Customer Reviews

Building Sweet Dream : An Ultralight Solo Canoe for Single and Double Paddle

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Looking for something interesting to do about three months ago, I bought a copy of this book. It claims that with a few simple hand tools (and a lot of C-clamps), a neophyte can produce a very nice canoe in a reasonably short period of time, which I found to be true. The author breaks the construction process down into some 260 small steps, which makes it difficult to get confused or frustrated. It's apparent that the author had taken many students through the building process before he wrote the book. Then, once the canoe is built, he goes into great detail on painting and varnishing, where I was surprised to see how little I already knew. Following his advice, my canoe turned out much nicer than I would've expected. This is an excellent book on construction and finishing of stitch-and-glue canoes.

I've only previewed the book at this point, but the lists of necessary tools and materials are very complete. Procedures are explained step by step. I feel that anyone with a basic aptitude for woodworking and a good helping of patience, could build this boat.