Here are some experiences I have had with building the Bateau Cheap Canoe and some ideas that may need to be explored.

Don't be fooled. Building a boat requires time and money. A cheap canoe cost me about $250 to make. This is about as entry level into this hobby.

The value is very little if you were going to sell your home built boat. A used boat would keep its value. I have seen some larger home built boats like Weekender Sailboat  go on sale on Ebay. Click here to sell your boat online at eBay!

The size of the boat is proportionate to the amount of use. Bigger the boat, longer to build, less use. 

Start your boat building with a Bateau Cheap Canoe. 

Boat building and buying a used boat to me are the same. Money cannot be saved but you will get experience and satisfaction building your own boat. 

In NJ, boats under 8 feet and canoes do not need a license from Division of Motor Vehicles. I plan to stick with these.

I don't want to plunk money down on a trailer, hitch, license plate or a new truck for this hobby. To keep it simple a boat should be able to be rolled, pulled dismounted by one person and be car topped on a Hyundai Tiburon.

Many boat builders want their boat to have an ultimate paint job. The lake will have rocks, a beach, and other places where the boat will be scraped up.

Don't forget hidden costs like bungee cords, flotation devices, life jackets.

The best $100 I have investing in boating is getting my wife a WAL-MART inflatable Kayak. This included the Pump, Paddles, boat. She loves it.

I would like to get an inflatable dinghy - like a Zodiac or Avon.

I have used Raka Epoxy and enjoy it.

Consider your obligations in life - Paying the mortgage, paying attention to your wife, doing yard work. Don't get divorced because of the hunk of wood and epoxy smelling up the garage and filtering into the house.

Tools are expensive and budgets will be broken. Boat building will make the common citizen poor. :-(

Rent boats. Instead of building or buying them.

I am pretty messy, but a central Vacuum will help clean out the garage when you are done.

I rarely have hours at a time to spend on the hobby - a half hour here, fifteen mins there, so it can take long.

Minwax Red Mahogany Oil Stain looks good on Pine.

Bring a metric tape measure if cutting the wood at a lumber yard.

Donate your home built boat to a charity. You may be able to get a tax deduction for the fair value on the boat. Fair value is perhaps the Materials used to make the boat.