The Strip-Built Sea Kayak: Three Rugged, Beautiful Boats You Can Build »

Nick Schade, an engineer by training, is a boatbuilder and writer whose articles have appeared in Sea Kayaker and Atlantic Coast Kayaker. As an impoverished college student, he designed and built his first kayak when he realized that the price of a factory model was beyond his reach. And he's been at it ever since: More than 300 of his sea kayaks are being paddled and built worldwide. Nick divides his time between shops in Connecticut and New Hampshire and paddling the shores of New England.

Strip-building—assembling a pile of thin wood strips into a functional hull—has been a popular canoe-building method for many years. Now boatbuilder Nick Schade, an engineer by training and a self-professed sea kayaking addict, has refined this time-tested method to build the more complex shapes of sea kayaks. The method is simple, forgiving, allows a liberal amount of design flexibility, and requires a minimum number of tools. It's also relatively inexpensive: about $500 to $600 for one of the designs discussed here—one-quarter the price of a factory-built model. In The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, Schade presents full plans for three elegant designs inspired by the grace and seaworthiness of the Inuit and Aleut skin boats. Profusely illustrated instructions provide the details that will guide you through the process.

A complete novice will be able to construct a finished kayak after reading nothing but this book. And for an experienced builder, the techniques here can be expanded to create the perfect boat for you.

Strip-building is the most flexible, forgiving, and attractive way to build a small wood boat. Professional sea kayak builder Nick Schade presents complete plans and measurements for three kayaks:

• Great Auk, a fast, stable, comfortable single for beginners
• Guillemot, a beautiful, high-performance single for intermediate and skilled paddlers
• Guillemot Double, a spacious kayak for two

Here's all the information you'll need to build a sturdy, elegant sea kayak, from setting up shop to making a paddle.

"Nick Schade has managed to raise the craft of strip-building to the art of graphic design in wood."—Sea Kayaker

Nick Schade, an engineer by training, is a boatbuilder and writer whose articles have appeared in Sea Kayaker and Atlantic Coast Kayaker. As an impoverished college student, he designed and built his first kayak when he realized that the price of a factory model was beyond his reach. And he's been at it ever since: More than 300 of his sea kayaks are being paddled and built worldwide. Nick divides his time between shops in Connecticut and New Hampshire and paddling the shores of New England.

Sea Kayaker

&'grave;Nick Schade has managed to raise the craft of strip building to the art of graphic design in wood''

AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart I The Background1 Why Build A Kayak?Why Use Wood?Why Use Strips?2 How Design Affects PerformanceStabilityThe Importance of SpeedManeuverability and TrackingVolume, or Interior SizeChoosing the Right BoatSome Proven Designs3 Tools and MaterialsToolsMaterials4 LoftingOffsets for the Hull FormsOffsets for the End FormsDrawing the PatternsMaking Small ChangesPart II The Building Process5 Getting StartedWhere to BuildCutting the StripsCutting FormsThe StrongbackAligning Forms6 Building the Hull & DeckStripping the HullStripping the DeckFinishing the EndsFairing7 Fiberglassing and FinishingFiberglassingThe Coaming UpMaking the HatchesInstalling Cheek PlatesJoining Hull and DeckUsing a SheerclampFinishing Off8 Artistic CreationPatterns from StripsDotted LinesDressing Up the SurfacePart III After It's Done9 Fitting OutThe SeatFootbracesKnee and Thigh BracesBulkheadsDeck LinesHatch GasketsGrab-LoopsRudders10 And a Paddle to MatchMaking the ShaftMaking the BladesRounding the ShaftFiberglassing the PaddleVariations on a ThemeTools for PaddlesMaterials for Paddles11 Maintenance and RepairsYearly Wear and TearBad ScratchesDealing with BruisesPatching HolesPart IV AppendicesA-1 Materials ListA-2 Material & Tool SourcesWoodGlass and ResinOutfitting and ToolsBooksA-3 Sources of PlansA-4 Custom DesigningDesigning Your Own BoatStealing DesignsModifying a DesignMoving the CockpitLast WarningA-5 English and Metric Conversion FactorsA-6 SafetyDangers in the ShopOn the WaterA-7 GlossaryA-8 BibliographyIndex