Customer Reviews

The Kayak Shop: Three Elegant Wooden Kayaks Anyone Can Build

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellant book. Very educational and inspiring. The only problem I can see is that you do need to buy the plans to build the boats and unless you can loft the plans that are printed in the book, plans for these three kayaks are no longer available. "The New Kayak Shop" also by Chris Kulczycki is virtually the same book with not so much "three more" boats you can build but the improved versions of this books boats. In other words it replaces this book. Unless you are a dyed in the wool bookaholic like myself, just buy "The New Kayak Shop". Plans and kits are available for those boats and that combined with the quality of instruction from the book practically guarantees a high quality kayak at a very low price along with builders bragging rights.

If you have ever considered building your own sea kayak, The Kayak Shop is required reading. The author clearly and effectively describes the steps involved in building these simple but elegant boats. It covers everything from materials and tools, to painting and varnishing tips and everything in between. The book is also nicely illustrated with photographs demonstrating specific building techniques. After reading this book, I built my own stitch and glue kayak from one of the author's kits. I referenced The Kayak Shop constantly during the process.

There are about four books out by the same publisher on the subject of building your own kayaks. This one I read while building the one by G. Putz.

In the home garage, you can make strip kayaks or covered frame boats. This particular book describes a way of boat-building that is popular in parts of Europe - stitched marine plywood. I'd never heard of this before; the practice of sewing two halves of a hull together with wire and then applying a resilient epoxy.

It appears that this is an excellent way to make a kayak efficiently and with less effort than the other types. Another advantage is space on the interior for storage and leg-room which the frame boats do not afford. Also, these look NICE. Had I not started on a canvas number, I would have made one of these.

Very well written, lots of detail. The author clearly has a lot of experience building these things. You could easily follow along like a cookbook's recipe - nicely done.

Mr. Kulczycki makes kayak building easy to understand no matter what kayak you are building. Step by step direction and photos help the reader to understand the process of building. It makes you want to get up and build a kayak.

Easy to understand,great boats

This book was easy to follow - I made the kayak, and did not buy any plans. An opaque projector and poster board worked. I really enjoy my boat.

If you're going to build a stitch and glue wooden kayak you should read this book. If you're thinking of building a Chesapeake Light Craft (CLC) kayak, you're crazy not to read this book. Well written, and very informative, this book comes off the shelf periodically to guide me through my kayak building projects.

Very good intro to building stitch and glue boats. It would be a little easier to redraw to full size if the prints in the book included all of the needed dimensions. I have CAD, but I had to play around a little with the radii on the bow and stern to get them right. Unless I wanted to spend additional money on the full size plans from the author. Still, I consider this the "bible" for this type of boat construction.

Concise and clear, I was left feeling as if I really could build a kayak. The 3 kayaks use different plywood stitching construction methods, so you get a good coverage of techniques. However you will still need to go buy usable plans -- from the author! (In spite of some nonsense to the contrary in the intro.)

Still, the book is good enough that I'm satisfied with my purchase. If you plan on building a kayak, no matter whose plans you use, this book is a good investment.

Owner of "Stitch-and-Glue Boatbuilding" of the same author, I was curious to learn about the compounded-plywood design technique that is not described there; I also had a kind of archeological interest about the style and the contents of the first Kulczycki.
Of course there is a remarkable evolution between the first and the last work, but The Kayak Shop seems to me to be still a valuable book that covers nearly all the aspects of plywood kayak construction, and is available at a cheap price.
Last but not least it is written in a clear and plain language, appreciated from a foreigner.
I could learn about the compound technique, and now I can build a kayak that is no longer offered from Chesapeake Light Craft, using a plan provided in the book.
For me is enough for being satisfied from this purchase