Goodnow kayak rendered with ice in the background.
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Goodnow Kayak Free Plans

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The 16′ 8″ Goodnow kayak is stunning. It’s lines flow beautifully and it begs to be built and paddled. At 17 5/8″ wide, I’d have a hard time fitting into it, so I decided to model the kayak for a possible upscale and build. Included here is the FREE!ship file for your download and some information about the kayak.

The Goodnow kayak appears in Mark Starr’s Building a Greenland Kayak book. Mark Starr and Kane Borden measured the kayak and Starr drew it in 2001. Mark writes a little about its history in his book: The kayak was collected on Robert Peary’s 1896 expedition to Greenland. It was used as a scouting kayak for the expedition and was built and paddled by Ludwig Sigurdson.

Kaper Numbers

Kaper is a resistance program used by Sea Kayaker Magazine to provide a baseline comparison between the efficiencies of various kayaks. These numbers are calculated using the same numbers as Sea Kayaker Magazine’s: 250 pounds plus a 35 pound kayak.

  • 2 knots – 0.832
  • 3 knots – 1.739
  • 4 knots – 3.253
  • 4.5 knots – 4.818
  • 5 knots – 7.351
Goodnow kayak linesplans.
Goodnow kayak linesplans.

Hydrostatics

These hydrostatics are generated for a typical Midwestern male at 171 pounds.

  • Length over all :16.679 [ft]
  • Beam over all : 1.478 [ft]
  • Design draft : 0.405 [ft]
  • Midship location : 8.339 [ft]
  • Volume properties:
    • Displaced volume : 3.228 [ft3]
    • Displacement : 0.092 [tons]
    • Block coefficient :0.3950
    • Prismatic coefficient :0.5126
    • Vert. prismatic coefficient :0.6600
    • Wetted surface area :16.576 [ft2]
    • Longitudinal center of buoyancy: 7.912 [ft]
    • Longitudinal center of buoyancy:-3.027 [%]
    • Vertical center of buoyancy : 0.255 [ft]
  • Midship properties:
    • Midship section area : 0.446 [ft2]
    • Midship coefficient :0.7707
  • Waterplane properties:
    • Length on waterline :14.110 [ft]
    • Beam on waterline : 1.428 [ft]
    • Waterplane area:12.062 [ft2]
    • Waterplane coefficient :0.5985
    • Waterplane center of floatation: 8.013 [ft]
    • Entrance angle : 4.028 [degr.]
    • Transverse moment of inertia : 1.350 [ft4]
    • Longitudinal moment of inertia :103.04 [ft4]
  • Initial stability:
    • Transverse metacentric height : 0.673 [ft]
    • Longitudinal metacentric height:32.175 [ft]
  • Lateral plane:
    • Lateral area : 4.387 [ft2]
    • Longitudinal center of effort : 8.001 [ft]
    • Vertical center of effort : 0.237 [ft]

Built by Jean-Luc Bellieud

 

Built by Per Pettersson

Get the Drawing Package

The drawing package includes the full-sized study plan and each station and stem drawn separately on a PDF that prints full sized on ARCH D size paper (nestings). You can cut these out and glue them to plywood to cut full-sized forms. A pdf of the electronic drawing package. is available for this kayak. You can print the file on 24- by 36-inch paper on your own.

Free Kayak Plans Downloads

The free kayak plans come as a pdf (free Adobe Reader required to view) that you can print off at photocopy stores.

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Bryan Hansel is a freelance writer, award-winning photographer and a former American Canoe Association L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor. His home port is on Lake Superior in Grand Marais, Minnesota. He also teaches photography workshops.

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