Bateau Free Canoe

Hello Chuck:

Been busy this weekend , now that the weather is getting better , I wanted to build a fast boat , (As payment for our new Puppy ) ,and also wanted to experiment a bit.

I used the free 14 ft canoe plans from "Bateau.com " and modified them , by changing the position of the "Butt Blocks" not in the center but at each end so they would be behind the bulkheads ( and not seen ) I like to use Butt Blocks but dont like the look of them , and more difficult to tape and putty the seams , I used 7ft x 3ft door skins , available for only $7 each , I used 3 , As the butt block joints will never be seen you can really load up the seams with epoxy and not worry about smoothing it out, add cloth strips , soak it all in epoxy , thats it , no sanding easy , so I can spend a bit more time on the parts that will be seen.

I also used a "Rubber Maid " storage bin with a locking type lid as a storage hatch !! cost $8 , just cut the deck out and mastic the bin to the deck from below ( It has a good lip around the rim so will be secure and air tight , I think it looks ok , and will paint the boat to match the colours ( Grey and Blue ) This was a fast boat to build, just 2 days to get this far , regards Stephen Dandridge