Free Canoe Plan: Têtes de Boule Two-Fathom Canoe
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The Têtes de Boule Two-Fathom Canoe appears as Figure 103 in Edwin Tappan Adney’s and Howard I. Chapelle’s The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. It looks like Adney used this canoe as one of the two canoes he based model number MM 98 on. The model appears on page 62 of John Jennings’ Bark Canoes: The Art and Obsession of Tappan Adney
When modeling this canoe, I ran into few problems which is atypical of modeling canoes for this free canoe plan project. The station, plan and profile views all matched up, which is also a rare piece of gold in Bark and Skin. I like the high bow. It seems to flow into the lower sheerline unimpeded by any need to humble its appearance. There’s a grace to the moderate flare in the sides of the canoe that reminds me of Lakefield cedar and canvas canoes. I think this would make a nice cabin canoe or a solo canoe for someone who likes Canadian-style solo paddling. It’s big enough to bring the dog.
Specifications
Length: 14 feet 8 inches
Width: 33 1/2 inches
Depth: 14 1/2 inches
Canoe Building Books
To build a canoe from these free plans, you need information on how to do it. You should buy one of these two books to get you started.
- Canoecraft: An Illustrated Guide to Fine Woodstrip Construction
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- Building a Strip Canoe, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by Gil Gilpatrick
For a more in-depth review, check out my canoe and kayak building books review.
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 Drawing Downloads and Paid Drawings
The drawings are available in the online store. There are free options and paid options. You can find the free canoe plans download here: Têtes de Boule Two-Fathom Canoe
Bryan Hansel
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.
6 Comments
Doug S
Beautiful canoe. Any idea of what kind of load could this canoe realistically carry in basically calm water situations?
Bryan Hansel
The displacement figures for 4- to 7-inch waterlines:
4 inch – 330 lbs.
5 inch – 443 lbs.
6 inch – 562 lbs. – This is shown in the 3/4 view and in the plans.
7 inch – 683 lbs.
A 7-inch waterline leaves 7.5 inches of freeboard. Displacement includes the weight of the canoe and all gear in it, so to come up with the capacity, you need to subtract the final weight of the canoe from these numbers. Probably 40 to 50 lbs. in standard cedar strip construction.
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Build a Canoe
Very nice layout my friend. Bouyancy looks just about perfect for a craft that size. very nice…
Steffen Kroyer
Hey Bryan
Tank you for making these plans available. You have made it possible for me to make my first canoe. I made a few modifications because I wanted to build a SOF-canoe (I have made two strip kayaks, and it is to slow for my temper :-) ) I also made the bow and stern slightly lower, because the waters around me are quite windy. all in all it has been a succes with a lot of learningpotential. It will not be last canoe i build
Thank you again from Denmark
Bryan Hansel
You’re welcome. I’m glad these old designs are getting built.