Selway Fisher Glue & Strip Kits | Hewes & Company
Selway-Fisher Stitch & Glue Kits
Paul Fisher of Selway-Fisher Design has been drawing small craft from his Wiltshire studio for decades, with a catalog that runs to several hundred designs. The kits we machine are stitch-and-glue construction — a method that uses pre-cut plywood panels temporarily wired together with copper "stitches," then permanently bonded with epoxy fillets and fiberglass tape. It's a faster build than traditional lapstrake, and a forgiving introduction to wooden boatbuilding for first-time builders.
The Selway-Fisher line we cut spans from the 7'6" Redshank pram up through the 18-foot Hartford, including several canoe designs and the elegant Petit Brise.
We CNC machine these kits under license. Plans are sold separately by Selway-Fisher Design.
Current Designs:
Redshank — 7'6" — $1,079
Stornoway 9 — 9'1" — $1,624
Today — 11' — $2,275
Coble 12 — 12' — $2,698
Stornoway 14 — 14' — $3,397
Hazel — 15' — $2,904
Coble 15 — 15' — $3,391
Prospector 15 (canoe) — 15'6" — $1,420
Petit Brise — 16' — $4,112
Prospector 17 (canoe) — 17' — $1,894
Hartford — 18' — $2,563
A few questions specific to Selway-Fisher kits:
How does stitch-and-glue construction differ from lapstrake? Stitch-and-glue uses flat plywood panels joined edge-to-edge with epoxy and fiberglass, creating a smooth-skinned hull. Lapstrake (or "clinker") construction overlaps each plank on the one below it, creating the distinctive stepped profile. Stitch-and-glue is generally faster to build and somewhat more forgiving for beginners; lapstrake produces what most people consider a more traditional-looking boat.
Are these good first-time builds? Several of the smaller Selway-Fisher kits — particularly the Redshank, Stornoway 9, and the Prospector canoes — are reasonable starting points for a careful first-time builder. As always, the plans give you what to do, not how to be a boatbuilder. The instructional resources noted in the main FAQ are well worth the investment.
Where do I get Selway-Fisher plans? Plans are sold directly at selway-fisher.com.
For general questions about kit contents, lead times, plywood, and tools, see the main Skiff Kits FAQ.