Pirogues and skin-on-frame kayak books

Finally, a project photo! Here is a shot of my pirogue that I built about 5 years ago. I have paddled canoes and kayaks for years and owned a large sit on top kayak at one time. I enjoyed the sit on top but it was heavy and hard to move by myself. After several years of research and contemplation I decided to take the plunge and build my own boat. I went with a kit from www.unclejohns.com It included cypress stems and ribs. I added 1/4" plywood gussets to strengthen the ribs. It is covered with a layer of 3.5 oz fiberglass cloth and 5 or so coats of epoxy. The boat ended up being 11'9" long and weighing less than 25 pounds. A far cry from my 80#, 14' sit on top. It's a great boat for playa lakes and I have had it on Conchas lake in New Mexico. While on Conchas I encountered some 12" waves and a wind of about 10 mph. That was probably the limit of what I would put this boat through.

There is something very satisfying about paddling a boat of this type on still water, particularly in an area inaccessible to larger boats and those accursed jet skis. It is even more enjoyable if you built the boat yourself.

I plan to try some mouse boats at some point or perhaps a skin on frame kayak. As stated I do a lot of research and I have read portions of several skin on frame boat books over the past few years. Each has it's own merits and here is my analysis of them:

Wood and canvas kayak building, George Putz: If you have no desire to steam bend wood this is the book for you. built on plywood forms and assembled with glue and screws Putz' method is accessible to everyone. The canvas covering is attached with nails. Not interested in steam bending and stitching on a skin? If so this is your book.

Building the Greenland Kayak, Christopher Cunningham: An incredibly detailed book devoted solely to building one specific design. It introduces the reader to steam bending, construction using mortise and tennon joints, wooden pegs, lashing with artificial sinew and sewing on nylon coverings. Great chapters on making paddles, spray skirts, a tuilik ( paddling jacket), float bags, kid's kayaks and a balance stool. A balance stool is a plank attached to rockers to help train paddlers for the tippiness they will encounter in a kayak. It also includes instruction on launching and landing, rolling and paddling. If you know you want to build a Greenland this is the book for you.

Building Skin-on-Frame Boats, Robert Morris: Thorough instruction on building NINE models of skin-on-frame boats. Steam bending, joinery, lashing, stitched on coverings. A short chapter on paddle building. Good information on building using anthropometric measurements( spans, cubits and fistmeles). In addition to the good photos each book contains this volume also has excellent drawings. The voice of this book is very appealing to me as well. Here is a quote from the preface. "They are looking for a place where the human eye is regarded as a precise measuring tool, a place where "sweet" and "fair" and "true"are understood as technical terms, and romance is part of the working language." If you are not certain what type of boat you want to build this book is an excellent choice.

Enjoy your journey,

-The Feral Man