Kayaks You Can Build

The definitive handbook for kayak builders.

Kayaks are growing in popularity as a fun, low-impact way to explore the wilderness or paddle on local waters.

Combining easy-to-follow instructions with 472 color photographs, Kayaks You Can Build takes the reader, step-by-step, through the entire construction cycle of building a plywood kayak.

This simple construction process demands neither special skills nor a woodworking shop.

This book includes:

• A short history of the kayak
• How to choose the right kayak for your needs and skill level
• Setting up your work area and how to build a work table and cradle forms
• Details of all the necessary tools, materials and supplies
• Tricks of the trade from ensuring the boat stays twist-free during construction to laying fiberglass cloth the easy way for a great finish
• Minimizing exposure to toxic fumes and dust
• How to avoid and correct mistakes.

This book includes day-to-day building journals for the three most popular kayak kits. A typical stitch and glue kayak kit contains pre-cut plywood planks, epoxy and hardware.

Drawing on more than thirty years of boatbuilding and teaching experience, Kayaks You Can Build enables the first-time builder to assemble a kayak with truly professional results.

Ted Moores is the bestselling author of Canoecraft. In 1972, Moores pioneered the woodstrip/epoxy boatbuilding system for canoes and, since then, has promoted the fine art of wooden-canoe and kayak construction.

Greg Rössel builds and repairs small wooden boats and is an instructor at the Wooden Boat School in Maine. Rössel is the author of Building Small Boats.