Our canoe building system includes a variety of options not available on any other type of canoe
– CUSTOM SIZING + SHAPING Our formula-based building system allows you to customize the size and shape of the canoe so you can get exactly the performance you’re looking for. Every plan purchase comes with a complimentary sizing consult.
– NESTING Our balanced-tension design allows you to create canoes that can be nested together like Russian dolls for easy storage or transport. We’ve even had families build nesting sets of four canoes for easy cartopping!
– CATAMARAN We cover two different methods in our canoe plans to turn two canoes into a catamaran. The system is strong but flexible and has proven itself durable through extensive testing. We have even used it on whitewater rivers!
– SAIL Our simple pop-up sail, included in our canoe plans, is designed to be inexpensive, easy to build, and compact. It deploys quickly, allowing you to catch a favorable breeze, and then tucks out of the way where you won’t even notice it when you’re not using it. On larger canoes sailing is limited to 45 degrees either side of downwind, but on the smallest pack canoes, you can actually use this to sail across the wind.
– ROWING FRAME We have a separate mini course that shows you how to build a simple fixed-seat rowing frame and oars that match the rowing geometry of an Adirondack guide boat. As a huge fan of Adirondack Guideboats, I would say this gives you about 80% of the Guideboat rowing experience without the grueling task of building a Guideboat! You can also add a sliding seat if desired, but we feel that is overkill for most canoes.
– PEDAL DRIVE We spent all of 2023 designing a system to adapt a Hobie Mirage Drive to our skin on frame canoes, and then spent months on the water testing it! The pedal drive system is definitely more expensive and more challenging than our other building projects, but for for avid fishermen or people with mobility issues it offers an alternate propulsion system that works extremely well. The coolest part is that both the drive and the adapter box are removable, which means you can switch from pedaliing to normal canoeing in just a few minutes.
– OUTRIGGER Using the same attachments and cross members as our catamaran system, the outrigger allows you to quickly add a bit of extra stability for situations where it might be useful, but also to return the canoe to a simple monohull when you don’t need it. This works well with our tandem pedal drive boats, but can also be used on a solo paddle canoe. We personally use an inflatable outrigger, but there are other options.
