18ft. Freighter Canoe

[TimothyM]

Helo
Just want to share a picture of my new 18ft. freighter canoe. I have designed a 20ft. version as well. They both have a 53" beam, are 20inches deep aft and 31 inches deep forward and 43" wide at the transom.

[alan white]

Nice job. I see some Grand Lakers around up here in Maine but that is a pretty wide and burdensome canoe you're building. The Maine Guides love that style of boat.

[TimothyM]

Thanks Alan. I've always thought the grand lakers were to narrow. This boat is very comfortable to drive, as you can stradle the seat. It's also very stable and sea-worthy. It carried four adults and 10 days worth of gear across Grand lake Matagamon into 20mph winds. It was a little wet, but very safe ride.

[SaltOntheBrain]

How about some more specs and performance numbers?

What does it weigh? What's one cost?

How fast does it go with what outboard?

Please, and Thank you.

Lance.

[TimothyM]

Lance
Not sure what she weighs or how fast she goes. I know that my son and I can pick her up, but I wouldn't want to carry her to far. She is fast enough with an 8hps Yamaha that I think anything over 10hp would be scary.

[Easy Rider]

Tim,
Love your boat. I have an 18' Clipper square stern canoe (40" beam and 17" depth). I like it a lot but wish it was bigger. Also it was created by damming the end of a mold for a 20' freight canoe so it's stern is too narrow (about 14"). Still with a person in the bow I can cruise safely at about 14 konts with my 8hp Yamaha (yea I've got one too). One dosn't want to move the tiller very fast at speed. It's very nice and quiet at 7-8 knots and at 1/3 to 1/2 throttle. I've been wanting to build a dory like skiff 6.5' wide and 24-27' long. I could do a canoe as you have done but that size and incorporating the rocker cross ways and fore and aft of the Clipper thinking it is a magic form.
Tim ..check out Troy 2000's "building a Flat Bottom Canoe". Go to boatbuilding and then to wood boat building.

Easy Rider.

[TimothyM]

Thanks Easy Rider
Here's 2 pictures of the mold for the 20ft version. I'll check out the flat bottomed canoe.

[Easy Rider]

Timothy M,
Excellent picture to show her transverse form. Yours is much flatter that the Clipper. I thought the Clipper would be noticeably tender for her "arch" bottom but on the water it seems not to have suffered.
Do you use Red Cedar stripping and do you fasten strip to strip or does the overlay accomplish that. Oh ... I looked at your picture again. Looks like you fastened the strips to the molds.

Easy

[TimothyM]

The 18ft. hull is laid up with 3/8" cedar strips and 10oz. glass inside and out. the 20ft. hull is laid up with 1/2" strips and 10oz. cloth.

[daiquiri]

Hi, just one question - why is it called "freighter canoe"?

[TimothyM]

This type of canoe is used at sporting camps to frieght people and gear into remote camps.

[daiquiri]

Ok, thanks.

[SaltOntheBrain]

Thanks Timothy and Easy Rider.

I've long been a fan of big canoes and slender boats. My wife and I have discussed building a "Super Canoe" as soon as we can get these kids to grow up and move out. Laid out like an old runabout...maybe 24...25 feet long. But made to go a little faster. Full width stern, hard chines...maybe a max speed of 20-25 kts. Something along the lines of "Sneakeasy", maybe. We plan on using it to cruise the Intracoastal, large lakes, and navigable rivers.

I always like to hear from people who have done anything even remotely similar.

Lance.

[TimothyM]

I have a 22 footer on the drawing board with a 62" beam

[ancient kayaker]

Originally Posted by daiquiri

Hi, just one question - why is it called "freighter canoe"?

Freight canoes were used in the pioneer days to open up the winderness when roads were few. They were typically about 26 ft long and capable of carrying several tons of freight and personnel. The Canadian Canoe Museum at http://www.canoemuseum.ca/ has several nice examples of birchbark freight canoes, some can be seen in the Origins, Lobby, Kayak, and Artisan virtual tours.