The full canoe catalogue is now on CD in PDF format - this version of the catalogue is packed with colour photographs of our canoe designs (more than on our web pages). The catalogue also has a guide to choosing an open canoe and useful FAQ's pages.

 The CD also contains a copy of our On-Line Manual which uses 65 colour photographs showing one of our Hazelnut open canoes being built in detail, a copy of a past article on building the Christine Open Trekking Canoe plus an easily printable order form and contact details.

 Please note that this CD is sent free with each canoe plan and does not need to be ordered separately if ordering a canoe plan from this web site.

 Also see our Plywood Canoe Manual (below) which goes into the methods shown in the photographs of the On-Line Manual included on the CD in more detail - it also contains details of sail rigs, outboard brackets, floats, sponsons, backed seats and rowing rigs etc.

 This new version of the manual now includes details of canoe 'bits and pieces' - canoe trolleys, outboard brackets and wells, making a canoe in 2 halves, a sculling rig, floats and sponsons and various different rudders.

For further details of the Plywood Canoe Construction Manual click here.

 Strip planking is an increasingly popular method of boat construction (over half of all our new design work is for strip planked craft). It enables the amateur boat builder to produce a beautiful round bilged hull without having traditional boat building skills. It is certainly an easy method of round bilged hull construction and one which produces a very tough 'one piece' monocoque hull shell which will require little maintenance and which will last far longer than a conventionally built wood hull.

 The Manual starts by discussing the merits of strip planking and the types of hulls that are best suited to this method of construction. It goes through the possible difficulties of strip planking certain hull shapes and how these difficulties may be over come. Suitable materials for constructing the hull are discussed including the use of square edged versus profile edged planks and epoxy versus polyurethane glues. Guidance and examples are also given for calculating material requirements.

 Different types of building jig are discussed along with the marking, shaping and the setting up of moulds. The setting up of the internal backbone structure is then covered and after a description of the planking process, the Manual covers the best methods for preparing the hull for finishing. Veneering and glass sheathing are then described. Finally, tool requirements and the care and repair of strip planked hulls is described along with fitting decks etc.

For further details of the Strip Plank Boat Construction Manual click here.

 This new manual incorporates our old "Manual of Sail Making for the Home Boatbuilder" but now also includes several new sections. These include a discussion of the most popular rigs used for dinghies, dayboats and yachts (traditional and modern), how to balance the rig with the hull of a boat (for those wanting to change rig), how to design and make a simple Junk Rig, a lengthened section on re-cutting (altering) existing sails (for those using 2nd hand sails from another design), positioning deck gear and fault finding, how to purchase new sails from a sail maker (including a list of UK sail makers) and a list of companies who sell sail making materials and tools.

 A large part of the manual is still dedicated to making your own suit of sails - rather than being a mystery, the construction of a sail is broken down into it's different structural parts in much the same way as the hull structure of a boat with 76 clear diagrams showing the construction techniques used to make up the components of the sail. The chapters include a detailed look at the different stitches and seam constructions used, finishing techniques, step by step guides to the making of both Bermudan and Gaff/Gunter/Lug sails and Headsails. Also included is a section on the re-cutting of old sails and on fault finding. The whole manual will give the owner who already has a suit of sails, a better understanding of how his sails work and what may be wrong if he has a problem with them.

For further details of Sails for the Home Boat Builder click here.