Product Description

The "Canoe Shop" arms you with complete plans and step-by-step instructions for building three graceful and rugged touring canoes, including a 12-foot double-paddle canoe, a 14-foot solo, and a 16-foot tandem. You needn't be an experienced boatbuilder to get the most out of this book. All that's required are a few common tools and the most basic woodworking skills. The secret is Chris Kulczycki's original LapStitch approach, which combines traditional lapstrake boatbuilding with the simplicity and ease of modern stitch-and-glue construction.With the help of 170 photos and illustrations, Chris walks you through the entire process for all three designs - from reading the plans to painting or varnishing your new canoe. "Recommended reading for anyone contemplating going paddling in a kayak of their own creation." - Sea Kayaker. "This is a very useful book, clearly written, well illustrated, fully explanatory...You will be sold on building your own wood kayak." - "Atlantic Coastal Kayaker".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #348843 in Books
• Published on: 2001-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 161 pages

From the Back Cover

The Canoe Shop arms you with complete plans and step-by-step instructions for building three graceful and rugged touring canoes, including a 12-foot double-paddle canoe, a 14-foot solo, and a 16-foot tandem. You needn't be an experienced boatbuilder to get the most out of this book. All that's required are a few common tools and the most basic woodworking skills. The secret is Chris Kulczycki's original LapStitch approach, which combines traditional lapstrake boatbuilding with the simplicity and ease of modern stitch-and-glue construction. With the help of 170 photos and illustrations, Chris walks you through the entire process for all three designs--from reading the plans to painting or varnishing your new canoe.

Praise for The Kayak Shop

<"Recommended reading for anyone contemplating going paddling in a kayak of their own creation."--Sea Kayaker

"This is a very useful book, clearly written, well illustrated, fully explanatory. . . . You will be sold on building your own wood kayak."--Atlantic Coastal Kayaker

About the Author
Chris Kulczycki is the founder of Chesapeake Light Craft, Inc., the largest boat-kit manufacturer in the world. He is also an instructor at the WoodenBoat School. His articles have appeared in SAIL, Sea Kayaker, Cruising World, Ocean Navigator, and Fine Woodworking magazines. He is the author of The Kayak Shop (1993) and its best-selling update, The New Kayak Shop (2000).

Customer Reviews

Good, but not unique
This book is a "How-To" manual to build the Sassafras Canoes from CLC. If this is the canoe you want to build, then it is excellent and you should buy this book. If however, you want general information on building wooden canoes, don't bother. There is nothing unique in this book (for the generic canoe builder) that you cannot get from other books, or indeed by just browsing on the internet.

The one thing that I did learn was that I do NOT want to build this design. So for the price of the book, it saved me from making an expensive mistake. This is not to suggest that there is anything wrong with either the design or CLC, just that the construction method and the look of the finished canoe are not to my personal taste.

Beautiful canoe designs simply explained
This book is for people interested in building their own wooden canadian-style canoes. It is not a general purpose introduction, but gives plans for 3 variations on one classic, elegant, yet light-weight design. The author has produced a revolutionary method for construction of lapstrake canoes which is based on the stitch and glue method applied to chine boats. The three variations are a 12' solo canoe, a 14' solo explorer / 2 person day-tripper and a 16' two person design. All the necessary techniques are clearly explained and plans for lofting dimensions provided with lists of building materials.
The canoes can be built totally from scratch, or pre-cut kits can be obtained from CLC in the States or Fyne Boats in the UK.
I certainly intend to attempt to build the Sasafras 14' from this book.