Rating: 
Summary: A tremendous resource for novices and craftsmen alike
Review: A classic work on building canoes and kayaks with the simple wood strip method. Amply illustrated, each step is clearly described. First time boat builders will find this to be an easy to follow., and comprehensive guide. The full size plans for canoes and kayaks that come with this book make it an exceptional value. The author's description of applying the fiberglass coating is slightly dated. Newer materials have been developed since the book was written, and they are handled in a slightly different manner than described here. A suitable companion book that I would also recommend is Gil Gilpatrick's book on building strip canoes.
Rating: 
Summary: Plans are nice but the building instructions are dated
Review: Having the drawings included with the book is nice because you don't have to loft them from offset tables of buy plans separately. The building directions are dated. For example, this book still recommends using polyester resin. Epoxy resin is superior for this application. Also, things like cove and bead strips are not discussed. I have the Canoecraft book by Ted Moores and I really like the variety of designs in his book as well as the detailed instructions.
Rating:
Summary: Plans are nice but the building instructions are dated
Review: Having the drawings included with the book is nice because you don't have to loft them from offset tables of buy plans separately. The building directions are dated. For example, this book still recommends using polyester resin. Epoxy resin is superior for this application. Also, things like cove and bead strips are not discussed. I have the Canoecraft book by Ted Moores and I really like the variety of designs in his book as well as the detailed instructions.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but not motivational.
Review: I am happy that I bought this book because it is clear in it's instructions for building a strip canoe, but unfortunately it is not also a motivational book. I started my canoe 6 months ago and I poke around at it from time to time, I figure I might have it done by the time I retire (and that's a few years off still). I must say that this book is easy to use, easy to understand and has been helpful when I have felt stuck. The fact that I procrastinate is not a fault of this book. If you want to build a strip canoe, this book is a great place to start.
Rating:
Summary: I speak from experience
Review: I built a 17' canoe using David Hazen's book in 1988-1989 and use it every summer on a lake in northern Michigan. I am neither a boat builder nor a craftsman, but the results from following the book were outstanding. There is plenty of detail and the hand drawings and narrative descriptions of the edition I used were quite sufficient to enable such a novice as I build a complex canoe without any major problems. The book is written with a very personal touch, which made the experience all the more interesting. Unless the book has been updated from the edition I used (late 1970s), the fiberglass bonding technique has been improved over that suggested by Hazen. I used an epoxy resin for that process. An excellent book that makes this difficult job worthwhile.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip the spiritual and give us practical
Review: I built a beautiful cedar strip Micmac canoe from this book. The full size former drawings are a bonus! The methods for fiberglassing are dated now, but a look at some of the websites found by searching "cedar strip canoes" will provide lots of updated tips. This book is a classic and I like Hazen's simple approach better than some of the more complicated methods. You need this book just for the perspective if nothing else! Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great Value and a good starter book on strip boat building
Review: I built a beautiful cedar strip Micmac canoe from this book. The full size former drawings are a bonus! The methods for fiberglassing are dated now, but a look at some of the websites found by searching "cedar strip canoes" will provide lots of updated tips. This book is a classic and I like Hazen's simple approach better than some of the more complicated methods. You need this book just for the perspective if nothing else! Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: I built the kayak from this book
Review: I had built a '19 woodstrip canoe through Minnesota Canoe Association plans. With that signficant experience I later built the kayak in Hazen's plans. I completed it, it is beautiful [a testimony to the wonder of wood and the strip-building technique] and it floats. However, Hazen's instructions are so incomplete and vague compared to the issues I encountered in building it [and joining the two halves was about 5 hours of successful cussing], that during the construction I kept seriously wondering if he didn't borrow that section from a friend and he had not built it himself.The kayak rolls so easy I am not able to use it without an outrigger though a few people can manage it. I would recommend a more flat-bottomed kayak to anyone unless they have experience with such a cigar-shaped rounded design.
Rating:
Summary: Best canoe builders guide yet!
Review: I have read a LOT of books which attempt to show you how to go about building your own wood-strip canoe and this one is,quite simply, THE BEST. David Hazen writes in a style that is easy to understand and at a level that even the most rank amateur can follow. He leaves nothing out ( He even includes full-sized plans) and if you do have questions he is accessable and very willing to talk or write to you. WARNING: Read this book and you will want to run out to your garage and start building the next day!
Rating:
Summary: Stripper's Guide to Canoe-Building by David Hazen
Review: This book is like an old friend to me. I bought one of the original printings back in 1974 and used it as a guide to build my first strip canoe (David Hazen's techniques and my own design). I may have developed a few methods or opinions of my own since then, but the foundation of my canoe building experience came from the pages of David Hazen's book. The production quality is a little low-tech, the paper isn't great quality and there are no artistic color photos to dazzle you; but if you read it for the content and pay attention to the message, this is an excellent book. It's still my favorite book on canoe stripping. In the early 80's, I loaned my copy to a fellow worker who was building a strip canoe. It never came back. The original printing was no longer available at that time and I wasn't able to replace it.
:-(
...The new edition of Hazen's book has the same familiar look and feel I remember. All the original content is there along with some additional information and canoe plans. I still have the first 18 1/2' strip canoe I built almost 30 years ago, and now I'm very pleased to have David Hazen's book back in my hands. If you're thinking of building a strip canoe, or if you have already tried and want to know what you did wrong, pick up a copy. Everything you need to know in order to build your own strip canoe is between these covers, and presented in an easy to read, easy to understand way. It's a good read and a helpful guide... I highly recommend it.
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