First Design - Solo Canoe

[Tim Hall]

Well, here's my first ever vessel design. Concept: solo canoe, general touring/weekend camping. Hope you guys here might take a moment to look over the lines and particulars, and give me a little criticism before I commit to drafting construction drawings. I'd really appreciate any feedback.

LOA 16' 4"
LWL 16' 0"
BOA 29.0"
BWL 26.4"
Bgnwl 24.0"
Draft 3.625"
Displ 276 lbs.

Cb 0.416
Cp 0.532
Cx 0.781
Cl 0.844

WSA 24.5 sf
WPA 22.1 sf

Ie 9.4°
Ix 11.4°

LCB 52.50%
LCF 51.30%
LCA 53.10%

H bw 16.6”
H md 11.5”
H sn 14.0”

[philSweet]

Nameplate capacity is usually calculated at 7" freeboard if I remember correctly. You are showing 6.9" so your listed disp. is about max. Not much room for camping gear. I'm a diehard backpacker, so when I trip by canoe it seems like total luxury- I can carry EVERYTHING (and usually do). Have you figured out the seat height if it's under the inwale. Just thinking an inch more depth to the whole thing might lead to a more comfortable and capacious boat. If you're planning on part decks, be sure to figure in you favorite hardshell cooler because it won't fit under the deck. Murphys Law.

[Tim Hall]

Very good points, Phil. Thanks. I had in mind my weight, the weight of the boat, and thought "there's plenty of leftover displacement for gear/supplies." The size of the gear I neglected. And yes, it'll be partially decked.

I plan to place the seat as low as is possible to fit my feet under it for kneeling. Vertical placement shouldn't be an issue...been pondering this through the whole process.

[openboater]

It seems a bit narrow for a touring/camping boat. Old USCA and ACA Comp Cruiser racing specs allowed the widest beam at the 4" waterline to be no less than 14.375 % of the length. If I did my math right, your boat is around 13.75 %. Stock Class allowed 15%. I races a lot of these boats, and the Stock boats made much better campers and cruisers than the 'Comp Cruisers'.

[philSweet]

Which brings up the question- Single bladed paddle or double?

[Tim Hall]

Originally Posted by openboater

It seems a bit narrow for a touring/camping boat.

It is definitely narrow by 'canoe' standards. My idea here was to design something in between canoe/kayak dimensions and paddling performance. My thinking is it'll still pack away quite a bit more (with easier access) than a kayak of comparable length...and probably close to equivalent of a solo 'camping' kayak. It's not intended for expedition.

[Tim Hall]

Originally Posted by philSweet

Single bladed paddle or double?

I was thinking double. Dimensional issues with the mechanics of this? That's why I have the tumblehome and low freeboard.

[philSweet]

Don't Know. I haven't done enough double blade paddling to comment.

[DCockey]

Canoes and kayaks, at least in the US, are exempt from the federal maximum capacity regulations so a capacity on the nameplate isn't required.

Canoe manufactuers have different ways of determining capacity. Lincoln gives it as capacity at 6" freeboard. Some other manufactuers quote capacities but how they arrive at their figures isn't obvious. I wouldn't be surprised if someone came up with an arbitray 7" freeboard for as their standard for the common two-person "Canadian" type canoes.

[DCockey]

The shape is nice. I prefer it to your preliminary design of a few days ago.

Bear Mountain Canoe has some dimensions and hydrostatic information ontheir website for the canoe plans they sell as well as much reduced lines drawings. The Might be an interesting source of comparisons. http://www.bearmountainboats.com/_canoes.htm Click on "Details" under a particular boat's entry to see:
· Length
· Maximum beam
· Beam waterline
· Beam gunnel
· Bow height
· Centre depth
· Draft
· Displacement
· Wetted surface
· Weight to immerse
· Prismatic coefficient
· Weight
Metacenter height at 15 degrees is also available in normalized form on this page: http://www.bearmountainboats.com/compare_designs.htm Scroll to the bottom of the page to see the scaling used.

[Tim Hall]

Originally Posted by DCockey

The shape is nice. I prefer it to your preliminary design of a few days ago.

Thanks. I'm starting to really like where it's headed.

Originally Posted by DCockey

Bear Mountain Canoe has...

Yes, I've been studying every design I can find with some hydrostatic properties attached. Both canoes and kayaks. I've been going through the Bear Mountain catalog quite a bit. Also Nick Schade has tons of hydrostatic info about his designs on his website.

The big thing I haven't done yet is stability calc's. But otherwise the design seems to be falling within norms now.