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  • Build Your Own Boat

    décembre 03, 2015
    By Eliot Popko/3M Videographer and Kevin Hoffman/3M Storyteller
    Marc Wainionpaa, 3M senior process engineer, holding the kayak he created

    A Man and His Kayak

    Marc Wainionpaa stands poised at the edge of a new form of freedom: after spending 10 months building a wooden kayak, he was about to ride into the water for the first time.

    A Man and His Kayak

    Marc Wainionpaa stands poised at the edge of a new form of freedom: after spending 10 months building a wooden kayak, he was about to ride into the water for the first time.

    A Man and His Kayak

    Marc Wainionpaa stands poised at the edge of a new form of freedom: after spending 10 months building a wooden kayak, he was about to ride into the water for the first time.

    SThe kayak Marc Wainionpaa built

     

    Marc will be the first to tell you: Building your own kayak takes time. That’s why he named the boat “Malti” after the Finnish word for “patience.”

    Marc estimates he put more than 300 hours of labor into Malti. Because his day job is as a 3M senior process engineer, he built Malti using at least 24 different 3M products – everything from sandpaper to protective films, safety glasses to hearing protection. Once word of Marc’s project got out, coworkers started suggesting other products from 3M labs.

    “You sand it and get it nice, and the next thing you do is you epoxy it,” Marc says. “That was the toughest part, the finish.”

    Marc did all of it with exactitude – and there’s one big payoff.

     

    Marc will be the first to tell you: Building your own kayak takes time. That’s why he named the boat “Malti” after the Finnish word for “patience.”

    Marc estimates he put more than 300 hours of labor into Malti. Because his day job is as a 3M senior process engineer, he built Malti using at least 24 different 3M products – everything from sandpaper to protective films, safety glasses to hearing protection. Once word of Marc’s project got out, coworkers started suggesting other products from 3M labs.

    “You sand it and get it nice, and the next thing you do is you epoxy it,” Marc says. “That was the toughest part, the finish.”

    Marc did all of it with exactitude – and there’s one big payoff.

     

    Marc will be the first to tell you: Building your own kayak takes time. That’s why he named the boat “Malti” after the Finnish word for “patience.”

    Marc estimates he put more than 300 hours of labor into Malti. Because his day job is as a 3M senior process engineer, he built Malti using at least 24 different 3M products – everything from sandpaper to protective films, safety glasses to hearing protection. Once word of Marc’s project got out, coworkers started suggesting other products from 3M labs.

    “You sand it and get it nice, and the next thing you do is you epoxy it,” Marc says. “That was the toughest part, the finish.”

    Marc did all of it with exactitude – and there’s one big payoff.

    A close up of the kayak Marc Wainionpaa built
     
    “It’s a different perspective on the water. You see things that you don’t normally see if you’re in a powerboat.”
    MARC WAINIONPAA
    SENIOR PROCESS ENGINEER, 3M
    3Marc Wainionpaa finding his passion on the water, paddling the kayak he built from scratch

    Launching Malti

    Once Marc pushed Malti into the cool water, he knew he had something special. That was the Fourth of July – and the view during a tranquil voyage still can’t be beat.

    See the world from Marc’s perspective aboard Malti, below.

    Build Your Own

    Launching Malti

    Once Marc pushed Malti into the cool water, he knew he had something special. That was the Fourth of July – and the view during a tranquil voyage still can’t be beat.

    See the world from Marc’s perspective aboard Malti, below.

    Build Your Own

    Launching Malti

    Once Marc pushed Malti into the cool water, he knew he had something special. That was the Fourth of July – and the view during a tranquil voyage still can’t be beat.

    See the world from Marc’s perspective aboard Malti, below.

    Build Your Own
    A close up of the kayak Marc Wainionpaa paddling his kayak
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