I'll second Paul's comments.

My boy and I are just finishing up two S&G kayaks which cost us a total of $500 (that's $250 each). We used four sheets of marine plywood instead of the suggested six the plans called for. I simply laid out the hull panels out in CAD first and found they easily fit on one sheet (16 foot kayaks).

We use Raka epoxy and fibreglas and saved over 50% of the cost over the 'BIG' boys epoxy.

For the Chesapeake 16LT, we bought plans and for the Cape Chrles we used plans from the book.

Another item to think about is how you will use this kayak. If it is for rocky hard surf, you had better not scrimp too much or we will read about you in the obituaries. If it is for small, inland lakes, rivers and mostly flatwater, that is a whole different story.

So, I agree with Paul, do not be penny wise and pound foolish. When you are looking at the places you want to save money, look at the whole picture.

> Look at the review of The Strippers Guide to Canoe Building, by David
> Hazen at www.amazon.com for my expanded comments on this book. Around $18
> plus a few bucks for shipping.

> The book comes with full size plans for several canoes and two kayaks
> (three if you stretch one of them as mentioned in the text). The text is a
> very complete instructional guide and includes ideas and rough plans for
> rudders, sails, and paddles. (the drawings are there, you can change the
> measurements to suit your needs)

> It is an older book, written when polyester resin was the common choice
> for boat building, so you'll want to ignore the comments on resins (unless
> you opt to go with polyester over epoxy)

> Nick has free plans for a stitch and glue kayak on this board.

> If you are thinking of maximum savings the place to cut costs may not be
> in getting the cheapest plans. Instead you may want to get plans for the
> boat that will go together fastest and with inexpensive materials. A boat
> that does not need to be sheathed in fiberglass would save you about $100
> (or more) over one that needed a glass and resin exterior and interior.
> That points to stitch and glue construction, or skin on frame.

> As I recall, George Putz says in his book that you can build a boat to his
> design (skin on frame) for $200 to $250, and I think that is a pretty
> close estimate. Figuring about $40 for forms (reuseable if you build more
> than one boat) $60 for the lumber and hardware for the frame, $100 for the
> skin fabric and $50 for paint and varnish you come out to $250. If you
> have scrap for making the forms, (save $40) and get a deal on lumber for
> the frame (chop down a tree and cut your own?) and can find a good deal on
> good paint, or opt for cheap paint instead (save another $35 probably) you
> can cut the cost to around $150, with most of that going for the fabric
> for the skin. (Don't skrimp here, get good stuff. It will be your major
> cost. Budget for it.) Clark Craft has several pages of designs for
> cloth-covered kayaks in their catalog ($5 for their plans catalog. Their
> materials price list is free, and it has a very good grade of heavy duty
> canvas for kayaks -- thicker and stronger than the #10 duck I've seen in
> fabric stores -- and at a good price. They charged about $30 for a set of
> plans for most of the fabric covered kayaks, last I checked).

> With stitch and glue there are several plans that use inexpensive lauan
> plywood instead of okume. You'll need fiberglass tape and about a quart of
> epoxy resin to fillet and reinforce the seams, but in many designs you can
> then just put on a few coats of marine paint to finish things. The obvious
> camparison here is: Is it worth it to spend $30 to $70 for plans for a
> boat that does not use a lot of glass cloth and resin, or to build with
> ``free'' plans if they require you to cover the entire boat with glass
> cloth and resin?

> Most plans specify how much lumber is required. Some designs are strange
> lengths as they are designed to get the most out of a small number of
> sheets of plywood. A boat you can build from 2 sheets will cost less than
> one that requires 4 sheets. If you can get by with a shorter boat, you'll
> save $.

> Best of luck on your building project.

> Paul G. Jacobson