It's pretty common to see contests or discussions about building a "one sheet boat" - a boat that uses just one standard 4x8' sheet of plywood for the basic hull materials.

Here's a slightly different take on it than some I've seen, which seems to produce a nice little craft to row around in.

Building a One sheet boat - More DIY How To Projects read more »

Saw this on a web page listing various "dumbest things" people had managed (no it WASN'T me):

I was once canoeing alone in the middle of a lake when the wind began to blow very hard. I was paddling into the wind as hard as I could toward home when I realized that despite my best efforts I was making negative progress. This realization caused such a burst of anger and frustration that the way I thought best to express my feeling at that moment was to hurl my paddle into the water. My only paddle.

Not going to win any prizes for appearances, but could be a fun project. Maybe you can even make a contest to collect enough trash in the water to build your own boat!

Water Bottle Kayak with Outrigger - More DIY How To Projects read more »

The great folks over at Duckworks Magazine and their mailing list point us to this video of a new electric motor option. Geared around small craft, it has a small battery pack (that floats!) and a simple, straight shaft motor and oil-less gearbox to provide the power of one or two paddlers. All in a 14-16 pound, easy to carry package. read more »

Harry Bryan's Thistle, pedal-powered fin-driven decked canoe. Built to Harry's plans by Steven Bauer in 2003. read more »

This is a little different take on "stitch and glue" using canvas strips glued for the joints instead of thickened epoxy. I kind of like that idea. Canvas has been used for decades on boats (especially as deck covering) and is still popular with some builders. Put the canvas on, add some paint as "filler" and away you go. read more »

An interesting looking book that I've seen some good reviews on... might be worth checking out if you're interested in canoeing or building your own paddles.

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There is a method of building that I ran across recently that has been popular for many years in the canoe/kayak world... skin on frame. Its a matter of building a lightweight framework from wood/metal/plastic and stretching a skin over it. The flexible skin becomes the hull.

Fascinating to look at some of the ideas of work. This is all a bit smaller than I'm interested in, although it fits in some way with the Origami Dingy that I'm (slowly, I know) working on... some of these kayaks use the same material as specified for the dingy.

I can't help but think there may be some applications for these skins on larger craft... not as a self-supporting hull, maybe, but as a "coating"? Heat shrink a skin onto a wood backing instead of epoxy? Worth some thinking/testing/playing.

Anyway, here's a collection of sites for those interested:

• Skin on Frame - Duckworks Magazine has a detailed article (and links to several others) concerning this building method
• Geodesic Airolite boats by Platt Monfort - mentioned earlier here - uses heat shrink Dacron over a lightweight frame
• How to recanvas and old canoe - also by Platt Monfort
• Sailcloth - this is an article more on different types of cloth for sails, but several have overlaps into this skin on frame method
• Folding Kayak Builders Manual - Homebuilt Folding Kayaks by Thomas Yost