PLZ PLZ 12ft or 14ft open canoe plans needed

[hopey84]

hi peoples, im new to the site and new to canoeing...
i have wanted to get into it for a very long time now and i was about to go and buy a canoe when i thought.... "what better way to get the full canoeing experience than to build 1 myself"

all the plans i have managed to find on the internet are for 16ft canoes which is 5.5m right? way too big for me i just want a respectable little 12 footer or a 14footer max
im about to get the ply wood and would really appreciate some free plans with all measurements for the ply

i REALLY cannot wait to build this beauty and any help would be sooooo appreciated, and i know my girlfriend would love it if i stopped goin on about it and just did it haha
many thanks

[oldsparkey]

You might want to check out Matt's boats at http://www.jemwatercraft.com/ , not sure about his free plans ( he has some ) and his boats are top notch.

I built the Sasquatch 14 x 30 he has for builders. The plans are not free but $55.00. Plus he has 5 different models of the Sasquatch from 18.5 feet to 12 feet.
He also has a good assortment of other canoes on his web site , take a look and poke around on there.

mine is 14 feet long and 30 inches wide , a real sweet paddling canoe and a fun one to use for camping trips.


One other added benefit , Both on Matt's web site and on here ( not IF but WHEN ) you would have any questions on building it there are a lot of good folks to provide an wide assortment of answers for you to chose from.

Chuck.

[hopey84]

yea iv been on that website..
yea ill definately be doing a step by step blog type thingy on here and will probs be asking for advice at some point haha
im all round good wiv building things etc so it shudnt be a problem, plus 1 of my best mates is a boat builder by rade so he is on call haha

you wouldnt happen to have a copy of ur old plans would you?
cheers mate

[JEM]

you wouldnt happen to have a copy of ur old plans would you?

You really should purchase your own copy.

[hairymick]

Hopey, first up welcome to this fine site.

Second, Matt is an allround bloody good bloke and he will help you out where he can. that being said, Boat design is his business. ie. that is where he makes his living. Both Chuck and I and many of the other builders here, consider ourselves to be Matt's friend.

Matt or any boat designer for that matter, sells his plans as a license to build one boat and one boat only. Matt's plans are clear, concise and easy to follow. They are second to none that I have seen and are a damn good investment. I think they are dirt cheap at the prices he charges. Matt has a fine,free canoe plan but it is bigger than you want. Yourboat builder mate should be able to help you shorten it a bit.

http://www.jemwatercraft.com/proddetail.php?prod=DKTour

Generally speaking, with free plans, you get pretty much what you pay for. there are free plans about on the net, simply do a google search "free canoe plans" and you will see what I mean. About the best thing one can say about most of them is that they probably float. Matt's free canoe is superior to anything I have seen in the way of freebies.

[tx river rat]

Well said Mick ,it will be the best money you can spend.
Ron

[oldsparkey]

you wouldnt happen to have a copy of ur old plans would you?
cheers mate

Yes , I admire your gut's for asking but to your misfortune I did not get the plans on this one , I got the kit which was available back then. The kit was a lot more then the plans are , a whole lot more but I wanted an easy build and that was the way to go.

I did not spare any expense on it since this is the canoe I wanted for myself , not a prototype of some experiential model that I have made for Matt in the past to see how it is. Even those were made to the best of my ability since I knew a friend would end up with them for there pleasure.

This will explain it..........and ..Yes .. I did go overboard on the way I wanted it. The main cost was the Kit.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5530

Yes.... I ( and others ) have made quite a few along with some boat thoughts of our own that Matt refined , of the prototypes , for Matt to see how easy they can be made , then paddle and camp with them and make any suggestions ( if necessary ) on how to improve them before he posts them on his web site. I ( We ) do this at our own expense for everything.

All his boats have been made , tested and used before he posts them on his web site.

All of them I have made have been given to friends that paddle and camp with me and then get there thoughts about them. Which I relay to Matt to help Matt.

As I said ... This one canoe is for me and you can bet that I will have it as long as I can pick up a paddle , load the canoe with gear if it is an overnight or two week trip and take out. If not then just a fun day run and go paddling.

A buddy of mine bought a Kevlar Canoe 1 foot longer and paid $2.500 for it , the dam thing weighs 2 more pounds then mine and for what he paid I could make three of mine from a kit ( Not available at this time ) and have change left over to pay for a week long trip.

Now for a sad note....... If it had been from plans and not a kit , I do not share them and if someone wants to build one then the designer deserves that monetary reward and credit for each set of his plans. He is running a business and trying to support his family , besides enjoying the knowledge and credit of someone wanting to make one of his designs.

Chuck.

[hopey84]

Hopey, first up welcome to this fine site.

Yourboat builder mate should be able to help you shorten it a bit.

i want to use him as little as i can so i feel that the project is 'mine' if u know wot i mean?
but yes i have downloaded the DK TOURING plan already as its a lovely looking canoe..

i guess i will go with the advice and stop being such a tight git and spend the money haha

cheers guys

the 1 thing i wanted to ask quickly.. on a plan i have, there are alot of measurements but marked up as x & y.... now i dont mean to sound stupid or anything but........ wots x and wots y haha its only giving 2 measurements per section of the piece yet with the slope of the cut line ud need atleast4 measurements if u get my meaning?
ill try and add a pic

[hopey84]

i completely understand where all of u guys are coming from and i apologise if i have caused and offence to anyone..

i was just looking to spend minimal cash on my 1st build incase it went horribly wrong haha im sure u can all understand..
but i guess the best way would be to buy a set of plans..

this is something i have wanted to do for a while now and who knows... maybe this could be my new best hobby

really cant wait

cheers guys

[JEM]

the 1 thing i wanted to ask quickly.. on a plan i have, there are alot of measurements but marked up as x & y.... now i dont mean to sound stupid or anything but........ wots x and wots y haha its only giving 2 measurements per section of the piece yet with the slope of the cut line ud need atleast4 measurements if u get my meaning?
ill try and add a pic

Are the dimensions you're referring to for a frame (also known as a station or mold)?

[hopey84]

hi JEM, i have found an example of what i was blabbering on about haha
it could be soo simple obviously my 1st look at plans so it could looks abit... u know ha
see if this works

**cant seem to get the image to work**

[Kayak Jack]

Maybe it's just me, but, can anyone else make any sense out of what he says?

[hopey84]

until i can upload the picture it does sound abit confusing.... but its plain english not too hard to understand really

[oldsparkey]

until i can upload the picture it does sound abit confusing.... but its plain english not too hard to understand really

You might want to check this post out.........Several good free sites to use for posting pictures on here.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1032

Any oversize pictures will vanish so try to keep them around 5 x 7 or in that range. This will explain it .....
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3927

[JEM]

until i can upload the picture it does sound abit confusing.... but its plain english not too hard to understand really

Well you're using some abbreviations and slang that are used a lot in texts. Complete sentences and full spelling have been the norm in this forum.