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ABOUT STERLING KAYAKS

The Sterling Timeline

1985 – The first Sterling Kayak was created by Sterling Donalson in 1985.

2003 – However, it wasn’t until 2003 that his desire to create a Kayak that was beautiful and beat expectations in quality and performance, would be the catalyst to open a small custom kayak shop in Bellingham, Washington.

Sterling collaborated with World Class Paddlers in the Pacific Northwest to create Sea Kayaks that deliver the best performance on the market. The research and testing for Sterling’s design took over 10 years. Through our proprietary construction process, our kayaks are in a class of their own for strength combined with light weight.

2012 – Sterling Reflection Kayak wins Gold in Outside Magazine’s 2012 Outside Gear of the Year

2012 – Electrical fire destroys Sterling Kayaks. Read full story in Paddling Magazine Everything in the shop was destroyed except 1 demo each of our Ice Kap, Illusion, Grand Illusion and Reflection.

2012 – Sterling opens in current location in Bellingham, WA and does the work to rebuild stronger, faster, and with better performance than before. Through the help and support of the paddling community, Sterling Kayaks comes back stronger than ever.

2021 – New beginnings, same foundation. Sterling Kayaks is purchased by avid kayakers Scott and Sarah Boden. Sterling and Marsha remain involved in the business but may take some time to actually enjoy the product they’ve built all these years. The passion, dedication to quality, and spirit of the sport will carry on under the new owners, operation manager Jim Teshera,  and 100% of the existing Sterling crew. Though the owners may have changed, you’ll still find the same Sterling quality and service throughout everything we do. 

History - About Us

We are hiring!

Sterling Kayaks is hiring. We are seeking self-motivated individuals for various positions – from sales to production. If you’d like to join our team in Bellingham, WA, please complete the form below.