Where to find plans for large "family" canoe?

[Wyo George]

My wife and I have three small children, 7yr old twin girls and a 4yr old boy. Currently when we go out we each take a canoe and split the children (unevenly of course as she frowns on the idea of cutting one child in half). I've seen a few large canoes that would handle the whole crew, but finding plans for them seem near impossible. The only 20+ footer I can find plans for is the E.M. White 20ft guide in Gilpatrick's book, which would work if there are no other options. The North Canoe by Northwest Canoes is great if not slightly too large at 24 feet, but they don't offer plans for it, only completed boats.

So, my question for the crew here is this: Does anyone know of a source for canoe plans in the 20+ foot range?

Thanks,
G

 

[Rippy]

I have a dumb question as I have not built a canoe but here goes. Could you take plans for a 17'-18' canoe and stretch the stations out to get a 19'-20' canoe?

 

[memaquay]

Yes! I am a 20 foot canoe fanatic! I have built two of them. The first one, I stretched out an 18.5' John Winter's design. It was a good fast canoe, but didn't give me the volume I wanted for a family canoe. So I found the plans from valley woodworking for the Outback 200. This is a very big canoe, 43 inches wide at the centre I believe, and at least 15 inches deep. It will haul a huge load and would be perfectly suited to your needs. I have included a few pictures below. It was relatively easy to build too.

http://www.valleywoodworking.biz/outback.htm

 

[Wyo George]

I have a dumb question as I have not built a canoe but here goes. Could you take plans for a 17'-18' canoe and stretch the stations out to get a 19'-20' canoe?

You can stretch the stations to a degree, but there's a limit as to how far apart you want them to go. The distance varies between different designers and builders, but for me I have found that I like to keep the stations no more than about 18-20" apart using staples and less if building without staples. More than that and it's really hard to keep a nicely faired hull because the strips are unsupported for long gaps and tends to be wavy. Some people will go more and some builders I know won't go more than about 14" between stations. So I guess the answer is yes and no! If the original plans call for 12" spacing and you go out to 16-18" then you could feasibly stretch a canoe 4 feet or more, but the beam would still be unchanged and you'd gain length, but not as much volume as you would going with a boat designed to be large in the first place.

 

[Wyo George]

Yes! I am a 20 foot canoe fanatic! I have built two of them. The first one, I stretched out an 18.5' John Winter's design. It was a good fast canoe, but didn't give me the volume I wanted for a family canoe. So I found the plans from valley woodworking for the Outback 200. This is a very big canoe, 43 inches wide at the centre I believe, and at least 15 inches deep. It will haul a huge load and would be perfectly suited to your needs. I have included a few pictures below. It was relatively easy to build too.

http://www.valleywoodworking.biz/outback.htm

That's perfect, thanks a ton! I really like the sheer line of that hull too. I also like the "Gilpatrick / Hazen" method of building without an internal stem (I know, touchy subject for some builders...)

 

[memaquay]

If I rebuilt this one, I would put an innie and an outie on it. I did build this one without stems, but didn't like the look much in the end. I'm one of those stem kinda guys. But that's just window dressing. The canoe itself is primo, I think it would suit your needs. You could even stretch it out another foot or two, but even at 20 feet, the weight is getting up there. I built mine with a double 6 ounce bottom and lots of overlap inside...never weighed it but pretty sure it's over a hundred pounds.

 

[Wyo George]

If I rebuilt this one, I would put an innie and an outie on it. I did build this one without stems, but didn't like the look much in the end. I'm one of those stem kinda guys. But that's just window dressing. The canoe itself is primo, I think it would suit your needs. You could even stretch it out another foot or two, but even at 20 feet, the weight is getting up there. I built mine with a double 6 ounce bottom and lots of overlap inside...never weighed it but pretty sure it's over a hundred pounds.

Weight is a very minor issue to me as I trailer mine and back down to the water so I rarely carry a canoe more than a few yards. My 16ft Stitch and Glue flat bottom weighs over 90 lbs, but it's built for abuse when the river is low. It has one layer of 6oz inside and the outside is 10oz with a double layer on the bottom.

 

[memaquay]

If weight is not an issue, you could easily stretch it out another foot or two. Stations are at 12.75 I think. I can't remember exactly how many stations there were, but if you went to 14 inches, you should be close to 22 feet. If you plan on overnighting with all your kids, that 22 feet would make for a pretty comfortable set up. If you decide to build, I hope you post pics along the way. Have fun!

 

[yknpdlr]

This 32 foot woodstrip was constructed by a local canoe builder by butting/overlapping together the unfinished ends of two tandem canoes. I paddled it in six Adirondack 90-miler races, winning voyageur/war canoe class first place twice and otherwise placing second or third in a large field of competitors. It's a good boat but I haven't paddled it in a few years.

 

[memaquay]

32 feet! Yeehaa! I sure would like to paddle that!

 

[Wyo George]

If weight is not an issue, you could easily stretch it out another foot or two. Stations are at 12.75 I think. I can't remember exactly how many stations there were, but if you went to 14 inches, you should be close to 22 feet. If you plan on overnighting with all your kids, that 22 feet would make for a pretty comfortable set up. If you decide to build, I hope you post pics along the way. Have fun!

I'll definitely share my build, whatever I build next.

That 32 footer would be a nice solo boat for the small, crooked mountain streams

 

[yknpdlr]

That 32 footer would be a nice solo boat for the small, crooked mountain streams

Very true, and with a Knupac mount it's not bad on portages either...

 

[Wyo George]

Very true, and with a Knupac mount it's not bad on portages either...

Nice!! I must admit though, I'm not much of a portage paddler. I like to keep my paddle trips and my hiking trips separated

 

[Jim Dodd]

32 feet! Yeehaa! I sure would like to paddle that!

Solo ? You could do it ! I'll bet it tracks !

 

[Jim Dodd]

George You could take a set of plans to a good print shop, They could enlarge them, and you could stretch the form spacing accordingly.

I have a set of plans, I purchased from Al Gustaveson, The founder of North West Canoe, now owned by Dennis Davidson.
It is a Voyager canoe that can be built to 26' long.
I rough cut forms. But never built it. Several reasons. Cost of materials, place to build, place to store, and finding enough people to paddle it, and transporting it.
I build pretty much just solos now.

Consider the above before laying down money to build a Big canoe !

Jim

 

[Wyo George]

George You could take a set of plans to a good print shop, They could enlarge them, and you could stretch the form spacing accordingly.

I have a set of plans, I purchased from Al Gustaveson, The founder of North West Canoe, now owned by Dennis Davidson.
It is a Voyager canoe that can be built to 26' long.
I rough cut forms. But never built it. Several reasons. Cost of materials, place to build, place to store, and finding enough people to paddle it, and transporting it.
I build pretty much just solos now.

Consider the above before laying down money to build a Big canoe !

Jim

Good points Jim, but with a family of five plus a "dog like creature" I doubt I'll find myself short of company in the big canoe! Besides, even if I only use it on our annual trip and use the small canoes the rest of the year it's still worth having for that one week long trip a year.

(says the guy who never needs an excuse to build another boat!)