Here is a step-by-step overview of the process of building a strip kayak. The numbers following each step are pages numbers where the step is described in more detail. While building a kayak may at first appear to be a big task, it can easily be broken down into a series of small manageable tasks. None of these steps are beyond the capability of the average person who has ever wielded modest hand tools.

Getting Ready

1. Cut 1/4" strips off a 3/4" cedar, redwood or pine plank.

Strip-building is the art of taking a stack of small strips of wood and converting it into a beautiful and durable water craft. This process has been a popular method of making canoes for years. It is easily within the means of the average do-it-yourselfer. It does not require a large investment in specialized tools or a long apprenticeship to achieve a beautiful result.

Strip-building - assembling a pile of thin wood strips into a functional hull - has been a popular canoe-building method for many years. Now boatbuilder Nick Schade, an engineer by training and a self-professed sea kayaking addict, has refined this time-tested method to build the more complex shapes of sea kayaks. The method is simple, forgiving, allows a liberal amount of design flexibility, and requires a minimum number of tools.

This page will include any updates or corrections to the information in the book. If you see any mistakes in the book, please let me know at Email Nick Schade.

The first printing had some small errors in the offsets for the Guillemot. There are a couple whacky numbers in the Keel row of the Buttocks numbers: These errors only show up in the first printing, if you purchased your book recently you should not need to make any changes.