: O'boy, does this sound like fun ... and not only learning how to build a boat
: but learning a new language.

It is not exactly a new language. Think of it as repurposing words from a language you thought you already knew.

: . . . I have ordered the book that seems to be the bible for this kind
: of construction. The book includes plans and info for building three types
: of kayak. On the order page it suggests that I also purchase the plans for
: the kayak I want to build. Is this necessary? Are the plans in the book
: merely informational?

Well, there are a few "bibles", and since you don't want to mention which particular [kayak building] religion you've subscribed to, I'll respect your right to practice as you wish, and give an interfaith answer.

There are several different design tools which might be called "plans". These would include rough drawings, measured drawings, lists of offsets, coordinate graphing points, lofting descriptions, blueprints, and full-size patterns -- and probably a few more.

Generally a book, or a magazine article, is printed on too smal of a page size to include full size patterns. So because of the page-size issue, any plans printed in a book or magazine must be reduced in size to fit the page.

Most publishers and editors (but not all) check to see that there is enough information in the article or book so that a skilled person could construct the project without buying additional materials. If you look through older magazines you may stumble over an article which was nothing more than a few photos of a prototype, with the accompanying plea that you buy the plans if you wnated more information. In my mind these older pieces were nothing more than advertisements to sell the plans, and I'm glad to see them vanishing from the scene.

When a book mentions that you can buy other plans, usually they are referring to full-sized patterns. The advantage of these full sized patterns is in the time you save enlarging the reduced size patterns in the book, or creating the proper shapes through graphing of the points in a table of offsets, or lofting the outlines of the boat.

There is one exception to the general rule about books having smaller-than-life-size drawings. That is David Hazen's book on strip building canoes which also has plans for 2 or 3 kayaks. The full size patterns for all the boats discussed in his book are printed on 4 larger sheets of paper, folded and inserted into the book. If you are collecting plans, I think this make this book a particularly good deal.

When it comes to full-size patterns there are (at least) two varieties available. In the first case you have the method used by Hazen, where all the lines are full size, but they are printed so they nest inside of, or partially overlap one another. This conserves paper, but requires you to trace the patterns onto your wood. The other method prints the pattern for each piece separately. These pattern pieces can be separated with a scissors and glued to your wood with a light use of rubber cement. Then the pattern piece and the wood can be cut together. This can be a great time saver, and if the designer did a good job, you'll get parts that fit together easily.

When building a strip-built boat the pattern pieces are for the individual building forms, or stations. It is easy, but somewhat tedious to draw these from the table of offsets. When building a plywood boat by stitch and glue techniques the patterns will be the full size of the plywood panels you need to cut. Since stitch and glue construction calls for using panels which must align along curved edges, if you work from measured drawings, or tables of offsets, you'll see that it is something that is not as simple as drawing a straight line with a ruler. For those who don't want this hassle, buying full size patterns for these types of boats is the way to go. Or at least that is my opinion.

PGJ