So I'm building a canoe. Two, actually. I bought plywood for the first one last night, so I'm already about halfway done, right? I don't remember what made me think of it, must have been Googling about boatbuilding, and I found out about the "stitch and glue" method: basically, just take plywood sheets cut out in the right shapes, epoxy the surfaces, bend the panels and lash the edges together with wire or even duct tape, epoxy the seams, and you've got a watertight vessel. Add a fiberglass coat for extra points.

Being slightly obsessive about these kinds of things, I've spent all my free time this week sourcing materials and comparing plans. Instead of spending a lot of money surfacing the appropriately-named Cheap Canoe (PDF), I'll use that as a trainer, then build the nicer Chenoa and glass that. With fiberglass and epoxy from US Composites it looks like it'll cost around $200 to build:

2 sheets 1/4" fir plywood: $40
Gallon epoxy: $50
8 yd. Fiberglass cloth: $40
50 yd. Fiberglass tape: $26
Plans: $30

After that, I'll be a master wooden boat craftsman, and I'll start on my 100-foot square-rigger. Okay, maybe not, but I plan on building a little cruising sailboat to tool around the river.

Yes, I'm going through ship withdrawal.