Kayak Shop: Three Elegant Wooden Kayaks Anyone Can Build

“The Kayak Shop” includes complete plans and step-by-step instructions for building Yare – a 16-foot, 28-pound expedition kayak, and Pocomoke, a 20-foot touring double that, at 52 pounds, is light enough for one person to paddle. Also included is a section on designing your own kayak, and plans for building paddles from wood and epoxy. Most knowledgable boat-builders agree that wood is stiffer, lighter and more fatigue-resistant than fibreglass or plastic. Here are three ultralight, high performance, human-powered wooden boats anyone can build using only simple hand-tools and a saber saw. These kayaks can do anything that plastic boats can do, for less than half the price of the least expensive ones – and at less than half the weight.