Ultralight Boatbuilding

Product Description

Ultralight canoes & small boats are things of beauty, their apparent delicacy concealing great strength. They are lapstrake-constructed from marine plywood planks, each plank overlapping the one below it in a gracefully curved hull. Epoxy glue along the laps gives the hull structural reinforcement, minimizing the need for framing & permitting an amazingly light structure. Round-bilged & elegant, they are built over jigs, but the method is straightforward & not time consuming. You can build a boat that will give you fun & satisfaction, one you can be proud of, in a winter of leisurely weekends. No fancy tools are needed, & care & patience will make up whatever you lack in woodworking skills. All the information you need is here. Tom Hill, the chief proponent of ultralight boatbuilding & its leading practitioner, describes the method from start to finish using a skiff & canoe as examples. In the appendix is a gallery of ultralight designs, all but one of which you can build without lofting. If you want more flexibility, however, you can adapt almost any lapstrake small-boat design, traditional or modern, to the ultralight method. With some lofting (directions for which are given) you may then build a wide range of boats whose offsets are available. & you may adjust planking thickness & scantlings to give your boat extremely light weight with normal strength, or moderate weight with great strength. Particularly if you lack an extensively equipped workshop & professional skills, ” Ultralight Boatbuilding” will unlock exciting possibilities you considered out of reach.