Paul, thanks for the thought-provoking questions and suggestions. My first thought was that a stitch and glue kayak would be easier for a first project, although aesthetically, the strip kayaks are more appealing. I have a friend with wood working tools and we would be working together, hopefully clearing out some space in the basement. What is it like to live with the epoxy fumes?

I have thought about the boat-building vacation idea, and that is appealing as well. I stopped by the Wooden Boat School, and they have a course in which you build your own Chesapeake 17 from their kit. I'm just not sure that that is the boat for me. I checked out the URL for the course by Greg Redden, which sounded good, but I didn't see any current or future offerings for that class. This is definitely an area I will be exploring.

So at this point I am pretty much thinking of a wooden kit. What do you think about a strip kit as a first project? Is stitch and glue a better option for a novice?

Thanks for the help!

Linda

> Have you given any thought to what method of boat building you want to
> try? The three most commonly discussed here are wood strip,
> stitch-and-glue and skin-on-frame, but there are also people who build
> with straight fiberglass in rented or borrowed molds, and a few use other
> methods and materials.

> Do you have a budget? Money is ALWAYS an object.

> You say you have no woodworking experience, so I am assuming you have few
> woodworking tools. Some designs call for LOTS of clamps while others need
> powertools. Whatever tools you do not already have you will need to buy or
> rent. If you get a kit the tool requirements are few as most of the parts
> are precut. A woodstrip kayak may be assembles with a staple gun and a
> hand plane, A stitch and glue design calls for a drill and pliers. If you
> need to save money you might buy just the plans and cut your own plywood
> parts with a sabre saw for a stitch and glue design, but you would have a
> larger investment in tools if you tried to make your own strips for a
> woodstrip boat.

> How is your time? Some boats take longer to make than others. Do you want
> the killer design, or something that you can paddle next week?

> What about work area? have you got a spot to build?

> Have you considered taking a `working vacation' and attending a workshop
> where you can build your boat? I've seen advertisements for several
> workshops. Some are a weekend, others are a week, and still others are
> several weeks long. The latter ones are only good if you are living
> nearby. but the ones that run over a weekend or a week can be delightful
> vacations, too. Here is a URL for a class by Greg Redden in Nova Scotia:

> http://www.ced.tuns.ca/courses/1997/08/dt164.html The class/ vacation
> goes for about $1200, which I believe is Canadian dollars. In U.S.
> currency this would be around $900. There are several other classes that
> you can probably find ads for in boating magazines, or search for online.

> Nice thing about the classes is that you have people around and don't get
> bored working alone. if you need someone to hold the other end of a long
> board, they are there -- and you can help them with the same task.

> Paul G. Jacobson