I love sailing canoes. And, always interested in the relationship between process, form and structure, I also became intrigued with the “stitch and glue” method of construction whereby a very strong, lightweight shell can be created. I imagined that it might have possibilities for use in creating forms for furniture. I came across some small boat designs that employed this construction method to create the hull, and I settled on the design of the “Little Pete”, a sailing canoe designed by well-respected British designer, John Bull. I spent $25 for some rough plans, mostly for the hull planking layout, and I was off and running. The hull is made from one layer of 1/8” okume plywood, cut into patterned chines that are temporarily stitched together with copper wire. The hull is eventually covered with fiberglass cloth embedded in epoxy. The resulting canoe, including decking, weighs less than 50 lbs. (without sailing rig). It’s a fascinating process, but I hate using epoxy anymore than I absolutely have to, so, so far no furniture.