Covering everything from safety in the boat to shop repairs,Gil Gilpatrick thouroughly explains the whys and shortcuts learned from his experience in the shop and on the water. A Maine guide, he uses his own canoes and tests their performance on the challenging Allagash River every summer. This revised edition includes full-sized plans for 8 well-proven canoe designs, most of which are the author"s own adaptations.Step-by-step directions for building a canoe from start to finish are accompanied by more than 100 photographs and illustrations.