First time build for family use

You don't know which boat you should build to suit your personal needs? Please post your questions here and our many contributors will surely have some good advice.
Post Reply
joekluthe
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 1:12 pm

First time build for family use

Post by joekluthe »

I'm beginning to think about building my first canoe and as everyone knows the first question is which to build?
I'm looking for a good size boat for me, my wife and 2 daughters(300-400lbs total) to row primarily on lakes and slow rolling rivers and streams. With space at a premium(I will be building this in the spare garage/workshop) I believe 17' is the longest I can go with at this time. I was thinking the Nomad 17 looked like a good design for these purposes but thought I'd throw this up to see if anyone had any suggestions.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Joe
User avatar
Cruiser
Posts: 867
Joined: Sat Apr 27, 2013 10:21 am
Location: Bowmanville, Ontario

Re: First time build for family use

Post by Cruiser »

Welcome to the forum and you are quite correct, that is the first question and it can be a hard one to answer.

You likely need to take a good look at what you intend to do with the boat to be able to start evaluating the various designs.
- will you need to carry the canoe, if yes, how far? (i.e. portage vs. from a roof rack to the lake) .. so finished weight may or may not be a consideration
- will you be camping or day tripping or both, this may influence your total weight needs
- experience of the paddlers, most of the plans here will indicate stability

If you find a design you like, look in the project directory for that canoe and there will most certainly be pictures etc., so you can see what you are getting into. Also if you post that pick, and ask if anyone has built and what do they think, you are pretty assured of a few responses.

Oh ... and don't worry about smaller spaces to build in, it just requires you to be organized .... I build in a single car garage.

Brian
joekluthe
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2016 1:12 pm

Re: First time build for family use

Post by joekluthe »

Thanks for the tips, Brian. Very helpful.
joanbarrett
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon May 10, 2004 1:36 pm

Re: First time build for family use

Post by joanbarrett »

I think the Nomad is a great choice.....we use it on our annual canoe trip with Ron Frenette of Canadian Canoes and I cannot say enough good things about the design for carrying larger loads and general all around good paddling characteristics.
Check out the pictures on Ron's website at canadiancanoes.com

Good luck with your choice!
Joan
Post Reply