I well remember the first boat that I built. Twelve foot long and bright orange I constructed it when I was still at high school. Looking back now it was pretty rough but I had a lot of fun with that boat and it obviously made an big impression on me as I have built several boats for my own use since. That first boat was built from a set of plans; constructed of plywood and solid lumber I recall transferring the shapes to the expensive plywood and other parts took up an extraordinary amount of time if only I had started with a kit things would have been so much easier.
Building from a kit makes so much sense. All the parts are cut out for you, often on a computer controlled machine so you know that are going to fit and providing that you can follow some fairly simple instructions I believe that almost anyone can build an acceptable craft. The last boat that I built was from a kit supplied by Chesapeake Light Craft. Just about everything came with the kit except the paint and varnish, which you supply along with several weekends and evenings to build it. CLC kits like many other kit boats are built from marine plywood which is glued together with epoxy resin, the pre cut panels are initially temporarily stitched together with copper wires the seams glued with resin which when dry allows the stitches to be withdrawn and the boat finished off.
Building a kit makes an ideal winter project and lest you think that there is a huge time commitment I spent 40 hours building the Eastport pram from opening the box to completion, I then spent another 40 hours or so sanding, varnishing and painting. What is not mentioned in the plans is the satisfaction that you get from building your own boat and until you have actually done it it can be hard to describe; a smug feeling that you have actually constructed a craft with your own hands that is denied to most boat owners.
Apart from the kit itself you need space in which to build which for small dinghy or kayak can be a single car garage. You will also need a few basic woodworking tools and the motivation to see the job through which is where the kit comes into its own. Because all the parts are cut out for you can begin actually assembling the boat on the first day right out of the box, which means that good progress can be made the first weekend. I personally know of many builders who have started with a kayak and ended up building a much larger boat. Having been bitten by the boat building bug they seem to enjoy the building almost as much as the boating. I strongly believe that almost anyone can build a kit boat, it makes a great winter project to build either alone or with the family, many kids love to help and the speed of building means that they won't get bored. If I have one final tip and that is to not take on a project that is too large, there are some truly impressive kits for boats of 30 feet long and more and this is a major undertaking likely to take several years to complete. If you have never built a boat and are not sure if you will enjoy the challenge start small and if you like it you can always progress to something bigger for a next project.
Choosing which design to build is almost half the fun and now that there is the internet searching for a suitable design is much easier than years ago when one would have to send off a stamped addressed envelope and wait with anticipation for the brochure to drop onto the door mat. A very pleasant evening can now be spent instead looking at the various web sites and dreaming of the voyages and trips that you will take in your new craft. I well remember that a few sketches and photos stapled to the wall kept me motivated when I had had a gut full of sanding.
Costs vary with the boat that you build and who supplies the kit. Taking my Eastport pram as an example the cost is just under $1000 including shipping to which as I mentioned you will have to add the cost of paint and varnish. If that is out of your price range then a small kayak would be a little cheaper.
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