Strip planking is an increasingly popular method of boat construction (over half of Selway-Fisher's new design work is for strip planked craft). It enables the amateur boat builder to produce a beautiful round bilged hull without having traditional boat building skills. It is certainly an easy method of round bilged hull construction and one which produces a very tough 'one piece' monocoque hull shell which will require little maintenance and which will last far longer than a conventionally built wood hull.

The Manual starts by discussing the merits of strip planking and the types of hulls that are best suited to this method of construction. It goes through the possible difficulties of strip planking certain hull shapes and how these difficulties may be over come. Suitable materials for constructing the hull are discussed including the use of square edged versus profile edged planks and epoxy versus polyurethane glues. Guidance and examples are also given for calculating material requirements.

Different types of building jig are discussed along with the marking, shaping and the setting up of moulds. The setting up of the internal backbone structure is then covered and after a description of the planking process, the Manual covers the best methods for preparing the hull for finishing. Veneering and glass sheathing are then described. Finally, tool requirements and the care and repair of strip planked hulls along with the addresses of useful suppliers are given.