Welcome to Makeacanoe.com which takes the place of canoesandskiffs.com and concentrates purely on the ever growing Selway Fisher Design range of canoes and kayaks for the home boatbuilder. Our range of skiffs can still be seen along with all our other designs at www.selway-fisher.com.

Building a stitch and tape canoe is a quick and low cost way to get afloat which requires only basic woodworking skills. Ordinary Exterior (WBP) ply and exterior household paints and varnishes are often used and along with some simple DIY tools and a garage or temporary shelter to build in, a canoe can be put together in as little as 2 weekends and the intervening evenings.

So, the outlay in terms of cost, finding suitable materials and time is relatively small allowing the builder to be on the water quickly in a boat that he/she has made for themselves.

Alternatively, someone looking for a longer and more involved project for the winter evenings may consider building one of our beautiful Cedar Strip canoes. Still not requiring more than reasonable woodworking skills and tools, the builder ends up with a very attractive craft which will turn heads wherever it is used.

For both types of canoe enthusiast, Makeacanoe.com has been set up to provide an inspiring shop window and a place of information and support for all matters to do with home canoe and kayak building. We hope you enjoy Makeacanoe.com and welcome any comments and suggestions you may have to help us provide what you, the home canoe builder needs.

On this site you will find a wide range of over 55 canoes and kayaks including :-

• 9 Kayaks (including one built using the strip plank method).

• 17 ply open canoes up to 15'.

• 10 ply open canoes 15' to 17'.

• 10 ply canoes over 17'.

• 5 strip planked open canoes.

• 6 motor canoes.

• 5 sailing canoes (plus another 8 of our other open canoes which come with sail plans).

What is on this site? - this is quite a large site with details of all of our canoe and kayak designs plus descriptions of our design catalogues and construction manuals.
You will see at the top of this page - links to the various different pages describing the designs etc. A brief description of the design packages & services can be found below along with ordering information plus a list of site updates. Please read the ordering information carefully as there are now several ways in which you can place an order.

The Design Packages - all designs are complete for amateur DIY construction (unless otherwise stated) and have details, notes and a building procedure - please note that we also run a full back-up service allowing you to contact us by phone/fax, post or e-mail with any queries you may have before, during or after construction - we also have several Construction Manuals as an aid for those unfamiliar with modern boat-building or who want to keep up with the latest techniques.
The 2 main construction techniques used for these designs are:-

• Stitch & Tape plywood using computer generated hull panel shapes.

• Cedar Strip Plank using computer generated and faired mould shapes.

Using our YachtCAD system, we can change from one construction method to another in a design and we can often  offer details for clinker ply construction for any of our designs too.

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO VISIT EACH SECTION OF OUR CANOE & SKIFF PLAN RANGE 

The Designs
Kayaks	Open Ply Canoes up to15'
Open Ply Canoes 15' to 17'	Open Ply Canoes over 17'
Open Strip Plank Canoes	Motor Canoes
Sailing Canoes

Ordering Plans, Manuals & Catalogues - there are several ways in which you can place an order with us - these are separated into 2 mains methods :-

• Directly with your credit/debit card whilst you are on-line - we have added an Ordering Cart system which allows you to add the plans etc you wish to order to the Cart before going to the secure area to place your order. You will find a "Buy Plan Now" button under the description of each item.
  Please Note - for the moment, the On-Line Ordering Cart does not add the cost of Postage (Shipping) to your order - however postage & packing charges will be added - for a note of these P&P charges please go to the Postage (Shipping) Charges Table. All card transactions are in Sterling.

• By Post, Fax, E-mail or Phone - for those who do not wish to order on-line, we have retained our Order Form - go to our Post/Fax Order Form page (see also the Navigation bar at the top of this page for a link) and you will find an order form which you can print out, fill-in and send by post or fax with either your credit/debit card details or cheque/postal order.

• Note that there are 2 "Buy Plan Now" buttons for each set of plans - one for UK/EU customers which includes VAT and one for USA/Elsewhere customers which excludes VAT. Catalogues and Manuals do not incur VAT for UK/EU customers and these items therefore only have one "Buy Now Button".

• Please note that all credit/debit card transactions have to be done in Pounds Sterling - the US Dollar prices given in the price lists are estimated at an exchange rate of 1.6 USD = £1 Sterling and therefore our US clients may find the amount charged on their card statements will vary (up or down) from the US price given, if the exchange rate at the time is different - however, do remember that we are more than happy to accept payment by personal US Dollar cheque at the US Dollar price given in the price lists if you would prefer to order by Post - go to the  Post/Fax Order Form  page.

List of Latest Site Updates

• 01/10/07 - Addition of 2 new designs - the Prospector 17 open canoe and Dragon 35 racing canoe.

• 11/10/07 - Katie and Mike's Canoe Building page, a page of canoe Bits and Pieces (rudders, sails etc) and a FAQ page added.

• 12/10/07 - More added to the Bits and Pieces and FAQ's pages.

• 29/10/07 - More on Katie and Mike's canoe building page and on the New design page.

• 12/12/07 - Boatbuilding DVD - although based on a SFDesign Coble, all the hints and tips are relevant to stitch and tape construction for a plywood canoe - go to Canoe Catalogues & Manuals.

• 26/01/08 - photo of Baby Kate added.

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