> 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.

For sailing canoes, both decked and undecked, check out Lost In The Woods Boatworks. They some sweet looking built boats and a couple of nice kits. Sailing canoes is their thing. (The decked boats look an awful lot like kayaks to me.)

Their url is:

http://zeus.tcn.net/boatworks

Chris Luneski