Plans

• Before starting the building process, it is essential that you get some sort of plans put together. Building a boat is a long process, and having concrete plans in place when you start can keep you from making costly and time-consuming mistakes later. Decide how you will use the boat, how much you want to spend to build it and how much you want to spend maintaining it. If it is your first boat build, it might be worth building a small boat that is inexpensive, takes little in the way of materials, and has little room for mistakes to be made. If you do not feel ready to create your own design, with your own measurements, thousands of designs are available in books and online to get you started.
  
  

Workspace

• After you have made your design, or appropriated one from a book or website, it is time to get your workspace ready. It is always a good idea to choose your workspace after you have your design so that you are not stuck working in a space too small for the boat you wish to build. Make sure to choose a space safe from the elements. You will not be able to work in an area where there are extreme changes in temperature or where rain can enter. Wood contracts in hot and cold, and this could split the glue and nails you have applied to hold the boat together. Rain in your workspace, or damp and musty air, can cause damage to the wood before it is painted. It is possible to seal moisture into the wood you are using with the sealer you apply after a paint job. This will cause the boat to rot. If you are using metal or fiberglass materials, the same rules apply, as rust and cracking are serious problems. If you must build your boat outside, put it up onto a stand and cover it in bad weather.
  
  

Using patterns

• One way to make building your boat easier is to use patterns to cut your wood or material properly. These plans come either on blueprint paper or on craft pap and are made from a master template, usually from a popular boat design. When you get your patterns, do not cut them out. Place the pattern on what is called a layout board. This is a large sheet of the material from which you will build the boat. It should be as large as the widest part of the boat. From here you will make a series of lines indicating the water mark, and individual pieces of the boat's make up. Once you are done with the pattern, you can cut out your material.