Thread: Truly free Canoe Plans?? (are there any?)

I do have a few... never tried them though. You want a real basic stitch and glue plywood plan or a strip plank design?
If you don't need the step by step, I have plans (again untested) for a touring style plywood canoe.
And, yes there are free plans about, you just have to look really hard to find them.

Howdy,

The problem is finding a canoe that works well, goes together properly, is rewarding for the time you spend and doesn't waste material and contain a sensible procedure for getting a boat.

Secondarily with a canoe you want something that is light, will handle a bit of rough weather ok and travels well without excessive effort.

It might be possible to find some good ones, but normally the people who deal in good plans know they have some value.

You might like to read some of the threads that have discussed free plans before ... it is a topic that comes up regularly.

https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...ght=free+plans
https://www.woodworkforums.com/showth...ght=free+plans

Please don't think I am being wildly partisan on the part of my own plans ... I don't care if you buy them or not, but I would strongly suggest getting a good set of plans for one of the good boats on the net ... just simply to avoid disappointment with the result so that you enjoy this wooden boat thing and have a sense of your own power to make something really great.

One of the most famous free canoes is the "Peace Canoe" which comes out of three times the materials of most plywood canoes (expensive in materials - most canoes will come out 2 or three sheets of ply) and most owners have difficulty picking it up. Also it has a really flat wide bottom that is fantastic for stability but will make it tricky if the wind and waves come up. However if you just want a boat for picnicking and paddling around in one place it might not be too bad at all. That was the original intent.
http://www.chineblog.com/2007/11/the...ject-an-index/

If it is just messing around in a bay some of the pirogue designs might be suitable too ... essentially a flat bottomed canoe.

Best wishes
Michael

Hi Guys,
Boredjourno I just sent you a PM.

Michael thanks for the attached links I appreciate that. I think the way they turned and outbourd into an inboard was a really cool idea. I have saved this one as I can see this being a great build for my son when he gets older. I went through the link for the Peace Canoe and it seemed to reflect a lot of things that I have read about flat bottoms already, Due to the strengthening needed they appear to be somewhat heavier and also seem to be more wind affected. While they appear to be a more stable design when filled with family I am planning on attaching outriggers so this should counter that issue. While I also know the outriggers will add weight they will be made to be detachable and we are consiering installing a mounting board onto them to allow the mountng of a small outboard. Call me lazy lol

We also are toying with the idea of designing a cover for the outriggers that we could install an esky or live well on one side and a sealed luggage area in the other. As you may have worked out we are looking to make it so that we can go out for a while fishing and camping. We do realise that there are other boat designs better suited for this but the canoe disign is more appealling as we can still use it without the outriggers should we so desire. We are also thinking about a lightweight cover to provide shade while we are out. Sounds complex but it is more about the time together building it as well

Howdy,

Flat bottoms can be really good if worked out properly ... I have made a bit of a career in them )

But granted ... there are a lot of crappy flat bottomed boats out there.

If you are thinking of an outboard as the prime powersource and not really thinking of paddling then a dinghy might be very little more materials and work with the outboard way better and save time, effort and money compared to the extra materials of adding outriggers.

Depends on what you need and how you think you might use it. Also depends on the size of your family. Lots of canoes might be OK with a couple of adults plus a couple of really little kids but much more can be an overload.

MIK

Hi Mick,

Sorry I should have explained myself better, Sorry about that

The motor we are thinking of is just one of the electric bow style ones used by pro fishermen with the foot controls used when bow casting. More for when we are fishing we can move about without having to lower our rods and paddle more. We are planning on paddles being our main power source although I found a design for some removable oar supports as Well. Basically we are looking to make it truly multi purpose. If I could get the father-in-law interseted in sailing I would make a removable sail that I have found as well lol but he is only interested in fishing.

The reason we decided on a canoe & outrigger design is that if I go out alone I can leave the outriggers at home and get out with some ease. We looked at a lot of different designs and considered a lot of things before settling on a canoe/ Another advantage is that we can move it on our 4WD so don't need to worry about a trailer then. I am hoping to get started and finished before Christmas, although the way this year has flown by it may still be in the pipe works at christmas time lol

Rabs, if all you were after was a bit of building as a bonding exercise (as you said in your first post), I'd guide you to Gavin Atkin's Mouseboat - a truly excelent little craft (I have two) that is free and very cheap to build.



However, your second post shows clearly that you are after something you can use extensively ... not that you can't do that with a Mouseboat but the wee buggers are only 8' long.

Look mate, forget this furphy about 'free plans'. As discussed elsewhere, you will not find a good set of free plans. This is genuinely akin to driving all over town to find the cheapest petrol - you burn more petrol than you save in money.

The price of plans is scary at first but the reality is that they are only a small part of the overall build. I'm an out of work single father, I know what poverty is, why do you think my Little Black Dog (thread in the Storer Plans forum) is being made out of pacific maple ply and recycled timber? A set of Eureka canoe plans will cost you less than you'll spend on paint, they'll cost you less than you'll spend on plywood, they'll cost you less than you'll spend on epoxy and, unless you have a thicknesser and table saw, they'll cost you less than you'll spend on timber ... and the Eureka is only one option. If you pay for your plans and choose your designer carefully, you'll get a properly designed boat, not something knocked up by an amateur who although keen, is usually still learning his craft. With Mik's plans, you get a booket that's a boatbuilding course on its own (and you sound like a novice boat boatbuilder) whereas few free plans offer much in the way of useful guidance.

Mate, you want this boat to be a tool in your family. Don't sell it short by trying to cut corners. You CAN build a good design cheaply (like my rowboat with it's cheaper ply and recycled timber), but a rubbish design will only produce a rubbish boat and you'll be aware of that long after you've finished paying for it. Mate, my Redback is too small and too heavy. By choosing the wrong design the build was nasty and the boat doesn't do the job promised and that alone is probably why I still can't sail.

Choose the right boat, take a deep breath and pay for good plans, then build it to the highest standard you can manage. There's little bonding in struggling to build something that doesn't get used because it's not very good.

Richard

Absoluteley spot on.

Hi again,

I just actually received a message from a friend regarding a canoe design and he sent me this link http://www.jemwatercraft.com/proddetail.php?prod=DKTour

At the bottom there is an email address and if you send a blank email to it you will get an automated reply with a link to plans and also one to a set of instructions. It is a really good design and seems to be exactly what I am after. I is a touring canoe and while it is maybe a little bigger then I may have hoped I think it will work perfectly.

Length 18' or 5.5m
Beam 35" or .9m
Estimated weight 83lbs or 38kgs
Ideal load 300-700lbs or 136 - 318kgs

I am guessing that with the outriggers added I would be able to safely increase that weight, just thinking of camping times. It is a good looking design to I have to say. It has the best of both worlds. Some what of a V shape and yet it still has a flat section on the bottom. I think I just found my canoe. Thank you to you all for your messages, I will post pictures when we start. Hopefully before Christmas lol

No sealed chambers in that boat. That's not only a concern from a safety point of view, does anyone know how the current crop of Boat Plate and other daft laws apply to canoes? Is he required to include sealed chambers? **insert mumble about daft bloody law makers**

Looks like it's stitch and glue construction. No problems there though at 18' she's going to use a lot of epoxy and could be a bit floppy until the internal bits are in place. Nothing a careful builder can't handle so please don't think I'm trying to scare you.

Actually, I'd suggest building a Mouseboat first. They're stitch and glue. Sheet and a half of cheap ply (as marine as you can afford), just enough poxy to glue it together and then a coat of outdoor acrylic. That's all I did with Toad and she's still going strong six years later though better ply, epoxy coated under good paint will produce a boat that lasts longer and looks better. You can row or paddle them (most people paddle them). The big bonus would be giving yourself some boat building practice in the same technique as the biggy and you'll produce a boat that is safe, works well and is a great little muck about boat for the kids as well as a genuine working boat for growd ups - the Mouseboat community uses them for everything from mucking about to hunting and fishing. Yes, it's another expense but it will get you started and give you something to play with while you build the big boat.

Richard

Sealed areas? I wonder how hard it would be to adapt the design to put in two sealed areas? I can't imagine it being to difficult. I did see during my searches a site in the US that sell fittings and fixtures for different boats and one of the things was a airtight container the apporximate shape of the front and back of a canoe that you can store things in and also doubles as a boyancy section. I didn't give it a second thought but might try and see if I can find it again. Do you think something like that would be acceptable?

And also I actually appreciate all feed back Richard lol it makes me aware of thinga I may not have thought of

From fuzzy memory, I think canoes & small sailing boats were specifically exempted
from ABP requirements.
HOWEVER..... every canoe I have had around teenagers has spent a significant part
of its life inverted or fully underwater. Buoyancy chambers are a must, not an optional extra.

Have you downloaded the plans yet? & do they contain detailed how-to instructions on building ? If you are new to this, you'll probably need them.

cheers
AJ

Originally Posted by Rabbs

Sealed areas? I wonder how hard it would be to adapt the design to put in two sealed areas? I can't imagine it being to difficult. I did see during my searches a site in the US that sell fittings and fixtures for different boats and one of the things was a airtight container the apporximate shape of the front and back of a canoe that you can store things in and also doubles as a boyancy section. I didn't give it a second thought but might try and see if I can find it again. Do you think something like that would be acceptable?

And also I actually appreciate all feed back Richard lol it makes me aware of thinga I may not have thought of

It's not hard to put in a sealed tank - hell, it's only a seat top with sides. It can be fun getting the seat top the right shape, but you'll have that whether the plans showed a tank there or not. You'll need to fit a hatch to it anyway, just a spin in hatch ($8 at your boat shop) so you can air it out, and you'll also use that hatch as access for stowage.

The thing is, you will be changing the design of the boat and sometimes, that leads to considerations you're not aware of. If you read enough sailing threads, sooner or later you come across discussions about how high the boat floats when it's on its side and this is affected by the tank layout ... and also affects how much water is in the boat once you get it upright. Seal the front seat to the bow, seal the rear to the stern and seal the centre seat is a pretty common option for boats but the canoe boys will have to guide you on what's normal practice in a canoe (and if it's needed at all, remember, I'm not a canoeist and might be waving red flags at imaginary bulls here). My comments about changing the design are valid though - boats of any sort are wall to wall compromise and us unknowing types can get the mix really really wrong sometimes, even without trying to.

Richard

Yes I have the plans already and there is a good set of step-by-step instructions. Richard I definately here what you are saying about changing designs and will definately be careful with any I consider so thank you again. The containers I was talking about were bow and aft Containers so they were in a tappered design and from memory they slipped into the bow and aft angles and then locked into place although I can't recolect exactly how they were held in place. If I can find them again I will post it.

Looking at the photos on the JEM website it looks like it has floatation in the ends alrady. It looks like there are bulkheads combined with the decks. Do the plans show these?

When you get it on the water I would suggest you practice capsizing, righting, re-entering and bailing somewhere close to shore so you know what it's like.

Have fun
Kelvin