Thread: Quick Canoe Build

So much for the 5 day build WG. Kidding, congrats mate, it looks stunning! And how good does Wallaga Lake look. My local lake's been infested with blue green algae so haven't been for a paddle in a month I've wanted to do another small build before the GIS and a runabout so the other half of the family, the women, can have a boat too. Think I might go the QC after seeing yours.

FWIW, I made my son swamp the Eureka before it's refurb last year and was pleasantly surprised to see the tanks keep it afloat and stable whilst he reboarded over the deck and side. I stayed dry and watched from the jetty. With similarly sized tanks on the QC and with safety in mind it'll be ideal for my wife and daughter.

That is a great looking canoe and nice work on it. Looks like a fun time.

Cheers guys it was fun to build. I was optimisitc with the 5 day build, had a boat in 7 days but took 3 more weeks to fit out and finish. Could have taken even longer sanding and varnishing but it is a quick canoe afterall. It has gotten a lot of interest around here and people have already been enquiring about getting plans. They are great looking for such simple construction and super stiff. She lives in the shed (my 82 Mazda 323 hatch doesnt) so I was really keen to go for the sealed timber finish without to much worry about weather and UV exsposer. Still working on getting the new shed started and old one knocked down then its time for the Goat. Will try and get some capsize pics up when I can. Tomorrow not looking good, currently cold and wet (I know, I will be that in the water anyway).

Could you make sling and store it above the car in the garage?

Yeah, the QC will go up in a sling but then i'll use the floor space to build the Goat. The old Mazda is happy outdoors (the salt air holds it together). I only just sold our all original 2 tone Green 1958 Holden FC Special Sedan which has opened up the shed space. It was a hard decision but I enjoy playing with boats much more then cars.

Speaking of build -easy- boats, you might check this out: http://kudzucraft.com/ . I purchased his book and it had off-sets provided for three boats in it. I chose the Curlew, a 15 foot kayak. Drew the patterns for the frames using the offsets out of the book. Built the kayak. First time I have ever tried anything like that before and I have a kayak to be proud of. I have less than $200 invested in it. It was a very fun project. My kayak weights around 28 pounds. Sorry, I don't know how to convert the weights and measurements to your standard.

Hi,
ive read that the seat should be 50mm than shown on the plans?
Also the position of the seats from the centre of the boat? Are the distances on the plans correct?
thanks for anyone who can help cheers

G'day Cescasey,

If you aren't an experienced paddler, 50mm lower is likely to be a good idea. The last page or two in this thread has quite a bit of discussion on that.

The seats' position along the length of the boat should be as drawn. This leaves the *front edge* of the seats an equal distance from the centre of the boat. As mentioned in the plans; if you are experienced and have expedition plans for the boat then it should be modified if your usual paddlers are of significantly different weights.

I think the best approach would be to mock up some seats attached temporarily and go for a few test paddles with what is to be your usual crew. An epoxy glue joint is forever. I still haven't moved my original seat mounts (see my posts from Feb, above) but simply lowered the seats on some steel hanging straps. I will have to destroy the mounts to un-stick them.

Lower is better.

Higher is scary if you are big or not confident.

The seats on QC PlanB are 70mm lower then the plan suggests. I find this height very comfy to paddle and really stable. I went up to the Narooma heritage afloat festival a few weekends ago with my 2 eldest daughters (4 and 2) and paddled around the bay and through the tiny marina amongst all the fancy planked putt putts and small timber yachts. The kids thought it was awesome, jazz band playing out on the small marina and all. The canoe got a lot of interest when launching from the beach around the corner of the bay and from the old fellas on the putt putts. Have been getting a bit of water time over spring on the local lake and up the back reaches of Brogo dam which is just pure magic. I still haven't started the Goat yet, I know very sad indeed, have had the plans now for 11 months. We have purchased a mountain block in the foothills of Wadballiga ranges so she will be a mountain goat when I finally get around to the build. One week left of work before I break for holidays over Christmas so have just got Miks outrigger plans to keep me busy. Will be building in the first few weeks of January. Getting excited.

Some recent outings out and about our local lake and at the Narooma Heritage afloat. I think the little blue thing is an old optimist i did up for a friend and her little one.

I've received the outrigger plans and have had a look through. From what I can tell 1 sheet of ply is needed for each outrigger hull, anyone on here built these? I tried to email Mik on the email address on the front of the plans but it doesn't send, must be an old email address. My question is, is the material list - Oregon, WRC correct to span over the centre hull and hold 2 outriggers and do I just need to get the extra sheet of ply not listed on plans, or are the plans for 1 outrigger and AMA only? Are you out there Mik? can anyone else help? The plan is to get the outriggers done then look at a sailing rig in the future.