the history of the sport is not widespread. Most of us know vaguely about the Eskimo origins of the modern craft which is made mostly from fiberglass, but what about the stages in between?

We invite readers to contribute information or stories to help illuminate the history of kayaks and kayaking. We welcome articles about the evolution of design, about the relationship between whitewater kayaks and sea kayak design, the European tradition, where kayak design is headed... and we're always happy to hear about some of the many characters in the sport.

For our part, in this issue we introduce you to a man who started paddling before many of us were even born. He had many good stories for us and even a surprise in his garage.

Amos Leavitt is a long-time sea kayaker who came to live in the Canadian Gulf Islands some 20 years ago after retiring from Boeing in Seattle.

Born on the east coast of the United States, with a lifetime of boats and boat-building behind him, Amos is now 88.

His marine origins date back to his "saltwater farmer" ancestors who came over to the new world in colonial times. After graduating college and surviving the crash in 1929, he became a professional boat builder in Ipswich and Gloucester (Maine) during the mid-1930s, rising to superintendent in a firm building prototypes for the US Navy.

In 1947 he came to the west coast to work for a prestigious yacht building company, and shortly afterwards he made the transition to Boeing where he spent the rest of his professional life.

Seattle Folbot Club

Amos was introduced to kayaking in Seattle and joined the Seattle Folbot Club. Using Klepper folding kayaks the group began touring along the west coast of Vancouver Island in the late 40s and early 50s. The Club's first trip was to the now popular Broken Group Islands in Barkley Sound.

"You have to understand, there were no other kayakers on the water at that time," he said. They encountered only a handful of fishermen and Indians.

"The Indians were impressed by kayaks, and pleased by the neatly kept camps, so they were on friendly terms with us."

Fiberglass

As time went on, Amos and his fellow paddlers felt that kayaks could be made of a more durable material and began experimenting with fiberglass. After a couple of failed attempts, a successful prototype was produced by the group in 1951.

Amos took us into his garage to let us have a look at this very boat. For a 44-year old kayak, it's in great shape. We noted that the fibreglass deck was bonded to the hull by means of an overlapping lip and joined end to end at the cockpit. A watertight bulkhead was constructed at the rear of the cockpit, with an access hatch, just behind the hinged wooden seat. No rudder was used as the boat apparently tracked well without it.

It so impressed club members that by 1955, the majority of the club had discarded their Kleppers, switching to fiberglass kayaks and changing the name of the club to the Seattle Kayak Club.

Strict Rules

"The club wouldn't allow paddlers along on salt water trips without mastery of the Eskimo roll," Amos told us. "It was a standard requirement of membership."

"Actually, I never had occasion to use the roll in an emergency-I found it almost impossible to capsize a kayak!" he chuckled.

When there was a capsize in the group, however, the group employed a "straddle system" re-entry. With the boat upright, the paddler would mount the stern end and maneuver into the cockpit.

Amos has seen video footage of the modern paddlefloat self-rescue and isn't impressed. The system his club used allowed one or two helping kayaks to come up alongside to provide assistance, where necessary.

Eventually, as the years went by, the original club members broke into smaller groups, although they continued to build kayaks through 1960, when sea kayaks began to be commercially produced and easier to buy.

As Amos got older he began to take shorter trips with his wife in the Gulf Islands, exploring all along the west coast. Over this time period he fell in love with Gabriola and finally settled here in 1974.

Now he lives with his second wife on a bluff overlooking Pylades Channel, with the mountains of Vancouver Island in the distance, watching the rest of us plying these waters in our modern kayaks.