wrote:
I'm an IT Consultant and am considering a new hobby to take up a
little bit of my time. I'm thinking about building a canoe. Am I
better to buy just the plans, or a whole kit with forms?

Just the plans would be more fun
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I have
about 5 hours a week that I could honestly put into the work but
would like to see some results within a few months. If possible I'd
like to have my 4 year old daughter help a bit too.

I just built an 8' stitch & glue sailing pram from really lousy plans, took
me about four months including the spars. That probably equates to about
100 hours which is way longer than it should have been but I'm kinda picky.
Spent lots of time trying to interpret the plans too...
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How big should I
build to accommodate 2 adults and 1 child on an afternoon?

Rather depends on where and how you intend to use it. If you have to lug it
around, small (10'-12') is good. A larger one isn't all that much more work
to build. Here are some suggestions...
http://www.voyageurcanoe.com/choosing.htm

Some freebie plans...
http://www.bigdamfish.net/freeplans.html

The two easiest methods of building IMO are "STITCH & GLUE" and "STRIP".
Googling same will give you a ton of info but basically, "stitch & glue"
involves cutting panels from thin plywood, securing them together
temporarily with wire (14 gauge copper works well) and then securing them
permanently with epoxy fillets; "strip" is more complicated. Both rely on
epoxy a good source for which is http://www.uscomposites.com/


--

dadiOH
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