• 3/4 view of a Beothuk Canoe modeled from free plans.
    Articles,  Free Canoe Plans,  Free Kayak and Canoe Plans

    Free Canoe Plans: Beothuk Canoe

    The Beothuk Canoe appears as Figure 87 in the Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. It differs from every other canoe in that book, and no actual physical model existed when Adney surveyed the canoes. He based the drawing on historic and sometime conflicting descriptions, and a birch-bark canoe toy found in the grave of a Beothuk boy. Chapelle notes that when turned upside down the canoe makes a shelter with a 3-foot head clearance. The canoe can also heel over on the water further than other canoes. Chapelle speculates that the canoes were designed for open-water navigation. Although it may seem like an April Fools’ Day joke,…

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  • Long Nose Ojibway Canoe 3/4 view from free plans.
    Articles,  Free Canoe Plans,  Free Kayak and Canoe Plans

    Free Plans: Long Nose Ojibway Canoe

    In the Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America, Howard Chapelle tells us that the most common type of Ojibway canoe northwest and west of Lake Superior was the “long-nose” form. The form shows a straight sheer, only slight rocker near the stems and a steeply upturned sheer near the stems. The stems were rounded and full. Chapelle seems to think that the combination features resulted in a clumsy and unfair looking canoe. He notes that the appearance didn’t affect the seaworthiness or paddling qualities. Later, he writes that Adney, the person who collected the lines, thought the long-nose canoes originated with the Dakotas before the Cree and Ojibway…

  • Articles,  Build It Yourself,  Canoes,  Kayaks

    Bryan’s Homebuilt Boats from 2004 and back

    Note: The plans included on this page are for historical reference only. Carlson’s Hulls, a windows only program, is required to view them. These are the boats that I’ve built or designed for myself. I’ve helped on other boats, but I am not including them. Please, feel free to contact me to learn more about these. If you have built or build one of these designs, please, let me know, or send me a picture. I would love to hear from you. Freedom 17 The Freedom 17 canoe is the first boat that I built. I lived in an apartment at the time and built this in my living room.…

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