Welded aluminum canoe design

[Jack D Davis]

With advice from an experienced designer, builder, I've designed a 15.5' canoe for welded aluminum sheet. Plans are to start building ASAP, but probably not until Winter. I'm unsure of the material thickness. I've tried .080 and found I can weld it, but .100 may be slightly easier to weld. .125 probably would be a little too heavy although I haven't calculated the weights of different thickness materials. Details are not worked out yet. It is wider than most canoes of this size for stability. Intended uses would be for calm water camping, fishing (standing, flycasting). Not designed for white water. Plans are to make it unsinkable although I don't show that detail here. Plans and 3D images were drawn with TurboCAD. Suggestions are welcome.