The Best Wooden Boat Plans For The Beginner- Stitch And Glue

By Thomas L. Young

There is a lot to think about before beginners start searching online for wooden boat plans to use with their first boat building project. The space needed to build your own boat goes beyond what a typical DIY home woodworking project needs. You must choose a method of construction that best suits your experience, so it will be important to do some reading on several boat building methods.

By far, the stitch and glue method is the one most unskilled boat builders choose over all others. There are some simple reasons to pick the stitch and glue method rather than another one of the popular boat building techniques. One is that it can be completed in a short time, a couple of days at the most. Another is that you do not need any fancy tools, or advanced carpentry skills. All of the wood and hardware can be found at any large hardware store.The last thing that you must have is a top-notch set of wooden boat plans that are geared towards the beginner, with easy to follow directions.

Some more familiar boat building techniques that would be suitable for a beginning carpenter, require a frame to be built. Screws are usually used attach the wooden planks to the frame. What makes the stitch and glue so great for the novice boat builder is that you build it without a frame! The main material used is plywood. Other things that will be used are copper wire, a whole lot of epoxy resin, fiberglass covering and quite a bit of varnish. The most important thing you will need is a good set of wooden boat plans. One interesting fact is that boats made this way are said to be quicker, stronger and surprisingly light weight.

The procedure to follow when building a stitch and glue boat goes like this. First you get the plywood cut to the dimensions laid out in your wooden boat plans. Then you will "stitch" the planks together using the copper wire. As you progress, the shape of the boat begins to form. The epoxy glue is used to "glue" the seams. Eventually the wire comes out, and you seal it all up. To finish it all, the fiberglass sheathing soaked in epoxy resin glue is then applied to give a nice layer of protection. The final touch is to use paint or varnish to give it that smooth finished look.

To get a full and complete appreciation for boat building, you should ignore the expensive kits, and build the whole thing yourself. From the minute you download your wooden boat plans, you will be able to savor every moment along the way and relish the pride you feel as you put it into the water. As you move away from shore, you will be able to look around and realize that your hands created this entire vessel. When your friends ask you how you did it, you can smile and just reply that you did it with a little "stitch and glue. - 31901

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