__The WoodenBoat Series oden Boats u Can Build FOR SAIL, MOTOR, PADDLE AND OAR Series Editor, Peter H. Spectre asCopyright © 1995 by WoodenBoat Publications, Inc ISBN 937822-34-5 All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this book may be reproduced in any form without the written con- sent of the publisher. All inquiries should be directed to: ‘The Editor, WoodenBoat Books, P.O. Box 78, Brooklin, Maine 04616. ‘Text design by Richard Gorski and Nina Kennedy; cover design ‘by Richard Gorski; cover photograph by Chris Kulezycki Published by WoodenBoat Publications P.O. Box 78, Naskeag Road Brooklin, ME 04616-0078| | | | Introduction The desire to build a boat .. begins asa little clouel on a serene horizon. It ‘ends by covering the whole sky so that you can think of nothing else. = Arthur Ransome ‘monomaniacal passion to build aboat? As my friend George Putz used to say, those who haven't are either psycho-emotionally wrecks or their nautical interest isn't as serious as they thought it was. (There are those — usually cynical, non-nautically inclined spouses — who see the mania to build a boat as itself an indication’ of psycho-emotional wreckage, but we won't get into that...) Some people with a desire to build a boat fight off the notion. They con- vince themselves that they don't have the skills to do the work properly, or lack the necessary building space, or don't have the tools or the money, or ‘can't find the plans for the boat of their dreams. Others surrender to the imperative and get on with the job. They know full well that given the desite the skills can be learned; the building space can be found; 50, too, the tools, the money, and the plans. The truth of the matter is that anyone with a reasonable facility with their hands can build a boat. This is because all wooden boats are built in pieces. If you can make one piece, you can make another. If you can make ‘another, you can make yet another. If you ‘ake the project step by step, concentrating on one piece at a time and paying attention to how each piece relates to the others, you will eventually have a seemingly complex whole constructed of several simple parts. ‘The keys to the building of a proper wocden boat are a carefully consid ered construction plan, good materials, and good workmanship. These are manifest in this book, which describes the building of ten boats: the plans to follow, the materials to use, and the skills and methods necessary to make each project a success, The boats herein range from the most elementary to the more advanced, which means there is something for everyone in this book. The less skilled or the less financially flush can concentrate on a simple boat. Those with a higher level of skill and more money can move along to something more complex. The truly ambitious can start from the beginning, and go to the end, and gain two essentials from the expecience: They will have a variety ‘of boat types to enjoy, and will have gained practical knowledge of the major methods of building wooden boats today. How broad is the selection? Here is what we have, from the simple to the complex The Caddo Lake bateau, a basic flat-bottom paddling pirogue that uses the most elementary construction method and does away with complex W« with an interest in things nautical hasn't been gripped by the ae