I just received my plans for the King also. And it's going to be my first kayak to build.I have Nick's book and it's great. I think Ted Moores' book is indispensible for a beginner.He goes into a lot of detail on setup and woodworking techniques that the other books assume you know.I suggest buying instructional books from Vaclav ( One Ocean Kayaks) and Rob Macks ( Laughing Loon ). All of these guys have different but great ideas. It seems to make sense to me to use the expertise of as many people as possible. (certainly including the guys on this board)For instance, if you use Rob Mack's method of stapleless construction, you have to use an external strongback.Vaclav's site has lots of construction tips. I asked Joe Greenley if he could post some pages of construction hints, as he is a master of innovative ( and sometimes simple)construction techniques that seem obvious, but no one else has thought of. Ross Leidy's site is fabulous. He's a master of integrating techniques of others with some unique ideas of his own. And his site is laid out great for beginners in a step-by-step manner.And there are lots of other web sites by guys who post on this board: they all have interesting ideas. The Web is Way cool, isn't it?