Old Canoe Plans Advise | SouthernPaddler.com

Old Canoe Plans Advise

qpassage

Well-Known Member
Hey everyone
It's been a long time since my last visit. I see I have a ton of reading to catch up on.

I'm in the need of some canoe building advise, hopping I might find it here.

Back about 20 years ago I bought 3 boards. Yellow poplar they are 18 to 24 inches wide 5/4 thick and all are in the 17 foot range. These boards came from an old house of John Hay. John Hay was a secertary to President Lincoln. That said these boards are approx. 150 years old.
I'm hoping to find a canoe plan from that time frame to build out of these boards. Any ideas as to a place to buy plans, look at plans, etc from that era?

This will be my first boat/canoe building experiance. But I'm a trade carpenter for many years so I know a bit about woodworking. I'm planning on building a cedar strip on the same plan first, then the one out of the popular. Then hopefully a kevlar in the spring.

Thank You
qp
 

hairymick

Well-Known Member
Dec 8, 2005
2,107
2
Queensland, Australia
G'day Qpassage and welcome back.

I know precious little about stripper building but I suspect the methods as they might have been 150 years ago, no longer apply.

Gil Gilpatrick, however, does have a range of superb canadian style canoe plans for strippers. The boats look very traditional in hull shape and might suit your needs. They range from about 13 feet up to around 20 ft and include a couple of White Guide style boats - beautiful.

I started one of his Puddle-ducks years ago but my skills weren't up to the task in hand. As my skills and confidence improve, she is getting closer to coming down from the racks and being finished. 8)

Oh yeah, great to have another wood butcher aboard. :p :lol:
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Are you planning to use the boards whole? Or make strips of them? If you plan to make strips, let me know. A friend of mine did that with some cedar planks. He bought the tools to cut the strips, and to bead & cove them.

You may already have the tools, don't know. But, you may want to talk with him as his experience would bear directly on your task, if I understand you rightly.
 

qpassage

Well-Known Member
There sorry about the avatar size.

Yes I have plans to build a strip canoe with the lumber. I intend to use the bead and cove also. I don't have the bead and cove machinery but have a friend a couple hours drive from me that does. He has built two strip canoes both have turned out very nice.
One other thing I'm looking to add to it is, I intend to add my logo to the side of it as a veener in lay. Something I know nothing about but have heard about doing. I've seen both option of veener sheets you buy and print on or using regular veener.
I hope to get started sometime in Oct after my trip north.

Thanks
qp
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
You might want to get with Al at michstripcanoe ( Number 26 in the members list) here on the forum , he has built a lot of the stripper Puddle Ducks and they are some fine canoes.

I have seen them and he paddles a perfect one everywhere we go on trips. It is a show stopper.

If anyone can tell you Al would be the person.

Chuck.