I am looking for a boat design.
Intended purpose would be general purpose, use on twisty rivers with at most
class 2-3 rapids, and river/lake tripping in Quetico or similar locations.
Weight matters

Last year I built a 15' Hiawatha with a lowered sheer on the ends. It is a
nice fast boat in a straight line. Great for smooth lakes. On the down side,
it has a limited cargo capacity and I expect it will be a struggle on a
river, given the canoe's tendency to go in a straight line.

I figure I want a 17 foot boat this time with a bit more rocker in the hull
and maybe a bit more fullness in the ends. The Redbird (with the ends
lowered) comes to mind because I have a copy of "Canoecraft".

Can anybody comment on the redbird design or suggest an alternative?
--
Tim Taylor

Do you mean this design?

http://www.bearmountainboats.com/17-6Redbird.htm

or

http://www.leewoodenkayakscanoes.com/canoes.htm

There's some others as well. Strip built or S & G?

For what you described, you want something with 2-3" of rocker. Good
GENERAL rule of thumb is an inch of rocker for the highest class rapids
you'll mostly paddle.

Why do you want to lower the ends? Is weathercocking an issue?

Others might have some good plans suggestions.

--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://www.jemwatercraft.com

Tim Taylor wrote:
I am looking for a boat design.
Intended purpose would be general purpose, use on twisty rivers with at most
class 2-3 rapids, and river/lake tripping in Quetico or similar locations.
Weight matters

Last year I built a 15' Hiawatha with a lowered sheer on the ends. It is a
nice fast boat in a straight line. Great for smooth lakes. On the down side,
it has a limited cargo capacity and I expect it will be a struggle on a
river, given the canoe's tendency to go in a straight line.

I figure I want a 17 foot boat this time with a bit more rocker in the hull
and maybe a bit more fullness in the ends. The Redbird (with the ends
lowered) comes to mind because I have a copy of "Canoecraft".

Can anybody comment on the redbird design or suggest an alternative?

I suppose I was a little vague. My intention is to do a fiberglass and
epoxy coated cedar stripper. Now that I've done it once, I expect an easier
time of it. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. The first 6 months of that
project are shown he http://home.comcast.net/~ttaylor5/boat/

The redbird I mentioned in my post is the Bear Mountain design.

Lowering the ends:
- A little less weathercocking
- Less bend in the gunwales and decks means Easier deck shaping and gunwale
assembly
- I prefer the look with a little less recurve in the ends.

On my modified Beam Mountain Hiawatha, I dropped the peak of the ends 2"
and moved it forward 3.75". The result is probably no less sail area for
weathercocking, but a different look. It also reduced the twist in the
gunwales on that design. Before I make a similar change on another design
I'll do a little cad work to make sure I'm not creating more problems than I
help. I do not plan to change the hull design anywhere near the water line,
just up high.


Regarding my comment a
"Matt Langenfeld" wrote in message
nk.net...
Do you mean this design?

http://www.bearmountainboats.com/17-6Redbird.htm

or

http://www.leewoodenkayakscanoes.com/canoes.htm

There's some others as well. Strip built or S & G?

For what you described, you want something with 2-3" of rocker. Good
GENERAL rule of thumb is an inch of rocker for the highest class rapids
you'll mostly paddle.

Why do you want to lower the ends? Is weathercocking an issue?

Others might have some good plans suggestions.

--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
http://www.jemwatercraft.com

Tim Taylor wrote:
I am looking for a boat design.
Intended purpose would be general purpose, use on twisty rivers with at
most
class 2-3 rapids, and river/lake tripping in Quetico or similar
locations.
Weight matters

Last year I built a 15' Hiawatha with a lowered sheer on the ends. It is
a
nice fast boat in a straight line. Great for smooth lakes. On the down
side,
it has a limited cargo capacity and I expect it will be a struggle on a
river, given the canoe's tendency to go in a straight line.

I figure I want a 17 foot boat this time with a bit more rocker in the
hull
and maybe a bit more fullness in the ends. The Redbird (with the ends
lowered) comes to mind because I have a copy of "Canoecraft".

Can anybody comment on the redbird design or suggest an alternative?