Customer Reviews

Canoe and Kayak Building the Light and Easy Way

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are some excellent books out on building skin-on-frame kayaks using modern materials -- this isn't one of them. The author is very good at impressing us with his credentials, but lamely wastes most of the book upon a pet project that won't work for anybody looking to build either a seagoing, estuary, lake or river kayak OR a canoe OR small boat.

As for the other half of the full title's implicit promise -- i.e., showing one how to build a BOAT (e.g., a recreational row-boat, or a small tender for a yacht), well that is completely ignored, making this book essentially a rip-off for buyers expecting to get, as it advertises, instructions on BOAT-building ...

I recommend "Building Skin-on-frame Boats" by Robert Morris and also "Building Your Kevlar Canoe" by James Moran for the boatbuilders reading this review, supplemented by articles in Wooden Boat on small craft construction using Kevlar-on-wood-frame technique.

I will leave the recommendations for kayak building in Kevlar (etc.) to those with good experience building/using those vessels.

I found this book clearly written and a 360 degree approach to the subject. For persons involved in small boats used for recreation, touring or river running the book seems designed to transfer cost effective knowledge that addresses handling, weight, capacity and most importantly safety. All things superfluous have been cast adrift by a guy who has been around watercraft of this type for a long time in many different environments. Clearly the author is intrested in being thought provoking by suggesting his tested solutions but not insisting on only one solution being the only way. I like this because it caused me to look beyond the surface and ask myself why he arrived at some of his ingenious ideas. As I explored deeper, I found that it was because he found benifits that produced simplicity, cost/value and quality.

Above and beyond all the technical details, applications and design aides he supplies, I must say there is a simple joy of boating that comes through. It turns out that Sam Rizzetta; the author, is a canoist, pilot, scientist, artist, musician, luthier, composer and heaven knows what else. The inclusion of some of his compositons was just the ticket to make me feel and share the joy of boating and creating.

If you are willing to recognize that by building light weight, tough and safe water craft, you too will share this joy.. then this is the book to get you there.

I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting to build a canoe, kayak or other small boat. It's similar in its objective to the book "Building Your Kevlar Canoe: A Foolproof Method and Three Foolproof Designs" (another book that I also like) except this book provides an alternative and I think simpler way to make the mold on which the kevlar or other composites are laid up. This book also describes many more neat options and features to incorporate into the boat you build.

The author describes his building technique mainly through the construction of a decked canoe with a unique shape because as the author states, "it is the most difficult of the hull designs. . . . Any other canoe you choose to build [with a more conventional hull design] is likely to be much simpler and easier to build." In other words, if the reader understands how the build principles apply to this hull, it is straightforward to apply these principles to other designs. The build sequence is detailed, step by step, and easy to follow. The author even provides a detailed chapter on building a model (conventional hull design) to practice and get comfortable with the building approach on a small scale. The book is well structured, there are lots of photos, and the writing is clear and easy to understand.

While the text focuses on one build, the author frequently explains how the approach can be applied to other designs. All the designs are amazingly lightweight.

I liked how the author handled several aspects of the building process: the two relatively fast ways to build or obtain a mold, incorporating cheek plates into the mold, using dacron as a mold surface, how to handle laminating the stems and then reinforcing the stems later for lots of strength, detailed lamination schedule, making lightweight bulkheads, making lightweight thwarts, deck construction alternatives, lightweight ribs, seats, cargo carrying accessories, flotation, rod holders, clever foot rests, etc. etc. Plans for three additional designs are included in the back along with plans for making a lightweight paddle.

Having built several small boats under 20 foot, I can say that if you read and understand the book, you can build any of the three (four if you include the model) designs provided in the book or another design that you might have from another source.

Interestingly, this book is about building composite craft in which the mold, not the craft, is built using a skin on frame technique. The finished boat itself is not a skin on frame craft just as the high end kevlar canoe that you might buy or rent from an outfitter is not a skin on frame craft. After fabrication on the mold as detailed in the book, the composite hull is removed and fit out in conventional way with gunwhales, ribs, bulkheads, flotation, etc. The idea of using skin on frame techniques to make the mold is clever.

It is true that the book focuses most of its detail on building one boat. But, what a great way to describe the building approach in enough detail so the reader can understand and apply the techniques to other designs. In fact, the author includes offsets for three other full size designs, and there is discussion throughout on how some ideas are applied to other craft. Even the classic book on building lapstrake boats by Tom Hill only focuses on two craft.

If you are interested in building a lightweight composite canoe, kayak or other small craft, or want to learn more about composite boat construction for the home builder, this is a good read with a lot of information.

I thought the book was about numerous boats being built not just one. Although the book was very informative it was about the author building his boat from step one.
I was kind of hoping to have more ideas and other methods for building for future projects.

After reading this publication I understood the fundamentals of composite building, however it fell short of production building, which I wanted.

I have built a number of canoes, kayaks and pulling boats using conventional cedar strip or stitch and glue methods, but always opted for conventional fibreglass for the fabric. This book clarifies working with the more exotic carbon and kevlar fabrics, as well as presenting not one but two methods of boat building that I had not encountered before.

This book is nothing more than the documentation of a boatbuilding project. It would be more interesting is he went into the different setups of composite materials for boat building. When kevlar works when your should use it with carbon or polyester.

Additionally, it would have been great to see something more then what you can freely get on Youtube or on any of the boat building forums on the internet.

I have the book now.... Oh well.