: Alright, I am new to the building of kayaks, but would like any and all
: information on: How to get started, What type of kayak will be the best
: for a first time builder to build, where to get plans, how much time and
: $$ i should be prepared for, etc.

: I thouroughly enjoy basic wood-working, but am very interested in taking on
: this project....

We were all newbies at one time. Welcome to the group

First look through some books on building kayaks. Read them thoroughly and you'll get some understanding of the language used.

Your local library may not have the titles you want in stock, but ask about interlibrary loans. There are many libraries that use this method to tap into a huge book reserve.

Use amazon.com as a resource for finding titles. Start by doing a search for Nick Schade's book on building kayaks. Copy down the ISBN number. You'll see where Amazon lists other books on the topic (boat building) Check out each of them, and also any new links that may turn up. You may get a lsit of 20 books. Take the ISBN numbers with when you go to your library and the librarian can help you search for the books.

Also check out as many of the online links on this bulletin board as you can.

Books you can't find at the library you'll probably want to buy.

There are three types of wood kayaks (in general) that we discuss building here.

One is made of wood strips that are edge glued and covered with fiberglass cloth and resin. These "strippers" are the most time consuming and costly, but they are beautiful to look at and the freedom to personalize a design is great. If you make your own strips (and already have the tools) your cost for wood for the strips can be under $50. Fiberglass and resin can add another $200 to $300. You'll need additional money for wood for the building forms and the strongback that these forms are secured to. Buying precut strips, precut forms, or kits with forms and strips is an option. Of course, anything you buy ready-to-use will cost you more $, but save you time. 300 hours is a good average time for construction, with low times in the 200 hour range, and high times of over 500 hours (but those boats are either jinxed, or works of art). YOu'll probably bee close to the average. That is a lot of weekends. Partial and complete kits can be almost any price, depending on what you get.

The second style is made from narrow plywood panels which are cut to an exact size and assembled (usually with temporary wire connectors). This is what is known as stitch and glue construction. These boats may be covered with fiberglass on the outside only, on outside and inside, or not at all, depending on the design and designer. Because there are fewer parts the assembly goes faster. Because the plywood is relatively inexpensive, and there may not be as much foberglass used, the cost of these boats is a bit less than a strip built boat. Kits with precut plywood pieces are available, as are plans. The kits are the most expensive option, but construction time with a kit is far less than building from plans. Kits start in the $700 ballpark and go up. You can assemble a kit in about 6 weeks, figuring some evenings and weekends, or about 75 to 150 hours.

The third style is a boat with a wood frame, typically made up of long wood strips secured over frames or ribs. The frame is covered with a durable, waterproof fabric covering (or skin) giving this mehtod of boat building the name of "Skin on frame". Because these boats do no use fiberglass at all, you save on such materials. Since the skin is a taut fabric, you don't need to sand it, which save many hours of construction. This type of boat is usually the fastest to build and the cheapest. You can build a boat like this in under a month, working weekends, for under $250. Typically it takes a bit longer, but the price seems to be about right. About 75 to 100 hours.

Hope this helps.

PGJ