Customer Reviews

Canoecraft: An Illustrated Guide to Fine Woodstrip Construction

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have read other books on canoe building and this one was for me the best. It has good advice on which style of wood strip canoe to build for your purpose, looks at plans, materials and tools and then goes through the process of building a 16 foot Redbird. It had enough detail (marginally fuzzy b&w photos but excellent line drawings) to guide me, a complete beginner, through the whole process and I recommend it. Other books have great tips and overviews of the techniques, and are useful for additional information; but this was the one that, by leading me through each step in enough detail from start to finish answering my questions as it went, made me confident that I could safely start the project and build that canoe.

I am making my fourth cedarstrip, the first three (Kipawa, Mattawa, and Chestnut Prospector) following the original edition as my guide and reference manual. I ordered the new edition partly because I'd worn out the original, but even after having built three cedarstrip canoes, I found new information and ideas in the revised edition making it worthwhile. The new edition has improved and expanded information about various building tips, jigs to make the building go better, a new section on staple-less building (the style I've used for all four canoes), an expanded section on canoe repair, and a new chapter on paddle making, among other improvements.

This book is a gold mine of information about building cedarstrip canoes, and comes as close to "step by step" instructions as I could imagine. It is slightly limited in scope, for example, by concentrating on only a range of products and sources available for materials, but otherwise terrific. For example, it only discusses (and borrows heavily from material about) the West System epoxies, bypassing some very valuable alternatives that a more complete discussion would include. (Examples: it omits discussion of Mas Epoxies or System Three epoxy materials, which include a very nice new product line for strippers that gives a nearly clear coating rather than the amber colored finish that West Systems and earlier System Three and Mas products give you.) It could also profitably include information on more of the modern designs available (e.g., John Winters' work). But these are quibbles; it is an outstanding book, improved significantly in the revised edition.

A very good book for the beginner. While the lofting of the patterns can be intimidating, the author does a good job of explaning the basics. The plans and the information contained in the book are very helpful. One thing building a canoe with an inner stem can be a bit tricky, you may opt to just run the strips past the form and glue the together this works very well.

Don't expect to get patterns to build a canoe with this book. All of the other reviews didn't tell you this. If you want to build one of the boats mentioned in the book you have to go to the authors website and purchase them seperately for another $69. If you want to build a boat with this added cost look at getting Stripper's Guide to Canoe-Building it has full size patterns.

Without any previous wood working experience, this book guided me through the hundreds of little steps required to build a canoe of excellent qualities. Ted Moores really thought of everything, and if I (12.000 miles south of Ontario) could do it, so can you.

On the down side, the books omits any reference to the extremely useful bulletin board at Ted Moores own website. Also, his method is so smooth and free of doubts, that it helps to purchase some other book with a different outlook, just to relax a little. He does say "professional results" a few times too often for my taste.

BUT, when it is time to get building, make sure you do as he says, because he really knows what is best for your boat.

Moore's book was probably the first to deal with strip building using epoxy, and he has always been one of the best builders. Last time I was at the Canadian Canoe Museum, he was there too, working in the shop. There isn't anyone better than him, and he has written several great books. He was generous to me 20 yrs ago, before the publication of his first book, when my epoxy was going bad, and he was helpful on the other end of the phone.

I have bought this the second book, and I think it is a useful revision to the first. Some of the jigs are better, and the designs are far more useful than those that appeared in the first book. I think they will appeal to most home builders, and combine several modern favorites, with traditional ones. My one small quible is that in general we still don't have designs in these books which are the equal of those coming out of the best factories, say Bell as one example. But that's the kind of thing that doesn't seem to interest most builders.

Others say the mold tables are difficult to read. They are merely traditional. Read them as feet, inches, eigths, and plus or minus 1/16. That's boatbuilding. Most builders will never try to loft these in several views, strips make a casual approach possible, since they are largely self-fairing. That being the case talk of difficult lofting is highly exagerated.

Highly recomended

I've used Ted Moores' book to build a Redbird design and could not be happier with my canoe. The author was very precise in expaining all the steps neccasary to complete the project. If anyone is intrested in pesonal watercraft or traditional apperance this book is a must have.

Coupled with Building a Strip Canoe by Gil Gilpatrick this book will explain everything you need to know to craft an absolutely beautiful canoe. This book begins with a description of canoe history and follows up with desireable characteristics of various canoe designs. While the actual process is described very well, there are some technical aspects that a person with less woodworking experience would have to search elsewhere to find an explaination. I many places the author explains the best way to do a task as well as some options for alternative construction. The method described in this book really is "fine" canoebuilding. The finishing details the author desribes are what will really set your craft ahead of all other do-it-yourself canoes on the water. Keep in mind that there are no plans for actual canoes in this book. If you are someone who is experienced in "lofting" or technical drawing maybe you can make your own plans from the specs the author gives for his boats but for most people they just expect you to buy your plans from Bear Mountain Canoe or some other design house. That aside, this is an excellent book to help in the construction of any canoe and it left me absolutely jazzed to begin my own boat.

A very good book about Cedar Strip Canoe building and its history. I have looked at other canoe building books online, but I kept seeing this book pop up. And I now know why people kept raving about it. It is a very well done book that's a progretion of the authors and others knowledge. Right off the top of my head I can't remember what addition he's up to, but he learns and releases new additions with more information. I have not got my canoe done yet, but I have started. One suggestion, read or at least familiarize yourself with all of the techniques/chapters in the book before you start. You can always look back, but you can't always fix the wood if you miss something. TAKE MY WORD ON IT!!!

I purchase "Building a Srip Canoe" by Gilpatrick at the same time as this book. These two books really compliment each other. I find that designs in the book to be very pleasing to look at as well as functional. The photography is decent and everything is laid out in an easy to follow manner.