Bio

    Sterling Donalson built his first kayak when he was a boy scout.  He built his first fiberglass kayak in 1985 because there were no boats that fit him. Sterling is 6'3", built like a bear, and has only one leg. The lack of a suitable boat challenged Sterling. He did his own research, bought materials and built his own kayak. He also designed a one-foot control method for the rudder system .
At the age of 15, he was diagnosed with bone cancer and his leg was removed at the hip. This didn't stop him from being an athlete.  He took up skiing and in 1972, he became the national amputee skiing champion.
    Sterling grew up building experimental aircraft with his father, his brother designs and manufactures limousines, it was inevitable that Sterling would find his own area of design and construction.
Picture

The Sterling Kayaks Story 
Sterling has always had a passion for creating beautiful, quality hand crafted objects.  Sterling was very familiar with areas of kayak construction and design that could be improved.  The driving factor in his design theory is creating the best in quality and performance.   As he started this process, World Class Paddlers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond became enthused with his designs and tested them giving valuable input into performance.  The  people involved and their contribution gave Sterling the opportunity to tweak  his designs to the best performance levels on the market.

Some of the Paddlers and instructors who contributed: 
THR members, Rowan Gloag, Marty Perry, Kate Hives, Costain Leonard 
​Steve Schlicher--Nimbus Kayaks      George Gronseth--Kayak Academy   Reg Lake--Kayak Guide and Instructor
Brandon & Heather Nelson--world class Kayak racers

Sterling is extremely gifted in understanding materials and their proper combination for strength and quality.  He  can bring a performance idea into the function and design of the protoype he works on.  Part of his passion and character demands quality - refusing to be driven by price - no compromise on materials or design, no use of substandard materials for the sake of a price point - he has to deliver the highest quality.

The research and testing for Sterling designs took over 10 years. 
Sterling has created a system of construction that is in a class of it's own for strength combined with light weight.
Technical experience and quality service with a desire to deliver the best product possible are the ingredients that make doing business with Sterling a win-win situation for his customers.

Any day of the week you will find Sterling in his shop, enjoying the beauty of the current build he is working on.  
A great day for him includes talking to a satisfied customer and hearing about the performance and quality they are discovering in their Sterling Kayak.

Sterling's story would not be complete if we didn't include one epic challenge for his business.  In Nov 2012 Sterling's business suffered a total loss, designs, tools, plugs, molds everything! (see "The Fire" in the same section).  There was an incredible outpouring of help from friends, customers even people he had never met.  Sterling faced this challenge like the other ones in his life, with God's grace and the support of family and friends.  Sterling and his family will always be in awe and grateful that he was able to continue the business he loves.  

Sterling lives in Bellingham Washington with his wife Marsha and family.
For many years, Sterling raced in the Kayak Division @ the Ski to Sea competition racing for "Good News Good Guys", "Team USAble", "Disabled Sports Northwest", and "Caldwell Bankers". Sterling has also served as president of the Whatcom Association of Kayak Enthusiasts and has been a guest speaker at the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium and Coast Kayak Symposium in Canada.