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How To Build a Canoe or Kayak

Northwest Canoe started as a forum to teach wood strip canoe building. We've been offering classes and workshops, teaching the art of building small boats since 1991.

Teams of four-to-six people build one cedar strip canoe. You learn how to set-up, strip, fiberglass and trim-out a handsome cedar strip epoxy canoe. In six class sessions, we demystify and simplify the canoe building process. You take away the know how to build a cedar strip canoe with graceful fair lines and discover the short cuts and secrets of the 'Minnesota Method'. What do we do with the class-built canoe? After drawing names, one lucky class member takes the completed canoe home. That could be you.

With the growing enthusiasm for sea kayaking, many customers have inquired about a building a kayak too. We listened, adding stitch & glue kayak building to our winter-spring class schedule. Why not start your 2008 paddling journey by building a Pygmy Kayak? You get a boat designed by John Lockwood, the world's leading plywood kayak designer and a veteren wilderness paddler.

Learn to build with the paddlesports specialists at Northwest Canoe. Attend six class nights; take advantage of open shop time and build the boat that fits your paddling style.

Stitch & Glue Kayak Class

Choose a Pygmy Kayak that fits your paddling style when you register. NWC orders your kayak kit and our shop elves unpack, preassemble and drill the panels. This means the first night of class you're "stitching" your hull together.

Most builders complete a solo kayak in 50-to-70 hours. You have 24 hours of dedicated class time and more than 70 hours of open shop time to finish your Pygmy Kayak.

Class I: Wire the hull and insert temporary building frames
Class II: Fiberglass / epoxy exterior of hull
Class III: Fit the top deck
Class IV: Fiberglass hull interior
Class V: Marry the top deck to the hull with fiberglass and epoxy
Class VI: Install cockpit coaming, seats, backbands

There are a lot of baby steps sandwiched between sessions and we'll be around during open shop to answer your questions as you build a beautiful mahogany Pygmy Kayak with your own hands.

Tuition starting at: $1,395

Make your $225 deposit by February 15th to ensure the boat you want is in for the start of class. Call 651 229 0192 or register online

Wood Strip Canoe Class

You jump right into the building process on session one, positioning the building forms on the strongback. Over the next two sessions the canoe takes shape as you and your fellow students trim, bevel and fit seventy cedar strips into place. We do it with pocket knife, block plane staples and glue. It's low-tech. If you enjoy tying your own flies, carving decoys or sewing quilts, then cedar strip building is definitely for you.

By the midpoint of this six session class we'll be sanding and fiberglassing the hull, first the outside, then the we go inside. The final night of class you get hands-on experience installing gunwales, decks and seats.

Expect to participate in every piece of the building process to ensure you take away the skills and know-how to build your own cedar strip canoe. Tuition includes a NWC canoe plan of your choice, "The Art Of Building A Cedar Strip Canoe" and a all the materials you need to build your own canoe.

Tuition: $1,395

Make a $225 deposit and reserve your spot now. Call 651 229 0192 or register online

Ready to build your cedar stip canoe, but can't squeeze a workshop between business trips, yoga classes and the kid's music lessons? Get the same techniques we teach in class through our canoe building manual, "The Art of Building the Cedar Stip Canoe", written by the building master, Al Gustaveson.

Building Book $20

2008 Winter - Spring Class Schedule

Classes meet at the NorthWest Canoe shop in downtown St. Paul, MN. Build your boat surrounded by the fortress-thick stone and timber walls of the Historic Northern Railway Warehouse. Classes start at 6 p.m. and run until 10 p.m. The NWC shop is an outside entrance on the southeast corner of the warehouse. You'll find plenty of parking in the commuter lot, east side of the building.

Session A: Jan 15th - Feb 21st
•   Canoe Building, Tuesday evenings, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
•   Kayak Building, Wednesday evenings, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Session B: Feb 25th - March 2nd Break

Session C: March 4th - Apr 9th
•   Kayak Building, Tuesday evenings, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.
•   Canoe Building, Wednesday evenings, 6 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Session D: Apr 14th - Apr 19th
•   One Week Canoe Bulding Workshop, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.