Lapstrake Canoes (Everything You Need to Know to Build a Light, Strong, Beautiful Boat)

Lapstrake boats are built by partially overlapping successive thin planks the length of the boat to make a gorgeous rounded shape that is lightweight, very strong, and stable. This building technique can be done with materials found at any lumberyard or home center. David Nichols makes “advanced” boatbuilding accessible to all ages and skill levels. He has written it so that “any junior high schooler with a bit of focus can build herself a stunning canoe.”

Lapstrake Canoes is illustrated with color photographs and line drawings throughout, taking the reader step-by-step through every part of the process. It also includes free foldout plans for three different canoes, from thirteen feet to seventeen feet, plus plans for making your own paddle and making a downwind sail—an astonishing bargain in a world where a set of canoe plans alone can cost fifty to one hundred dollars.

David Nichols has been designing and building boats for the last fifteen years. A graduate of The University of Texas at Austin, he has written for boating magazines, including WoodenBoat and Boatbuilder, as well as writing and producing boatbuilding videos. He is the author of The Working Guide to Traditional Small-Boat Sails.