Why Wood?
By Chris Kulczycki

Just as they have for thousands of years, boat builders continue to use wood for a variety of craft, whether the hulls form ships, sea kayaks or canoes. Recently, however, builders have learned to use wood in new ways, combining it with epoxy, fiberglass and other modern materials to form it into thin, strong, composite panels, and to build fast and efficient computer-designed hulls. Wood has become a high-tech material, and one of the best structural materials for kayaks and canoes.

My 19-foot sea kayak is a good example. It weighs 34 pounds and is faster than most composite boats I've paddled. This model, in fact, wins many races-unfortunately, not with me paddling. I built my boat from a kit that cost $619. Had I bought the boat assembled, I would have spent $2,500. An equivalent Kevlar or graphite boat might have set me back $3,000. Other companies offer kits that are even less expensive.

Why is wood again becoming the material of choice for some of the world's finest sailboats, sea kayaks, sprint kayaks, canoes, dories and rowing shells? In short, it's strong, light, stiff and beautiful. Wooden boats are often lighter than comparable glass or plastic craft, so they accelerate quicker and are often easier to handle. These lighter boats are better on shore too as they are easier to portage and lift onto roof racks. Wood also is up to 10 times stiffer than fiberglass by weight, and nearly six times stiffer than Kevlar/epoxy composites. Stiffness is important-energy should be expended moving the boat, not flexing the hull. This miracle material also is resistant to fatigue. Wood retains its strength despite repeated cycles of tension and compression from being wet and dry and it doesn't get brittle with age, as fiberglass and plastic can. Wood is also strong; when combined with an epoxy/glass composite, wood is stronger than fiberglass-only boats of the same weight.

So why don't we see more wooden boats in paddle shops? The reasons are related to time and labor. A mahogany plywood kayak requires 40 to 80 hours to build; and a strip-built kayak or canoe can consume 150 to 300 building hours-not attractive numbers to manufacturers accustomed to popping a plastic boat out of the mold every hour. But there are plenty of professional boat builders who will gladly build you a wooden canoe or kayak. For the most part they are artisans in small shops who would rather create a few beautiful boats than trailer-loads of ordinary boats. Their output is low and their prices are understandably high, but no higher than you would pay for a hand-laid Kevlar or graphite boat.

A few decades back many thought wooden boats were in danger of disappearing. I like to imagine that wood's revival is due to its aesthetics and our growing appreciation of it, but the real reason probably has more to do with plastics and the development of epoxy. Epoxy is a clear, two-part liquid plastic that's both a glue and a waterproof coating. It not only revolutionized wooden boat building, it simplified it, spawning the second-growth wooden boat industry in existence today. Epoxy allows wood to compete with fiberglass, Kevlar and even graphite as a high-tech building material. Builders now saturate wood with a tough plastic resin, sealing it to prevent decay and increase strength. An occasional fresh coat of varnish is the only routine maintenance most wood/epoxy boats require. Epoxy's amazing strength and gap-filling properties allow wood parts to be simply glued together, replacing complex joinery. Fiberglass and other exotic fibers can be laminated to wood to combine the best structural properties of both materials.

Another reason for the popularity of wooden craft is you can build a boat yourself. Several companies manufacture pre-cut wooden kayak and canoe kits that require little more than assembly and only basic woodworking skills. Wood construction is ideal for home builders; the material is readily available, relatively inexpensive, and can be worked with a minimum of tools and skills. It's satisfying to work with wood as its texture, appearance and even smell is pleasant. A few hours of cutting, sanding, planing and varnishing is a great way to spend a weekend. Whether you are planning to buy, build or simply admire wooden boats, you should understand how they are built.

Stitch-and-Glue Building

The stitch-and-glue technique is one of the new building methods made possible with epoxy, and it's the most popular home-building method. Stitch-and-glue kayaks and canoes are built from a high-grade marine plywood of okoume, a type of African mahogany. The builder, or kit manufacturer, first cuts the plywood sheets to precisely shaped panels that will form the hull. Designers develop the panels' shapes using special naval-architecture computer design programs to ensure the panels will bend exactly to the intended shape when joined along their edges. Often the panels are cut on computer-controlled cutting tables with accuracy to a thousandth of an inch.

The panels are joined along their edges with twists of thin copper wire-this is the stitching part. A short piece of wire is inserted through small holes drilled every few inches along the edges of adjoining panels and secured with a twist. As the panels are wired together the boat assumes its shape. After checking a few measurements to ensure everything is correct, seams are glued with epoxy, then covered with fiberglass and more epoxy. When the epoxy cures, the wires are snipped off and an additional fiberglass and epoxy layer is applied inside and outside the hull.

In kayaks, bulkheads and sometimes beams are installed to support the deck. The deck can then be tacked to an inwale glued inside the hull. The deck may be made of several flat panels or from a single panel bent over the bulkheads or deck beams. Once the deck is in place, a coaming is glued on (on a canoe, the gunwales, inwales, thwarts and seats are glued or screwed into place). Finally, the boat is sanded, painted or varnished and the fittings, such as deck rigging, rudder and grab loops are installed.

Stitch-and-glue boats are the simplest type of boat to build and they are very popular with amateur builders. There are limitations, however, to hull shapes that can be built from flat sheets of plywood. Angles, or chines, form where the panels join. Many stitch-and-glue boats have a V-bottom and a single chine, as in a Greenland-style kayak. This is a good hull shape for sea kayaks, but is not as efficient for wider recreational kayaks and canoes. Others designs overcome this limitation by using more panels to form a multi-chine shape that approximates a round-bottom hull. Plywood panels may also be bent to produce round-bottom or compounded plywood hulls, but these can be more difficult to build. If you desire a true round-bottom hull, strip-planking is the logical building method.

Strip Planking

Strip planking is another common building method, although it is more time-consuming so fewer people choose it. Though it is often thought of solely as a canoe building method, it is also used to produce handsome kayaks. As the name suggests, strip planking involves gluing together thin flexible strips of cedar or other lightweight wood over a mold that outlines the shape of the boat.

The mold consists of a strongback and a series of plywood forms, or station molds, that define the boat's cross section. The station molds are attached to the strongback at intervals of a foot or two to create a form over which the boat is built. Wood strips are stapled to the molds and glued to each other. Each strip has a hollow groove, or cove, along one edge that mates with the rounded edge, or bead, on the adjoining strip, so no gaps are visible. The builder might alternate light and dark strips and change the alignment of the strips to produce patterns. With all the strips in place, the thousand or so staples holding the strips to the mold are removed and the hull is planed, sanded and covered with fiberglass cloth soaked in epoxy. Next the hull is removed from the mold and sanded and glassed on the inside. In the case of a decked canoe or kayak, the deck is built in the same manner and glued to the hull. Finally, the gunwales, inwales, keel, thwarts and seats are installed and the boat is ready for varnishing.

A strip-built boat is strong and light-though not as light as a plywood boat. It is also strikingly beautiful. Obviously, strip planking is far more labor and skill intensive than stitch-and-glue construction.

Other Building Methods

Lapstrake (overlapping plank) construction is one of the oldest wooden boat building methods, and one of the most beautiful. Many of the famous Peterborough canoes were built using this method, as were Viking long ships hundreds of years earlier. A lapstrake hull is built of overlapping planks, or strakes. The laps, particularly by the shadows they cast, accentuate the lines of the hull. Lapstrake boats are built over molds like those used to build strip boats. Each plank involves a great deal of joinery, shaping and beveling, but since there are relatively few planks it is a fast way for an experienced woodworker to build a canoe. With advances in computer cutting there are now lapstrake canoe kits that have precut planks and the builder need only assemble them.

Wood and canvas canoes are favored by traditionalists, although they are not quite as traditional as lapstrake. Wood and canvas canoes also are built over a mold and frames, but the wood need not be watertight. Canvas is stretched over the hull and filled with white lead, paint, or some other waterproofing. These are more difficult craft to build than plywood or strip canoes, but they are more romantic. Paddling a wood and canvas canoe lets you smell the great north woods - even if you're in Florida.

Buying a Wooden Boat

Buying a wooden kayak or canoe is more complicated than walking into a store and picking the right model and color. Many of the best builders build to order, not for inventory, and they are often booked months or years in advance. A few companies do build for inventory, but most sell direct; the profit margins are usually too small to allow a cut for the retail store. So how do you find a boat?

The best way to buy a wooden boat is to shop and compare by researching companies' offerings through websites, brochures and showroom floors. If you can, try to take a potential candidate for a test paddle before you buy. Another option to see what's available is to attend a wooden boat show. Kayak and canoe symposia also attract wooden boat builders. Oftentimes builders will bring a few boats to a show to sell; yet, if you order a boat from the same builder you might wait months to get it. Many boat builders cannot afford to advertise in larger magazines, so look for ads in such publications as WoodenBoat, WaveLength and Sea Kayaker magazines. Other places to find advertisements for wooden boats are Paddler and Canoe and Kayak magazines. These publications also list boat shows, building classes and classified ads for used boats. Consider the type of boat you want when looking for a builder. Some builders work only with their own individual designs and building methods, some specialize in boats by one or two well-known designers or in certain traditional types, and others will build any design you want.

Building Your Own Boat

Wooden canoes and kayaks are built by many first-time wood workers. Pre-cut kits contain all the parts, glue and hardware needed, along with plans, instructions and technical help. You simply assemble the parts. If you need more help, search out classes in canoe and kayak building. If woodworking is already your hobby, you can also build from plans. Dozens of boat designers offer all types of canoe and kayak plans, from world-class racing boats to children's models.

Most amateur woodworkers already own all the tools needed to build a boat. A drill is usually the only power tool required; hand tools needed include a block plane, hammer, small hand saw and clamps. A good place to work is sometimes the biggest challenge. A garage, large shed or barn is ideal, but many boats are built in spare bedrooms with tarps on the floor, and a few builders work outdoors and carry their craft indoors for the night.

Kits and Plans

Boat kits introduce thousands to boat building every year; with pre-cut parts and good technical support, you're all but assured of completing a usable boat. Two main options exist: hard chine stitch-and-glue kits and multi-chine stitch-and-glue kits. Both are well within the capability of novice builders. The more experienced woodworker might try a strip-built or lapstrake kit. If you're considering building a strip boat, particularly from a kit, remember that it is fundamentally different than building a stitch-and-glue kit. Though the kit contains precut mold pieces, strips and other parts, there is a great deal of cutting, planing and shaping required. You are building a boat, not simply assembling one.

Talk to the manufacturer about what's included in a kit. Stitch-and-glue kits should contain marine-grade mahogany plywood, not fir plywood. Joints are either pre-cut scarf joints or butt joints. Strip kits will typically contain cedar strips, but other strips such as Honduran mahogany may be added for accent. Ask for a sample piece of strip. When looking at sea kayak kits ask about items such as hatches, bulkheads, seats and deck rigging; are they standard or optional? With canoes ask about cane seats, bow strips and wood for trim. Be sure that marine epoxy is included in the kit-it can be difficult to find and expensive-and make sure to get a calibrated pump to dispense it at the required ratio. Also make sure the required fiberglass and stainless steel or bronze hardware is included. A stitch-and-glue kayak kit usually costs between $500 and $800. A strip canoe or kayak kit can cost from $1,000 to $1,400.

If you're an experienced woodworker, you may want to build from a plan-set rather than a kit, but if your only reason for building from plans is to save money, you may be disappointed. Unless you skimp on the quality of materials you'll probably save less than 20 percent of the price of a pre-cut kit while doubling your building time. If you are building from plans it should be because you enjoy woodworking and want the experience of making your boat from scratch, not to save money. Plans should consist of at least four or five large-scale sheets, typically 24 by 36 inches, and a step-by-step building manual with photos and/or illustrations. Although they can be convenient for the builder, full-size patterns are more expensive to produce and therefore cost more. Making measurements from well drawn plans can be just as accurate as tracing eight-foot long sheets of paper. You will want full-size patterns, however, in the case of station molds for strip-built boats.

So there you have it: the high-tech boat-building material of the past has again risen to the top. And whether you paddle a touring kayak or canoe, you owe it to yourself to at least test paddle a wooden boat. Isn't progress wonderful?

- Chris Kulczycki is a wooden boat designer and founder of Chesapeake Light Craft, a kayak kit manufacturer in Annapolis, Md. He frequently lectures and teaches courses in wooden boat build