Fine Strip-Plank Boat Construction
A guide to building small boats with wood strips and epoxy.
- Dates
- June 9 – June 15
- Location
- Brooklin, Maine
- Tuition
- $925
- Instructor
- Nick Schade
- Experience Level
- Beginner
- Activity Level
- Moderate
This is a six-day course ending Saturday
If you want to build a lightweight, rugged, and beautiful small boat, combining thin strips of wood with epoxy and fiberglass will make a cartoppable, low-maintenance, and gorgeous vessel. Nick Schade has been building strip-built boats for over 30 years. He has written two of the standard texts on the subject, Building Strip-Planked Boats and The Strip-Built Sea Kayak, and his efforts have guided thousands of people through building their own boats using the popular strip-planked method.
In this six-day course, students will explore this method of construction while building two very different boat designs created by Nick – a Mystic River tandem canoe and the microBootlegger Sport sea kayak. The microBootlegger Sport is a 15′5″ x 23″ sea kayak with beautiful lines suitable for exploring lakes or heading out to sea. The Mystic River 17′ tandem canoe is a wonderful example of a classic wood-strip canoe with graceful lines and a beautiful recurved stem. You’ll be using standard strip-planking methods that do not include ribs, so the interior will be clean and smooth.
Students will gain experience in a wide variety of techniques involved in this modern boatbuilding process. We will be putting emphasis on the “fine” aspect of the class title, striving to create a beautiful boat with matched strips and careful craftsmanship.
Throughout the week, Nick will take time to discuss the many variations on the strip-building process that students can use in their own boatbuilding projects. After a week of fun work, we’ll step back to admire two stunning boats that will raffled off to two lucky students.
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Who is this course best suited for?
This course is appropriate for students with some knowledge and experience. Basic knowledge and use of hand tools is required for most shop courses.
This course involves a moderate level of activity throughout the week including: standing and working sometimes throughout the day, some hand planing or sanding, working on group projects that require occasional participation.
What Our Students Are Saying
I participated in Nick Schade’s FINE WOODSTRIP CANOE CONSTRUCTION course and, not knowing what to expect, I can say now, and with certainty, that it was exactly what I had hoped for and, perhaps, one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. He’s a master at his craft and I’m honored to have worked with him and learned some of his trade secrets.
S.B., sandy Hook, Connecticut
FINE WOODSTRIP CONSTRUCTION was an exciting course. It helped me know all the steps and process involved in this type of construction. Nick Schade was incredible!
J.K., Kansas City, Missouri
Nick Schade was outstanding. I learned the specific strip-plank boatbuilding technique but also many tricks and improvements to basic building and finishing. It was an amazing week!
F.M., Norfolk, Virginia
Nick Schade is a master craftsman and he did a nice job of passing along that knowledge. I thoroughly enjoyed learning the strip-plank construction process from him and the canoe and kayak we built were beautiful.
B.R., New York, New York
Your FINE WOODSTRIP BOAT CONSTRUCTION course was just what I was hoping for. I wanted to see the entire process before building my own boat at home. Nick Schade was very informative and a great instructor.
P.H., Pasadena, Maryland
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