Trouble deciding

[Colquhoun]

I am having trouble deciding what design suits my needs best. I will mostly be on small lakes (75 acres or less), but it can be very windy here on the Illinois prarrie. Part of the time I will be using it solo and flyfishing, so it needs to be a good solo canoe I can easily handle on the water and out of the water myself. (load ~250-275)
The rest of the time, it will be used short trips with me and my wife and dog. So it needs to be big enough to handle ~500 lbs, and stable enough for a novice.
I though when my Canoecraft got here the decision would be easier.. but now with so much info.. I have become worried about the wind here.

Rob

[Glen Smith]

I would consider building the Freedom 15 but stretching it out to 16 feet by increasing the forms spacing ( you may have to slightly reshape the stem forms and possibly the first form at each end ). This would increase the capacity to about 480 pounds and it is a very stable canoe. The low profile, compared to the higher ends of traditional canoes, will make it a better performer in windy conditions.

[MACK]

Rob,
I found the chart at the following address to be very helpful when I was making up my mind as to which boat to build.

http://www.bearmountainboats.com/CanoeTechnical.htm

Mack[/img]

[Rick]

The Bob's is another design that paddles well solo when reversed, and tandem. The plans, IIRC, include forms that allow for stretching to 16'.

[Patricks Dad]

Rob, I'm in the final stages of building a Freedom-15 for many of the reasons/needs you seem to have. Where in Illinois are you?

[Colquhoun]

I am in Champaign Urbana, other then Lake Shelbyville.. everything arround here is small non powered Nature Preserve lakes. I am really excited about getting on the water here, should be a big change from the big lakes I am used in Kentucky.

Ok, now for some questions that might seems a bit dumb, but hey would rather ask then make a major screw up.

The Freedom 15 looks good but I am bit worried about changing the size on my first canoe. How would the stems need to be modifided? Also would I increase spacing between all my stations and not increase the the distance between my last station and stem (in order to preserve the line)?

[Patricks Dad]

I'm no expert on stretching but I did shrink the 17' 6" Redbird to 17' for my first build. I simply reduced the spacing between the stations .5" and left the stem molds alone. It worked out fine. That was just a 6" shrink across 17" so it was very minor.

I would think you could do the same with a stretch of the Freedom-15 but it woiuld be a larger change (percentage-wise). Simply adding an appropriate spacing between the stations should work. I wouldn't attempt to stretch the stem molds however for fear of messing it up. I think the general advice you will receive is to find a design that's already the right length for your use. If you decide to stretch the Freedom you would probably do just fine. Good luck.

I recall running out of gas in a friends small boat on Lake Shelbyville about 20 years ago and swimming back dragging it with a rope.

[Glen Smith]

To stretch the Freedom 15 to a length of 16' you would set up the froms with a 12 & 15/16" spacing right up to the transversal forms that are fastened to the stem molds. The stem mold should not require any modification. The transversal forms attached to the stem forms may require a slight reshaping. To determine the necessity of reshaping or not, you would hold a batten along several forms all the way out to the ends of the stem forms. If the batten does not show a fair line, the transversal forms will need to be shaped. If the batten shows a fair line, you do not need to modify the transversal forms.