2 Plywood Sheet Canudian (Canoe Canadian) Design Notes

 Since plywood with scarf joints can be tortured into narrow kayaks, it was hoped that the hot rolling and broadseaming techniques pioneered by the Arrow would allow a round bilge plywood canoe. It did not prove possible to get a smooth joint with the large amount of broadseam required and a dart had to be introduced perpendicular to the seam. To get both the dart and the fore and aft seam perfectly smooth, a female mold was made of the midships chine area of a fiberglas canoe Each panel is placed on the mold to glass its chine dart closed . The greater curvature of the mold than the ply even when prebent, ensures the clamping can be distant enough from the dart so as not to interfere with the heavier inside glassing. Then the mold is used to close and to glass- reinforce the spline joint between fore and aft panels on each side. Generally the female mold avoids any outside high spots which are impossible to fair without breaking through the outside veneer, and prioritises the outside fairness in contact with the the water.

 The undarted front of each panel then is the midsection shape angling toward the bow. As the extreme ends of

the curved floor stringer are forced down, the end sections shift from V to U, from low rocker to no

rocker, and the forefoot to smaller and smaller radius. Therefore to

1) get a high overall prismatic fullness coefficient Cp more from the stern than the bow

2) to avoid solo sitting right at the center where the carrying yoke has to be

I depressed this stringer more at the stern than at the bow. This allows a classic canoe bow radius and

the bow to run up beaches, rocks, and flotsam rather than ploughing into them. The very small radius stern profile should be good for directional stability and hanging a rudder for sailing or trimming. If kayaks with no yaw from paddling have rudders for the wind, canoes have even more reason to have such trim tabs Aesthetically the stern looks from the side acceptably like a square stern canoe.

The gunnel curve in plan is now very normal. The low rocker helps with directional stability for lake canoeing. The flared quarter sections are good for rejecting spray and overtopping from lake waves, and give very good secondary stability in roll and pitch. The slight tumblehome amidships provides clearance for the hand closest to the blade in solo paddling as close to the centerline as possible. The knees can be braced against the chines so that switching paddling sides every few strokes or longer does not require shifting the stance if the waterline beam is about 30”. The heeling of a narrow canoe in solo paddling generates a yaw torque that counters the one from the offcenter paddle. The power stance of bending the away leg at the knee with the foot forward requires even less beam than double kneeling. Hence the beam is 30” on the waterline and 34” max with the gunnel 13” high amidships rising to 18” at the ends. The canoe signature features of a sharp upturn in the sheer at the ends and recurve of the stem are no problem to incorporate. It will be made especially sharp so as not to generate alot of windage...

LOA is 15’9” and design draft is 2.5” at 250 lbs comprised of 40 lb canoe estimate plus 210 lb paddler and gear.