Francis,

Welcome aboard! My company hires a lot of contract CAD designers, many of whom come from England, and it seems that a lot of them have built kayaks (or 'canoes', if you prefer) in grade school as well. Of the chopped-fiberglass-mat variety that you wrote about.

The book may be daunting when viewed as a whole, but really the process is a compilation of a bunch of smaller, much more simple and mundane tasks. How's that for sugar-coating it? Just kidding -- it's fun, even though it's not rocket science. The only nerve-racking part is brushing epoxy all over the kayak that you've already spent 150 hours stripping into shape.

When you're all done, attend a kayaking seminar or two from Nigel Dennis...

Dean Holland, Michigan, USA

: Have just received Nick Schade's book and hope to be getting the plans for
: the Expedition Single imminently.

: A flick through the pages makes me wonder what I have let myself in for. When
: laid out in 200 odd pages it all looks a little more taxing than when
: viewed on a web page; with the entire build summised in 10 or so jpegs.

: If I'm honest, I haven't touched a woodworking tool since school and the
: pinnacle of my achievement then was a birdbox.

: The last (only) kayak I built was also at school and, if my memory serves me
: correctly, was built of stuff that looked remarkably like Nick's
: description of 'mat'. Not, he notes, suitable for boatbuilding.

: The only thing to do is give it my best shot and see what results. Expect
: some incredibly dunce-like questions over the winter.

: Francis.