Replies

1. 
   jc21 | Mar 31, 2003 05:39am | #1

   WoodenBoat magazine is a great place to start.

1. 
   ted | Mar 31, 2003 05:55am | #2

   Hi JC,

   Thanks, I hadn't heard of them before, found their web-page and I'm going to get a subscription.

   Best,

   Rastus

2. 
   sailalex | Mar 31, 2003 03:16pm | #3

   There are a number of options for you when you decide to build a wooden boat. I am currently building a 21' power launch and previously I built a strip built kayak, which was my first boat.Big jump to the second boat but I have an experienced friend who is helping on the power launch.

    The suggestion to check Wooden Boat mag is good ( go online) ; they have a Wooden Boat Store with a number of books of designs and plans but have kits as well. If you are interested in a canoe or kayak there are two ways to go. Pygmy Boats or Chesapeake Light Craft has plans and kits for what is called "stitch and glue" involving flat panels of marine plywood. The other approach, a "strip built" uses 3/4" strips of cedar (like planking) and produces a beautiful boat that is covered with a transparent fiberglass. ( This is the approach I took.) The stitch and glue boats take about 300 hours to build while the strip approach takes about 750 hours. There is also an excellent book(for prospective builders) on strip building ( The Strip Built Kayak by Nick Schade,ppbk$20); it gives an excellent overview of what you are getting into.( This approach is used extensively for canoes as well.) There is also a forum that allows you to talk and get help from some experienced builders that Schade manages. I think it is a part of his "Guillemont" (the name of one of his designs) website. Excellent source just to ask questions if you are interesested in either "stitch and glue" or "strip built" approach.

   Hope this helps. You may find a "kit" approach easier to get started. The "kits" are really only plans and instructions with the wood; I built from Laughing Loon kayaks ( check website) and he has excellent instructions with his plans.

3. 
   Alan | Mar 31, 2003 08:31pm | #4

   Rastus,

   See if your local library has a copy of The Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction.  If it does not, buy one.

   The Gougeon brothers are leading lights in wood/epoxy construction (they are WEST products and methods).  But their book contains much more than just using wood/epoxy:  it is an excellent primer on all aspects from design to lofting to hardware installation to boat cabinetry.  It's a great resource on boat construction--it is hands down the best book I've ever read on the subject.  It would be invaluable even if you decide not to use wood/epoxy.

   Alan

1. 
   ted | Apr 02, 2003 06:29am | #5

   Hello,

   Thank you SailAlex and Alan, I was told I could get good advice here, looks like I heard right.

   Best,

   Rastus

1. 
   Robbie | Apr 02, 2003 05:11pm | #6

   Rastus:  Alan is most definitely correct.  I second his recommendation.

   Gougeon Bros., the manufacturers of West System Epoxy are a tremendous source for advice and direction on appropriate materials and more importantly, marine construction technique.  Personally, I have had great experiences using their book (and epoxy) in restoring a classic Boston Whaler Nauset fishing boat.

4. 
   YAWL | Apr 03, 2003 01:57am | #7

   Try Duckworks.

   http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/

   Check out the Indexes for links to a large asortment of plans available to home boatbuilders.

   Jim Michalak has a lot of articles that are worth a look. Check his archives as well as his main page.

   http://homepages.apci.net/~michalak/

   For books, I got a lot out of Sam Rabl's book "Boat Building in your own backyard", and Glen Witt's "Boatbuilding with Plywood." Check the local library before you buy. Also, see if you can get books through Interlibrary Loan if they are not available locally.

   Ciao,

   CTHajos

   
   

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   Edited 4/2/2003 7:22:41 PM ET by YAWL

5. 
   OLDWING | Apr 03, 2003 04:37am | #8

   There's a really good resource on usenet.  Go to groups.google.com and find rec.boats.building.   OTOH, if you have a good newsgroup reader, that's a better way to get to RBB.

   Bruce

6. 
   booch | Apr 04, 2003 12:28am | #9

   If your midwest location is Michigan go to Bay City. That was the original home of the Gougone WEST system. My older brother's crib was made from mahogany from the boat works in Bay City.

   Material is all in boat building. Type of wood, fastening and grain structure determine a pretty piece from a seaborn coffin. Leave your square in your other Carharts.

   I just spent 10 minutes trying to search out a great book I picked up at Barnes & Nobel. It was on closeout in the impulse section like most other books I read. This was a story of a guy (the author) working at rebuilding and building large wooden boats on Vineyard Haven Massachusetts or there about. Fascinating tale of an author who comes into a 'big' boat shop and learns the aprenticeship of the trade.  The story covers the adventure of Learning the people, the finances, getting wood from S. America, sailing across the Atlantic in a leaky hull, learning how to right a new hull constructed upside down in a very small shop and all the usual stuff of life. The author invested much of his life in getting the information and plying the trade. Worth the money. A valuable read for that reniassance man. The one chapter on riding thru a 'blow with a broken rudder near Bermuda is compelling me to reread that chapter.

   The book is "Wooden Boats" By Michael Ruhlman. In Pursuit of the perfect craft at an American Boatyard.

   Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?

   
   

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   Edited 4/3/2003 8:59:23 PM ET by Booch

1. 
   ted | Apr 07, 2003 09:49am | #10

   Hi all,

   Thank you Robbie, Yawl, Oldwing and Booch very much for taking the time to help me.  I will take advantage of all you folks have recommended.

   Thanks,

   Rastus