I built a variation of the "Cheap Canoe" that I'm quite happy with. Yes, it
can feel a bit "tippy" when you get into it - especially depending on your
weight - I'm 220lbs. I've found that it can tip over quite far and actually
gets more "stiff" as it goes - until the gunwale gets under water .... I've
only capsized mine once and that was on purpose. It also works well on very
"thin" water - it practically floats on spit.

I didn't fibreglass my boat, but did use Luan for the construction. I
squeegeed epoxy onto the wood to make it water resistant and then put on a
couple of coats of paint. It's held up well for me and it's a lot cheaper
to build without the fibreglass even though it won't last as long.

I did add a small skeg and some floatation chambers to mine. The skeg has
helped with tracking quite a bit.

There's a discussion board over on bateau.com - or at least there was a
while ago. Lots of people discuss this design there.

--
Andrew Butchart

http://www.abutchartconsulting.com/sailing/ - The Floating Bear

"James W. Sloan" wrote in message
...
Group,

I've found a couple of creeks I want to explore and I've decided to put
together the Bateau "Cheap Canoe". I don't expect much given that the
plans
are free and the materials minimal. Anyone built one to these plans? Any
changes I should make? Is this a stable canoe (13' x 30") or is it
tender/tippy? Should I add a small keel? I'll likely use Luan and
epoxy/glass ( I have enough left over from other projects to go with the
"cheap" theme!).

Thanks in advance,

James






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That's exactly what I was interested in....I can get accustomed to the
"feel" of just about any boat, but true tippiness is another thing. Since we
have a substantial alligator population where I intend to use this thing, I
want to have some reasonable expectations before paddling off the marsh's
edge. I don't mind canoeing among them, I just try not to swim that much!!

What mods did you make to the original plan? I thought about adding an inch
or two of freeboard, enough to matter but not interfere with arm motion. I
also thought about some flotation chambers, perhaps in the stem & stern
areas. These should be easy enough to enclose and fill.

I'm sure I have enough tape to do the inside and outside seams, I might have
enough 50" 6oz. to do the bottom and outer sides. I'll definitely seal it
all well with epoxy. I was at Home Depot (I know...I know) today looking at
the ply they have in stock, saw something called "Sanderply" (not superply)
that looks a lot like 1/4 MDO although none of the help knew a thing about
it.

Thanks,

James
" I built a variation of the "Cheap Canoe" that I'm quite happy with. Yes,
it
can feel a bit "tippy" when you get into it - especially depending on your
weight - I'm 220lbs. I've found that it can tip over quite far and
actually
gets more "stiff" as it goes - until the gunwale gets under water ....
I've
only capsized mine once and that was on purpose. It also works well on
very
"thin" water - it practically floats on spit.

I didn't fibreglass my boat, but did use Luan for the construction. I
squeegeed epoxy onto the wood to make it water resistant and then put on a
couple of coats of paint. It's held up well for me and it's a lot cheaper
to build without the fibreglass even though it won't last as long.

I did add a small skeg and some floatation chambers to mine. The skeg has
helped with tracking quite a bit.

There's a discussion board over on bateau.com - or at least there was a
while ago. Lots of people discuss this design there.

--
Andrew Butchart

http://www.abutchartconsulting.com/sailing/ - The Floating Bear

"James W. Sloan" wrote in message
...
Group,

I've found a couple of creeks I want to explore and I've decided to put
together the Bateau "Cheap Canoe". I don't expect much given that the
plans
are free and the materials minimal. Anyone built one to these plans? Any
changes I should make? Is this a stable canoe (13' x 30") or is it
tender/tippy? Should I add a small keel? I'll likely use Luan and
epoxy/glass ( I have enough left over from other projects to go with the
"cheap" theme!).

Thanks in advance,

James






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http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

On Sat, 5 Jul 2003 18:10:40 -0400, "James W. Sloan"
wrote:

That's exactly what I was interested in....I can get accustomed to the
"feel" of just about any boat, but true tippiness is another thing. Since we
have a substantial alligator population where I intend to use this thing, I
want to have some reasonable expectations before paddling off the marsh's
edge. I don't mind canoeing among them, I just try not to swim that much!!

What mods did you make to the original plan? I thought about adding an inch
or two of freeboard, enough to matter but not interfere with arm motion.
snip

As I recall, the nesting plans for the Cheap Canoe are really tight.
Your extra inch or two of freeboard might double your plywood
requirement.

- Rick Tyler

--
"Ignorant voracity -- a wingless vulture -- can soar only into the
depths of ignominy." Patrick O'Brian