The Free Boat Plans Blog

My dad made a 16' cedar strip canoe.

It is beautiful, light, and quiet on the water. I know there are books available at Barnes and Noble or Borders, but I know he just created the form and learned how to fiberglass finish the outside.

Good luck!

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i'm looking for a sunfish sailboat, preferably used (dont want to spend the money for new). do you know of any websites that sell used sunfishes or new sunfishes at low cost? i plan to use the sunfish for day sailing, nothing too serious. Thanks!

go check out your local yacht club or sailing club. they may have boats for sail. look in the newspaper too. Good luck!

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I don't know what kind of commercial boat I want to build. I just need to know the general supplies?

Boatyard
Molds if it is fiberglass
Workers
Machine shop
Tools
Money
Permits from city/town/state
Boat plans
More money
dedication to work 7 days a week 12-15hours a day
Office staff
Part suppliers
Steel/aluminum suppliers
More money
A lot of planning
Good Luck

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I am building a CAD model of a boat which I will be slicing up and have plywood spants cut from it by a laser cutter. I'll then assemble the plywood spants in 3D and fill the gaps with foam. Then I'll put fibreglass over everything.
It's supposed to end up being a mix out of a jetski and a sea kayak, about 6 metres in length, powered by a 2 to 3 HP outboard motor, for commuting on a bay in southern NZ (salt water).
Does anyone know how to prepare the foam for the fibreglass, or do I just lash it on and sand later, using filler till it's smooth?
Maybe any links known to relevant sites?
Cheers.

I built a canoe out of wood that I fiberglassed over. Clean the foam with a solvent that won't melt it then you drape the fiberglass cloth over it and brush it down with resin (mixed with hardner). Hard part is to make sure you dont have any air between the cloth and whatever you're putting the cloth on.

Start at one end and work your way to the other end with the resin. so you've always got a wet edge to continue on with. After it dries (a day or so) light sanding, wipe it down to get the dust off of it and make sure there is no oil and go at it again with resin. It should take 3 or 4 coats to completely fill the weave and get a smooth finish. Then you can paint it whatever color you want.

website that might interest you is www.westsystem.com

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I am planning on spending July 4 week at beautiful Bear Lake Idaho. We are going to rent a sailboat for the week. I was wondering how much sail boat fuel I will need per day.?This will help me budget expense for the week,

Well… obviously we have no live aboards "out there"…
I agree, the first response to fuel usage on a sail boat is "Duh - Dummy, sail boats don't need fuel… but actually they do… if you are living on it for a week…
In addition to docking (which is minimal fuel) if you are living out on the hook for a week, you will obviously be running a generator… I have a forty-footer (and lived on her for a couple years sailing with my son…
We ran the generator about 2 hours every morning and another 2 or 3 sometimes 4 hours (when running ac unit) at night to get all our battery banks recharged… that kept our refrigerator, cabin lights, computer, stereo, etc… going… when we ran our air conditioner, we had to run the generator as well… but we only ran our air conditioner on really hot evenings starting about an hour before bed time. ours cost us about a gallon of fuel an hour… So, at the near $5 a gallon you will pay on the water for fuel… you are wise to budget "sailboat fuel".
Happy & Safe Boating!

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I was thinking about buying a canoe, then i saw some plans at Barnes and noble to build your own woodstrip canoe or birchbark canoe.I was wondering if anyone has ever done this and how much would it cost and if it was actually a good looking boat that works. I already have a bunch of woodworking tools so if you could tell me how much only the wood itself would cost or is it just cheaper to buy one?

I can't tell you specifically about building a "canoe". I have done a few but so long ago, I couldn't help you with costs…

But I have built dozens and dozens of boats and even building one now… and my feeling about boat building is this:

Can you save money? Yes, you can save alot - if you really want a top quality boat.
Can you buy cheaper - Yes, if you are satisfied with a cheap boat.

But if you really want a "sharp looking - head turning - top quality custom-made boat… Yes, you can build it for alot less than you can buy… and of course, the bigger the boat, the more you are going to save, because most of what you save is labor…
What you really gain in building your own… is a "better" boat then you can buy… and that is really the whole purpose of doing it yourself.

You need to check out this link:

http://www.glen-l.com/

They are really great people and they have canoe plans to build - as well as most any other type boat you can think of to build.
I am suggesting you visit their site only because they have a really good and very informative "website" - whether you buy anything from them or not… their website is worth the trip just to see the beautiful boats they and their customers have built.

They have current up to date estimates on time and materials to build their boats… and they offer "study plans" with full Bill of Materials…

At their site, you can also see the different build processes with progressive build photos… plus they have the largest customer base and largest "customer" photos, links, and forums as I have ever seen…
If nothing else… their site will keep you enthusiastic over your project…

Happy and Safe Boating…
PS.
I don't know about the plans you saw at Barnes & Noble… but let me just mention, If you buy the book… who do you call when you run into trouble? The Author? The Publisher? or Barnes & Noble? (Just something you should think about… )

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I am planning on buying my first canoe very soon and I have some odd questions.

Once you paddle downstream, how do you get back to the car?
If I have in registered in Ohio can I still take it to other states?
What are the best buys for the money?
Where are the best places to go for day trips in Ohio? Surrounding states?

Thanks in advance!!!

The river process you speak of is the shuttle. There are many ways to accomplish the shuttle. In some area, an outfitter will do this for a fee or it will be included with a canoe or kayak rental. It's also common to meet up with other folks and agree to take a car to the end, agreeing tha that car will in turn take someone back to the beginning. I've also driven a bike down to the take out so one person can bike back to the car.

If you have a group with more than one car, you can of course do your own shuttle.

Check online for more rivers online. I know there is a book of Ohio rivers as well.

Generally speaking, most states have registration reciprocities with other states, so as long as you have a valid registration sticker you are probalby okay. The big problem occurs when you are in a state with no registration, but take your canoe to a state that requires registration.

As far as materials and kinds: I'd go with Kevlar for canoe expeditions where I need to portage the canoe, for white water or bumpy creeks I'd go with a plastic such as Royalex. I think aluminum canoes can represent some of the best values around. Taken care of they will outlast plastics and can be purchased used at great deals. Grummans and Alumacrafts are a few good aluminum boats. Some dings, etc are fine - some things to check are: any broken or fractured ribs or keel. A sprung keel (big bend) and see if either the stern or bow compartment are holding water.

In our program we use plastic canoes and I recently swtiched from Old Town to wenonah, mostly for reasons of customer service. Both make great canoes. Stay away from coleman canoes. For kevlar, I'd probably select Wenonah or Bell.

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Hello! I'm wondering if anyones ever built from scratch a small sailboat before.

I'm looking to build a small boat to hold 2 people and that I could use as a sailboat and sometimes take the mast out and use it with oars or a small engine.

Anyone know of any free plans or anything?

I built a 14' Blue Jay. It is a 1-design centerboard plywood sloop that was popular in the 60' and 70's. I bought the plans from Sparkman and Stephens. It was designed for amateur construction, and was relatively easy to build and sail. Also, Glen-L has some designs that would be suitable. The plans aren't free, but not that expensive. Also getting the full size patterns will make the build easier, and save a lot of lofting work.

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I've wanted to build my own boat for a long time now. I've read some books on how to do it and I think I can the only thing that i've never been able to find is can you build a boat and legally drive it in the ocean? I currently have my own sail boat and that has to be registered and I have insurance I just don't know if that's something I need to have or not. But could I build a boat and some how get a VIN number for it or something or would building my own boat be a waste of time because I wouldn't be able to use it …. assuming it floated when I put it in the water lol. I live in california any one know how to register a hand made boat?

Build your boat. Go to the DMV when it is finished and apply for registration. In CA all boats require a registration card, proof of insurance, and a hull number with a valid sticker affixed.
Just fill out the form and indicate "home built" in the Manufacturers section. They may require a visual inspection of the boat, but when I built mine it was not required.

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I want to try to build a non-toxic boat. I am hoping to use canvas and laminate it over a positive mold using a non-chemical resin. Problem is:
I don't know if there are any, and all the boating companies are looking at me funny when I ask. Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks.

Four come to mind. One is pine pitch, which was used by the American Indians to seal seams on birch bark canoes (sewn with tree rootlets.) Another is chicle, the chewy stuff from South America that chewing gum is made of. A third is natural latex, also from South America. The fourth is natural latex of a different species (but it should work pretty much the same), found in dandelions and goldenrod.

My suggestion is to contact turpentine manufacturers. Turps are made from the destructive distillation of pine, and there should be some waste left over. They can tell you whether it is sticky or gummy enough to be used as a sealant.

Oh, and I almost forgot: linseed oil. It hardens in the sunlight (some people say it polymerizes.) I know it can be used to preserve wood, like tool handles, and seal the pores in thin, fine linen or coarse paper to make into kites. I don't know whether it would be waterproof. I suppose you could get some and test it. Linseed oil can be found in many hardware stores and art supply stores.

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