Wooden Boat Building - Should You Use Plans Or a Kit?

If you are thinking about building your own boat, but have never attempted this before, you will likely be choosing between the following two options:

Using a wooden boat building kit
Building your boat from scratch using plans

Each of these options has certain advantages and disadvantages for the novice builder. Kits are probably the easiest method by which to build a boat by yourself. Most kits are based on plywood building methods, and with all the materials needed to build the boat and with some kits the plywood will already be cut, measured and ready to assemble. If you are looking to build a boat quickly, with little effort, than a boat kit may be the best option for you. The downside? They can be remarkably expensive. For example, a simple eleven foot plywood kayak by one of the largest kit retailers will cost you well over $700, and that does not even include the shipping costs (which are considerable, considering many kits can weight upwards of a hundred pounds).

You can save several hundred of dollars by choosing to build a boat yourself instead using a kit. However, much of these savings will depend on your being able to find reliable, easy to follow plans that are suitable for a beginner. Good plans should have step by step instructions, illustrations, comprehensive material lists, blueprints, and contact information in case you have any questions. You should probably stick to plywood plans if you are a beginner, and the stitch-and-glue plywood method is probably easiest for your first boat building experience.

Building a boat by hand can take a bit longer than if you are using a kit, and you are more likely to encounter challenges during the building process – although good boat plans should help you overcome these challenges on your own as well. Some additional advantages of building your boat from scratch using boat plans include the knowledge you will gain of boat building methods, and the pride you will have in knowing that you built your boat completely by yourself from start to finish.