Hugo Schmidt was the press officer of the German Canoe Association and, as such, was closely familiar with paddling boats and canoes. He wrote this comprehensive work, adorned with 169 illustrations, with the aim of assisting people interested in boating in selecting, building, or repairing kayaks or canoes. Schmidt describes which boat is suitable for whom, where the differences between various boat types lie, and how boats are constructed and built. One chapter is dedicated to various types of cracks in all possible boat types. Finally, Schmidt delves deeply into the then very popular topic of folding boats.