fina is a foldable plywood kayak created by cristina borràs

industrial designer cristina borràs has developed a kayak prototype inspired by a trip to visit her sister in venice. while walking through the narrow streets of the italian city, borràs’ sister mused how wonderful it would be to have a little boat to sail the venetian canals in. however, the lack of available storage space means it’s difficult to keep a large enough watercraft. this led borràs to design and build her own foldable kayak, which can be neatly stored away when not in use.

all images by cristina borràs

a self-imposed requirement was to develop the design using plywood as borràs couldn’t imagine a plastic kayak sailing along the canals of venice. after all the calculations to achieve the desired aesthetic lines, the correct waterline and the center of gravity, the challenge was to turn the five-meter long kayak into just two meters – a dimension the designer specified that would make it ideal to store at the back of her car parking spot.

top view of the 2-people layout

the final solution was to divide the watercraft in three different sections through two five-degree transversal cuts, so that the prow and stern of the boat could collapse in the center to their maximum length but without interfering with each other. while collapsed, these lay on the back rests that also fold thanks to the wooden ball joints borràs installed them with. four hatch fasteners were strategically positioned to secure the prow and stern in place for sailing, and two ports give access to a storage space, allowing the removal of any excess moisture that could build over time in the two enclosed sections.

folded for storage

the seats made of formed plywood can also be disassembled for cleaning

the ball joint detail allows back rests to fold horizontally so that prow and stern can rest on them while folded

prow and stern rest on back rests while folded

unfolded, ready for kayaking

unfolded, ready for kayaking

prototype progress

prototype progress

finished prototype

finished prototype

finished prototype

finished prototype details

project info:

project name: fina – foldable kayak

design: cristina borràs

development: cristina borràs

prototype: cristina borràs

photography: cristina borràs

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