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

by Nick Schade (Author)

Although books on strip building canoes abound, this is among the first to adapt the technique to crafting attractive, functional kayaks. Using high-quality, computer-generated illustrations and photographs to explain key techniques, the book provides complete plans and measurements for three different kayaks: 1) A simple solo craft for beginners, 2) A high-performance solo kayak for intermediate paddlers, and 3) A tandem design for two paddlers. With its easy-to-follow guidance and instructions, The Strip-Built Sea Kayak makes top-notch kayaks accessible to budget-minded paddlers.

Back Jacket

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

Author Biography

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.