> I recently took my first trip in a kayak. It was so much easier to paddle
> than a conoe I will never go back. My question: Are there any plans
> available for small (11 foot) kayaks? That is what I used on a very narrow
> shallow slow moving river in Florida.

Before you give up on canoes completely take a look at the Wee Lassie. It is a Rushton design (late 19th , early 20th century) that several companies sell modern plans for. It is a small, light (20 pound range) canoe that is propelled with a double paddle (like a kayak) or a single paddle if you prefer. You sit in the middle of the craft, on a seat that is mounted very low (all this like a kayak). Unlike a kayak there is no deck. With most plans I've seen there is a single thwart which doubles as a backrest.

Clarkcraft has plans, precut frames, and I think they have complete kits for building this as a stripper.

There are other plans available that are based on this design which are built as lapstrake hull construction, canvas-covered wood (probably closest to the original construction methods), and stitch and glue.

Whether they actually follow the original lines of Rushton's design, or not, it seems that many people who design small light boats attribute their inspiration to this one. I suspect the influence of modern computers has alowed many people to take a good design and tweak it a bit to suit their own personal preferences. I've given some thought to adding a deck to this popular hull design and creating a decked canoe that would look like a kayak, but I have no idea if it would roll like a kayak. Deck options I`ve thought of were cloth and wood strip construction, and just recently I thought of adding a couple deck beams and just draping a sheet of 3 mm meranti, or other cheap plywood over it, and trimming off the excess at the gunwales for a fast, good-looking deck.

Other than this, Clarkcraft has some plans for short canvas covered kayaks, and I think a plywood one, too. (Sorry, don't have the catalog next to me right now) Check Clarkcraft's web page www.clarkcraft.com for their address and phone number.

Glen-L has plans for some small boats, including their 9 foot long, Stitch and glue Kid-yak, which is really designed for kids -- as the name implies.

Their url is www.glen-l.com. They have a printed catalog, (which you can buy) and a lot of stuff online as well, so you can browse without buying. If you check their site, they have some nice photos of the construction of this kid-yak. It looks real simple. they also have a 'bill of materials', or a list of all the parts you will need in order to complete the boat. This makes it easier to figure out how much you are going to spend for materials.

I also have plans from an old book for building a plywood kayak that is 11 feet long at the keel, and 11`6'' at the deck. This one is made from standard exterior glued plywood glued to frames cut from 5/8 plywood. You can make the frames from 1x2 furring strips instead, if you want. No fiberglass involved, just some marine glue and a lot of small brass screws. I recently scanned this and I can e-mail you the plans if you would like. Send me an e-mail if you want them. There are two parts, and they download in about 2 minutes, total, with a 56K modem.

Hope this helps.

Paul G. Jacobson