Skin-on-frame boats evolved from baskets. Coracles -- round, basket-like crafts -- are still in use in Wales for salmon fishing; Irishmen still row their Currachs off their wild west coast, and native people of the arctic still fish from kayaks and umiaks. Yet these boats also appear in a variety of modern forms -- from tough whitewater, aluminum-framed take-down boats, to wood-framed, nylon skinned baidarkas. In this course you will build and take home your own skin on frame double paddle canoe. These boats are perfect for flat water paddling, and they are light enough to easily car-top or carry from car to water or from pond to pond. Over the course of the week, we’ll steam and install ribs, lash the stringers (longitudinal pieces) to the ribs, install the inwales and complete the frame, skin the boat with a tough polyester cloth, waterproof the skin, and christen the boats in the pond. Students will build a 13 1/2 foot canoe rigged for both solo and tandem use. It will weigh only about 27 pounds.

This course is best suited for two people working on one boat; the second student working on the same boat will pay tuition only. You are welcome to sign up as an individual; although, we do encourage you to invite someone to join. We have space for up to 8 students, working in pairs on 4 boats. If the materials fee is out of stock, that means all the boats have been purchased. You may still sign up as an individual to work on a boat and not take it home, and pay only the tuition.

Meaghan Vigeant, an alum of the course, shared her experiences with Maine Boats, Homes and Harbors Magazine. You can read the article here.

Course Reviews:

"I liked how the course was set up to give you as much or as little assistance needed to construct the canoe. Those who had background experience with tools and building things were able to go off and do their own thing, while beginners like myself received the proper amount of guidance to go and build."