Difficulty is best measured in terms of how long our boats take to build. While the following generalizations will help you understand which types of boats are generally more or less difficult, the index below is a listing grouped by time, in increasing order with the highest estimated time used for each boat.

In general, a canoe is easier to build than other boats because it does not have a transom stern - therefor it requires a little less woodwork. This should not discourage you from considering other boats, it is just a generalized and relatively minor difference.

Boats with a solid bottom are potentially more difficult than other boats because you may have to twist the wood slightly to fit the contour of the hull. Our solid bottom boats include the Black Fly 8, Blivit 13, Cricket 12, Ebenezer 11, and the Sheepscot Shell SS-17. Only the Blivit is noted to require a "mighty twist". Of course the plans explain how to perform any necessary twists, so this should not be of any real concern.

See our selection guide for additional help in chosing a design.

Those few generalizations being said, here are the boats indexed by estimated construction time in hours: