Kayaks You Can Build: An Illustrated Guide to Plywood Construction

Description

256 pages
Contains Photos, Illustrations, Bibliography, Index
$39.95
ISBN 1-55297-861-3
DDC 623.8'29

Publisher

Year

2004

Contributor

Reviewed by Geoff Cragg

Geoffrey Cragg is a tenured instructor in the Faculty of Faculty of
Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary in Alberta.

Review

Since the discovery of “stitch and glue” and “tack and tape”
boat-building techniques, there has been a proliferation of plywood
kayak kits, with a wide range of designs. However, the demands of some
of these kits may be beyond the skills of novice boat builders. This
book is designed to help that group.

Moores and Rцssel are both experienced boat builders, authors, and
teachers. Their philosophy of instruction stresses safety, efficiency,
and quality. Their book is clearly and logically arranged, beginning
with a brief history of the kayak that offers some context for its
recent development and then following with advice on choosing an
appropriate design. It continues with two excellent chapters on
arranging the workshop and a detailed list of tools and materials. The
part of the book that deals with building kayaks begins with a short
section that illustrates the process in 12 major steps. The authors
elaborate on each of these steps in considerable detail and conclude
with Moores’s “Kayak Builder’s Journal” in which he gives a
day-to-day account of building three kayak kits. A glossary completes
the work.

No book can take the place of a patient and skilled teacher, but Kayaks
You Can Build will give many novice builders the inspiration and
confidence they need to succeed in their kayak-building projects.

Citation

Moores, Ted, and Greg Rössel., “Kayaks You Can Build: An Illustrated Guide to Plywood Construction,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed March 29, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/14676.