Dave Allyn ) writes:

Checked out both boats. Thanks for the pointers. The boat I ended up
using is going to be about 8' long, Max Beam is about 32" It looks
like the front half of a canoe, but with a v-hull. The floor will be
doubled, and will be flat, to assist in the stability. I will be
useing the 2' triangles on bothe sides for stability, and will create
a kind of corregation between the layers of the floor for even more
support, especially where I will be kneeling. The Transom will be
doubled, with a 1 inch spacer in the middle to make it bow out a bit.
this should make it more stable as well. I'll make some fillet type
structures out of the left over card board for where the sides meet
the bottom.

Try to avoid drag at the transom. It can really slow a boat down. The
water should flow smoothly off the back of the boat, not create
turbulance. Two things to do are a) keep the transom narrow and b) make
the bottom of the transom above the surface of the water. You can do "b"
by cutting some off the bottom of the sides at the back. If folding the
sides up out of one sheet, then a "V" (dart) can be cut out along the fold
at the back. It's more important on low powered boats - paddles, oars, and
sails.

A flat bottom boat with a transom doesn't paddle very well. It won't go
straight. You can add a skeg to the bottom at the back but then paddling
on one side isn't very good. You really need oars on a skiff. However if
you turn the skiff around and paddle it backwards the pointy end is like
the tail on a kite, it keeps it going straight. That's how I paddle my 11
ft Dogskiff. A flat bottom canoe (pirogue) or punt shape paddles better.
You can sit to one side submerging one bottom edge (chine) which then
helps keep the boat going straight. An 8 ft long boat will not keep going
straight if you lift the paddle out of the water. If you're not an
experienced paddler you can practice the J-stroke in your living rom to
get used to it. I hope you won't be using a carboard paddle.

I'll run some tests here ina bit to see how water proof Duct tape is.

Will be fine. It's used to make temporary patches in boats.

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