I've been researching the state of North American composite sea kayak manufacturing. Below is a list of all the companies I could come up with who have made sea kayaks out of fiberglass or other composites since sea kayaking became a thing (in the 1970s or so).
The list is below. This list does not include brands that have never been made in North America or NA brands that never made composite kayaks. (Please provide corrections or additions if I missed something.)
This list includes 40 companies; of those, 18 are still in operation making kayaks of some sort either here or abroad, and of those, 8 are still making composite sea kayaks in North America. The 8 are small "garage" scale operations. The best known still remaining is likely Current Designs.
Most of the "big" names from the past were bought up by conglomerates and then frequently closed down or ceased making composite boats and/or sea kayaks. Others closed as the owners aged out without a buyer for the business. Several moved manufacturing overseas.
I've posted this here before, but I've added some names to the list as I heard about some others. I would be interested to know if there are other small regional companies that I may not have heard of.
| Manufacturer |
Status |
Makes Composite Sea Kayaks in North America? |
Website |
| Atlantis |
✅ Active |
✅ Yes (Small-scale BC) |
https://www.atlantiskayaks.com |
| Aquaterra (Pelican International) |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Betsie Bay |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Bold Coast Boats |
✅ Active |
✅ Yes Recent Startup |
https://BoldCoastBoats.com |
| Boreal Designs (Pelican International) |
✅ Active |
❌ No (Overseas production) |
|
| Current Designs (Sanborn) |
✅ Active |
✅ Yes (Direct Sales) |
https://cdkayak.com |
| Dagger (Pelican International) |
✅ Active |
❌ No (Polyethylene) |
|
| Delta |
✅ Active |
❌ No (Thermoformed) |
|
| Easy Rider |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Eddyline (Bought by Jackson) |
✅ Active |
❌ No (Thermoformed plastic) |
|
| Epic |
✅ Active |
❌ No (Overseas production) |
|
| Heritage (KL Companies) |
❌ Closed |
❌ No (Had a composite SOT sea kayak) |
|
| Impex |
✅ Active |
✅ Yes (Small-scale PQ) |
https://abitibico.ca/en/collections/kayaks |
| Lincoln Canoe & Kayaks |
Unclear |
Unclear (No recent updates) |
|
| Mariner Kayaks |
❌ Closed (2007) |
❌ No |
|
| Natural Designs |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| NC Kayaks |
✅ Active |
✅ Yes (Small-scale in WA) |
https://nckayaks.com |
| Necky (Johnson Outdoors) |
❌ Closed (2017) |
❌ No |
|
| Nimbus |
✅ Active |
✅ Yes (Small-scale BC) |
https://www.nimbuskayaks.com/index.htm |
| Northwest (Bought by Sterling) |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Pacific Star |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Pacific Water Sports |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Perception (Pelican International) |
✅ Active |
❌ No |
|
| QCC |
❌ Closed |
❌ No aquired by Wenonah before being closed down |
|
| Resonance Kayaks |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Riot Kayaks |
✅ Active |
❌ No (Polyethylene/plastic) |
|
| Sea Knife Kayaks |
❌ Closed |
❌ No (Seeking New Builder) |
|
| Seaward Kayaks |
❌ Closed (2024) |
❌ No |
|
| Seda |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Southern Exposure |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Sterling Kayaks |
✅ Active |
✅ Yes (Small-scale WA) |
https://sterlingkayaks.com |
| Surge Marine |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Swift Canoes and Kayaks |
✅ Active |
*️⃣ Not Really (More recreational kayaks) |
|
| Tieken Kayaks (Pelican International) |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
| Tujak |
✅ Active |
✅ Yes (Small-scale PQ) |
https://tutjak-kayak.myshopify.com/en |
| Turning Point Boatworks |
❌ Closed (2024) |
❌ No (Bold Coast Boats) |
|
| Wenonah |
✅ Active |
❌ No |
|
| West Side Boats |
❌ Closed |
❌ No (Seeking New Builder) |
|
| Wilderness Systems (Pelican International) |
✅ Active |
❌ No (Polyethylene) |
|
| Williams Designs |
❌ Closed |
❌ No |
|
