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This time of year, many retailers have "demo days" where you can go try several different boats in a short amount of time.

Buying a plastic one gets you on the water today. They tend to more stable but slower. I think it would be worth your time and money to rent one to see what you like and don't like.

whoa.... hold up.... let's not get silly. Words like that are bad for business! :shock: :P

Now that you've assembled it and had a different look, you can determine if you move forward or decide to start over. It's a good plan in my mind because you get to learn from your experience. You could apply a butt plate patch or fiberglass patch over the scarf area. Keep in mind, with any...

I generally try to get one every 24"-30" in the main hull area. Less needed on the ends.

The basic hull is ready but I'm doing 3 deck options and ran into a snag. It's coming before the end of summer.

That deck radius is more for easy assembly as a fiberglass boat. When I drew this for the 1st person who wanted to take a crack at building it, I drew it with an easier to assemble deck. The builder had a fit when he saw the sketches because it didn't look enough like the boat that inspired my...

I'm with Piper... true up the panels so left and right sides match when you lay them on top of each other. When you get the frames and bow stems together with the sides, you'll get a good visual of how she will look. You could always disassemble from there if you really needed to. But I'd push...

I drew this style of hull with efficient parting of water in mind. Less turbulence, less resistence. So long as the hull bottom near the bow doesn't come out of the water, it's gonna be fast. Now if you find yourself punching over surf, with the bow coming out of the water and back down, the...

That deck radius had me a little concerned but it looks like you managed it well. When I publish these plans, I'll probably note that it's not the ideal boat for a 1st time wood-strip builder.

what he said! :)

Ron, Great report! May I use the pictures? If using a kayak paddle, you shouldn't need a rudder. But if you used a short canoe paddle like Verlen Kruger did with his Sea Wind, it has it's advantages. And you're right about the speed and capacity: It's made to haul a load over long distances...

My son, when he was 12, and I went fishing in a Sea Wind. My North Wind is based off the concepts of the Kruger Sea Wind. It was tight because of the cockpit and a bit twitchy because of my son being 12 and the tight quarters. But with a larger cockpit a husband and wife of average height and...

The ability to stand up in a "paddlecraft" is 50% boat and 50% paddler. I've seen a 200 lbs guy stand in a 17'2 x 28.5" round bottom touring canoe. I've seen others who have a hard time standing in a jonboat. No comment on which of those groups I fit into. Wider bottom gets more stable but as...

Yep, that's the way to go. You could also apply some additional fiberglass but see how the rails do first.

Just reread this: If you're going to create a 3" wider bottom by drawing the bottom "football" wider, you'll change the needed legnth of the side panels. This can be done but you'll have to accurate measure the curved outer edge of the football and recut you side panels to the same length. You...

Uncle John's pirogue is a great place to start. Some good advice so far. Another perspective: If you think you might build another boat one day, I'd just build this one to "standard spec" and try it out. You'll get a feel for the process and what "is" and "is not" a fit for you desires.

Wow! Talk about well traveled! Great job!!!

Depending on shape, a round chine hull can have great initial stability that has little secondary stability. Same is true for hard chined. If one wanted to compare, you'd have to have a very specific set of parameters. Beyond that, these are generalizations like "women are bad drivers".

Why wheat flour? If you're going through the trouble of staining, epoxy, fiberglass, and clear coat.... why not take the last step and get wood flour or fumed silica?