While visiting a small local boat show with my aunt and uncle, I saw a canoe and a sail boat that contained car batteries. When I asked why they had car batteries, I was told “to make sure that they do not blow away”. The skin-on-frame construction techniques used produced structures that were so light that this was a serious possibility. I purchased a kit and built this 12 foot canoe that only weighs 12 pounds: you can pick it up with a single finger. The skin is dacron impregnated with spar varnish: it is translucent, so you can see the water through the side of the canoe, or watch lily pads as the canoe moves over them.