Building Strip-Planked Boats

Okay, I am a fan of Nick Schade, I'll admit it up front. His first book made me cry; you can see why by reading my review. I also share his background, but certainly not his boat-building skills. Maybe someday. Anyway, I did not want this book. I have the first one, and it is fine (The Strip-Built Sea Kayak: Three Rugged, Beautiful Boats You Can Build). What more can Nick say? I watched his excellent videos, and know how he has evolved his building process. Well, I bought the book anyway, and I am glad I did. Yes, it contains the latest information, but the overall presentation of the craft, the materials, and so forth is so well done that it is worth purchasing, even if you have the first book. If you have neither, then buy both. Dare to dream, and plan to get to work. Just don't expect this to be a hand-holding, "Boat-Building for Dummies" book. Nick expects you to pull your own weight, and all the essential information is in here. You don't have to be an accomplished boat builder or even woodworker to appreciate what he presents, but you do need some imagination. This is an excellent book. Thanks, Mr. Schade

This book is one of the few readable resources of this type and is written in a concise and easily understood fashion. It is not only an invaluable resource for the beginner due to its method and tutorial driven style but also reaffirming and inspirational for the experienced woodworker looking for a new challenge. Nick Shade has a friendly writing style full of advice gleaned from years of experience, never descending into condescension. Enjoy reading this book even if you don't intend to build a boat.

The info is easy to read. There are lots of photos to make things clear. It covers doing 3 different styles of boats so you will find the info your looking for that pertains to you. It eased my concerns about my ability to build a strip dingy for my boat. My fiberglass one is just not very traditional.

This book starts with the basics and is packed with info. Use it in conjunction with the tons of videos on the Internet, watching people build boats. Lots of pictures and simple explanations. The author, Nick Schade, has designed boats for Chesapeake Light Craft, and you can purchase larger size plans for the boats that are included in smaller format within the book from his web site.

If you already have some solid basic woodworking skills and have been around canoes and kayaks enough to know basically what they look like, this book contains most of the information you would need to build one, including plans and offsets for what look like a couple of beauties. It also explains "lofting" in such a way that anyone who got a D- or better in High School algebra should be able to get it. That said, this is not the best book I've found on strip-building boats, but it wouldn't be a bad choice at all.

There are guys that write books about building strip-built boats. They're are all over the internet. Nick Schade, in my personal opinion, (as my wife always says) knows his stuff. He's done it many, many times and he is very forthcoming with sharing his techniques. They work,,, and my work is an example of his great teaching ability. If you want to build beautiful strip-plank boats, you need this book.

I just started building my own kayak. This book explains it all in great detail. The author, Nick Shade, is a master shipwright. Nick offers step by step videos to accompany this book on YouTube. Highly recommend.

Fantastic book for strip built techniques and processes. Nick is a master and book is well written to provide ease of understanding concepts. I am currently building a kayak from Nick's 1st book.