“Photo: Jennifer Lail gets advice from master baidarka builder Corey Freedman as she chisels lacing grooves into her boat’s ribbing.In a big aluminum building tucked away on the end of Freeland’s Wahl Road, two island women learned last week how to build baidarkas. To do it, they needed to learn a little history, how to use dozens of tools, and a bit about how boats move through water. And, they had to know what a baidarka is.A baidarka is a sea-going kayak, originally developed by native Aleutian islanders more than 2,000 years ago. Framed in wood and covered with skins, the boats have long been considered the ultimate human-powered, single person boat.Guided during the past two weeks by Corey Freedman, a nationally-known boat builder from Anacortes, Freeland’s Elise Miller and Langley’s Jennifer Lail turned a pile of wood pieces into boats any kayaker would give his left paddle for.Along with a woman friend from Seattle, Miller and Lail took a boatbuilding class Freedman regularly offers in his workshop. The three women were able to convince the boat builder to make the unusual effort of conducting his class on South Whidbey.For nine days, they each assembled their own baidarka, joining wood ribs, runners, and other components with beeswax coated nylon string and wood pegs. They used Aleutian designs developed over the course of 2,000 years, making few changes outside of using waterproof nylon instead of seal skins for the boats’ waterproof coverings.At $950 for the boat and lessons, the class was a deal. Fiberglass kayaks retail at $1,500 and more and, said the class participants, are not as light nor as maneuverable as the hand-made baidarkas. Lail said her hard work in the class paid off with a water craft she could not buy anywhere. She summed up her reasoning simply.So I could have a boat I could lift by myself, she said. When it comes to building, the participants in this class really got their feet wet — although that is not a particularly popular way of putting it in the workshop. The three women had little experience with tools or building, which, Freedman said, is the norm for his students. So it helped that many of the components were pre-shaped, allowing class members to concentrate more on design and assembly than on sawing and carving. That does not mean the students didn’t do any hands on learning. Elise Miller got full primer on woodworking while building her boat.I’ve used chisels, drills, knives, power tools, and I’ve learned how to make pegs, Miller said.Miller, a competitive rower with more than 20 years of experience, said she designed her baidarka for open-water paddling. Though bigger than the rowing shells she used as a competitor, she said the rudderless baidarka is the most maneuverable boat she has ever paddled. She expects that her husband, kayaker Dan Neumeyer, will want a baidarka of his own when he sees hers on the water. Even if he doesn’t, Miller knows the couple will gain from her new boat.Hopefully as many day and weekend trips as we can pack into any given year, Miller said.Miller’s classmate, Jennifer Lail, said she has a few reasons for building her boat. Visibly enthralled by the entire construction process, Lail said she is looking forward to having a boat she can load onto her car and take anywhere for an afternoon or a weekend of boating.Working on her boat last week, Lail spent the better part of one morning carefully pressing a chisel point into strips of Alaskan yellow cedar to make channels for the thin nylon cord she used to tie the skeletal-looking cedar and white oak frame of her boat together. Every once in a while, Freedman checked her work, offering a pointer or two, or not at all. The master builder said his novices got more than just a boat out of the class.For this group, there’s a lot of confidence, Freedman said.Lail said she is also looking forward to another payoff. When she starts paddling, she will get a different perspective on Whidbey Island — one that is only inches off the surface of Puget Sound.It’s mostly an interest in getting out to see the island from the water, Lail said.To learn more about baidarkas and Corey Freedman’s classes, visit his website at www.skinboats.com.”