Boat Designs Stock Designs Plans Available Full construction plans and build instructions are available for all the boats in this list.
In Progress / On the Drawing Board These are boats that are still on my drawing board. I like them, I think they'll work, but the plans aren't fully developed and the engineering isn't complete. I don't have much time to devote to these designs at the moment, but I'll add a few more to this page as the opportunities present themselves. Plans are not currently available for the boats in this list.
Topic: Boats Boat Design
Almaguin 400 The Almaguin 400 is a versatile 4metre utility runabout, designed with cottagers, anglers and day trippers in mind. When heavily loaded (190 kg “official rated” capacity), it is a versatile working boat, capable of hauling heaps of crew and gear on inland lakes and rivers. After offloading the cargo and surplus crew, and opening the throttle, the Almaguins act more like racing hulls capable of towing waterskiers and pushing 30knot speeds in flat water. (Being highsided, they present too much windage to keep up with real racing hulls in calm water.) They are built in tapedseam plywood, and do not require elaborate jigs or high precision carpentry.
The design was inspired by Phil Bolger's Diablo, a simple, practical and wellperforming boat that has served me well for many years. The Almaguin is designed to offer similar performance and carrying ability to the Diablo, with a drier and more comfortable ride in rough conditions. The construction
methods used for this boat will be familiar to anyone who has worked with stitchandglue construction or the “tack and tape” models from Bolger's “instant boat” series. Unlike typical stitchandglue construction, the panels of these boats are not stitched together with wire; they are tacked to the bulkheads one by one as the hull is assembled. The structural bulkheads form the only building jig required, and remain a part of the finished boat.
The Almaguin hull is of a doubleV configuration; it can also be thought of as a deepV with a shallowV pad. When lightly loaded at rest, the Almaguins will feel a bit tippy, and will roll 10 degrees or so as people move around and get in and out (they are, however, very hard to roll past this angle). As they are loaded down, the outer chines become immersed, and the roll will diminish. The entry is relatively sharp, there is more freeboard than usual for boats this size, and the motor well presents an effectively fullheight transom to a following sea; thus, the Almaguin should be somewhat drier and more comfortable in heavy conditions than a typical aluminum skiff of comparable dimensions.
As the hull accelerates to planing speeds, both the inner 7degree V and the outer 26.5degree V will act as planing surfaces; the net effect is performance at low planing speeds that is comparable to what you would get from an ordinary 15degree deep V hull. There will be a noticeable planing hump as the boat climbs over its bow wave. If the Almaguin is lightly loaded, the water will begin to break away from the inner chine as the hull accelerates. The boat is now running on the relatively narrow 7degree V, with a considerable improvement in top speed; the outer V now serves as a raceboat style antitrip chine. In turns, she will bank inward and ride on the outer V. The Almaguin 400 is just about the largest boat that can be comfortably cartopped (although a trailer is preferable), and it'll fit (barely) in the bed of a fullsize pickup with the tailgate down. Appropriate engines are 20” shaft outboards from 7 to 30 hp (20 hp if tiller steered), the middle of that range being generally ideal. A firsttime builder assembling the boat in his spare time should allow four to eight months for the build; an experienced, motivated builder familiar with tapedseam construction will likely find that she can produce an Almaguin hull in seven to ten working days, possibly less. The Almaguins can be built with many different interior layouts. Some possible suggestions are included in the build instructions, but the final layout is up to the builder's discretion (subject to certain structural limitations regarding cutdown bulkheads, detailed further in the plans).
Notes to Builders Fine carpentry skills are not required. A potential builder should already be familiar with standard power tools (circular saw, band saw, drill, etc.), should be able to accurately measure and mark coordinates on a flat sheet, and should either have experience with tapedseam construction, or read up on the method through books and builders' articles. I do not offer fullsize Mylar patterns, as some commerical plan houses do. You are welcome to print the DWF6/DWFx drawings at 1:1 scale if you so choose, but I believe that fullsize patterns are not worth the cost for a boat like this. Lofting the panels onto the plywood is neither difficult nor complicated as long as you can use a tape, square, pencil and batten, you should have few difficulties lofting the panel layouts by hand. The build instructions manual can be viewed here: Almaguin build instructions (340kB PDF).
Plans The plan set for each of the Almaguins consists of five Csize (18 x 24 inch) pages and a tenpage build instructions booklet. The plans consist of: 1. General arrangement, profiles and body plan 2. Layout drawings for bulkheads, stem and miscellaneous parts 3. Layout drawings for inner and outer V panels and chines 4. Layout drawings for side panels, and assembly sequence 5. Construction details The drawings are prepared in SI units for North American standard material sizes. Standard scales of 1:1, 1:10 and 1:15 are used, although it should not be necessary to scale dimensions off the plans. Metric standard plywood (125 x 250) can also be used with no changes to the plans. It's cheaper for you, and more environmentally friendly, to have the drawings printed at a local shop instead of paying a courier to transport a roll of paper. The plans are distributed as PDF files, and if
desired, you can also receive a copy in DWF6 or DWFx ePlot formats at no extra cost. A set of plans for the Almaguin 400 includes PDF (and DWF6/DWFx if desired) copies of the plans, the right to build one boat from the plans, and as much technical support (via electronic communication) as you need to finish your boat. There are no shipping costs, and any applicable taxes are included. If you don't have a local print shop, I can arrange for printed copies to be couriered to you (at cost). Please contact me for further details if you are interested in either of these boats. Almaguin 400 & 500 utility runabout taped seam plywood
Length overall: 4 m
Length waterline: 3 m
Displacement lightship: 100 kg
Displacement at design load: 480 kg
Beam overall: 1 m
Draught normal: 1 m
Draught minimum: 0 m
Wetted surface: 2 m²
Power typical: 10 kW
Power description: Outboard 7 to 20 hp (up to 30 hp with remote steering)
Length/beam: 3
Bottom loading: 190 kg/m² What these parameters and ratios mean How to order plans for this boat
Plans available: Yes
Plans cost: $50 CAD
Build status: Model tests complete. Two hulls currently in build.
Design number: 003
Almaguin 500 The Almaguin 500 is a versatile 5metre utility runabout, designed with cottagers, anglers and day trippers in mind. When heavily loaded (415 kg “official rated” capacity), it is a versatile working boat, capable of hauling heaps of crew and gear on inland lakes and rivers. After offloading the cargo and surplus crew, and opening the throttle, the Almaguins act more like racing hulls capable of towing waterskiers and pushing 30knot speeds in flat water. (Being highsided, they present too much windage to keep up with real racing hulls in calm water.) They are built in tapedseam plywood, and do not require elaborate jigs or high precision carpentry.
The design was inspired by Phil Bolger's Diablo, a simple, practical and wellperforming boat that has served me well for many years. The Almaguin is designed to offer similar performance and carrying ability to the Diablo, with a drier and more comfortable ride in rough conditions. The construction methods used for this boat will be familiar to anyone who has worked with stitchandglue construction or the “tack and tape” models from Bolger's “instant boat” series. Unlike typical stitchandglue construction, the panels of these boats are not stitched together with wire; they are tacked to the bulkheads one by one as the hull is assembled. The structural bulkheads form the only building jig required, and remain a part of the finished boat.
The Almaguin hull is of a doubleV configuration; it can also be thought of as a deepV with a shallowV pad. When lightly loaded at rest, the Almaguins will feel a bit tippy, and will roll 10 degrees or so as people move around and get in and out (they are, however, very hard to roll past this angle). As they are
loaded down, the outer chines become immersed, and the roll will diminish. The entry is relatively sharp, there is more freeboard than usual for boats this size, and the motor well presents an effectively fullheight transom to a following sea; thus, the Almaguin should be somewhat drier and more comfortable in heavy conditions than a typical aluminum skiff of comparable dimensions.
As the hull accelerates to planing speeds, both the inner 7degree V and the outer 26.5degree V will act as planing surfaces; the net effect is performance at low planing speeds that is comparable to what you would get from an ordinary 15degree deep V hull. There will be a noticeable planing hump as the boat climbs over its bow wave. If the Almaguin is lightly loaded, the water will begin to break away from the inner chine as the hull accelerates. The boat is now running on the relatively narrow 7degree V, with a considerable improvement in top speed; the outer V now serves as a raceboat style antitrip chine. In turns, she will bank inward and ride on the outer V. The Almaguin 500 needs a trailer, but can be towed by virtually any small car. Appropriate engines are 20” shaft outboards from 15 to 60 hp (40 hp if tiller steered), the middle of that range being generally ideal. A firsttime builder assembling the boat in his spare time should allow four to eight months for the build; an experienced, motivated builder familiar with tapedseam construction will likely find that she can produce an Almaguin hull in seven to ten working days, possibly less. The Almaguins can be built with many different interior layouts. Some possible suggestions are included in the build instructions, but the final layout is up to the builder's discretion (subject to certain structural limitations regarding cutdown bulkheads, detailed further in the plans).
Notes to Builders Fine carpentry skills are not required. A potential builder should already be familiar with standard power tools (circular saw, band saw, drill, etc.), should be able to accurately measure and mark coordinates on a flat sheet, and should either have experience with tapedseam construction, or read up on the method through books and builders' articles. I do not offer fullsize Mylar patterns, as some commerical plan houses do. You are welcome to print the DWF6/DWFx drawings at 1:1 scale if you so choose, but I believe that fullsize patterns are not worth the cost for a boat like this. Lofting the panels onto the plywood is neither difficult nor complicated as long as you can use a tape, square, pencil and batten, you should have few difficulties lofting the panel layouts by hand. The build instructions manual can be viewed here: Almaguin build instructions (340kB PDF).
Plans The plan set for each of the Almaguins consists of five Csize (18 x 24 inch) pages and a tenpage build instructions booklet. The plans consist of: 1. General arrangement, profiles and body plan 2. Layout drawings for bulkheads, stem and miscellaneous parts 3. Layout drawings for inner and outer V panels and chines 4. Layout drawings for side panels, and assembly sequence 5. Construction details The drawings are prepared in SI units for North American standard material sizes. Standard scales of 1:1, 1:10 and 1:15 are used, although it should not be necessary to scale dimensions off the plans. Metric standard plywood (125 x 250) can also be used with no changes to the plans. It's cheaper for you, and more environmentally friendly, to have the drawings printed at a local shop instead of paying a courier to transport a roll of paper. The plans are distributed as PDF files, and if
desired, you can also receive a copy in DWF6 or DWFx ePlot formats at no extra cost. A set of plans for the Almaguin 500 includes PDF (and DWF6/DWFx if desired) copies of the plans, the right to build one boat from the plans, and as much technical support (via email) as you need to finish your boat. There are no shipping costs, and any applicable taxes are included. If you don't have a local print shop, I can arrange for printed copies to be couriered to you (at cost). Please contact me for further details if you are interested in either of these boats. Almaguin 400 & 500 utility runabout taped seam plywood
Length overall: 5 m
Length waterline: 4 m
Displacement lightship: 155 kg
Displacement at design load: 800 kg
Beam overall: 2 m
Draught normal: 1 m
Draught minimum: 0 m
Wetted surface: 3 m²
Power typical: 25 kW
Power description: Outboard 15 to 40 hp (up to 60 hp with remote steering)
Length/beam: 3
Bottom loading: 220 kg/m² What these parameters and ratios mean How to order plans for this boat
Plans available: Yes
Plans cost: $50 CAD
Build status: Model tests complete. First two hulls currently being built.
Design number: 002
Awenda 800 The Awenda design concept originated in 2007 as a simple, sturdy, trailerable power cruiser for my own use. Originally conceived as a 10 m boat, I later developed 8, 8.5 and 9 m hulls based on the same general design.
These are planing hulls, with cruising speeds of around 20 knots. With appropriate power, they should be able to reach the high 20s, and are designed to have no discernable planing hump. The aim was to provide a more comfortable, more efficient ride than a typical deepV in the lower speed ranges where most cruising folk tend to run their boats. The bottom loading for these designs, one of the key parameters for lowspeed planing performance, is in the 110180 kg/m2 range about half to twothirds the average for boats this size, implying a quick climbtoplane and very efficient performance in the 1020 knot speed range. Their closest relatives would likely be Tom Lathrop's Bluejacket, Paul Bieker's Shearwater and Will Allison's Graphite. At about 1500 kg for the 8 m and 2500 kg for the 10 m when empty, the Awendas are of moderate displacement for their class a bit larger and a fair bit heavier than the Bluejacket or Shearwater, slightly smaller than the Graphite, and quite light when compared to massproduced fibreglass boats of similar size. They are built in sturdy glasssheathed strip planking. The construction effort involved would be well within the reach of an ambitious home builder with carpentry experience, and would be a pretty easy project for a professional woodandfibreglass shop. I have done some model tests on the 10 m version, with very promising results, and the hull design is complete. After the model tests, though, I decided that the Starwind 860 would be a better fit for my personal needs in the near future, and development on the Awenda was put on hold in favour of the Starwind. The structural calculations, interior layouts and construction details have not yet been prepared.
Awenda
Length overall: 8 m What these parameters and ratios mean
Plans available: Not at this time
Build status: 1/6 scale model testing started, plans for fullsize version not yet finished
Design number: 008
Bonaventure 570 Let's say you want to build a powerboat and do some cruising on a tight budget. You're in no particular rush, but you do want some independence. You like doing a few hours a day on the water, then checking
out a new seaside town for a while. You hate hanging around the fuel dock. You're happy with the speed of sailboats, but you motor most of the time anyway. You want enough space to live aboard for a few months, but you also want a boat that's small enough to avoid undue attention from folks who want your money. If that sounds like you, the Bonaventure 570 just might be your boat. At 2.9 tonnes loaded and just 5.7 m (18'7") long, she can be towed over land by any pickup truck and will fit in a 20' shipping container. With a balanced, doubleended full displacement hull, she can carry a huge load of provisions with ease, and will be far more comfortable in rough seas than just about any other powerboat of this length.
Her lines include a substantial box skeg for directional stability and to get the engine down low. Lacking a transom, she'll be able to take considerably bigger seas on the stern than most 19footers, but she still has enough bearing aft to keep from squatting at speed when she's loaded down with gear. A flat keel, 70 cm wide at midship, is armoured and ballasted with 25 mm (1") steel plate so that she can take the ground at will. 12 kW (16 hp) will give her a 5 knot top speed with plenty of power on tap for punching into a head wind. (For those who want more speed, longer versions are on the way.)
Her commercialstyle pilothouse offers standing headroom for a proper helm station and a galley large enough to actually cook in. Under the foredeck, a Vberth / dinette can seat four for lunch, or can sleep two. On passage, lee cloths will keep the offwatch crew in place; in harbour, a filler cushion turns this area into a comfortable landlubbersize double berth. The front of the engine can be checked from inside the cabin, and a large hatch in the cockpit sole allows easy access to the entire powertrain without dismantling any furniture. Her hull is divided into sealed compartments by watertight bulkheads, some of which also form her large integral fuel tanks.
She'll be designed for oneoff construction in cold moulded wood. Her structural and construction drawings are currently being prepared, and will be available as stock plans. Power Bonaventure 570 displacement monohull
Length overall: 6 m
Length waterline: 5 m
Displacement lightship: 2,100 kg
Displacement at design load: 2,870 kg
Beam overall:
2 m
Beam waterline: 2 m
Draught normal: 1 m
Bridge clearance minimum: 2 m
Wetted surface: 10 m²
Power typical: 12 kW
Power description: Inboard diesel
Length/displacement LDR: 4
Displacement/length DLR: 567 ltn/ft3
Tankage water: 128 L
Tankage fuel: 358 L
Power/displacement: 4 kW/t
Length/beam: 3
What these parameters and ratios mean How to order plans for this boat
Plans available: Not at this time
Build status: Design in development
Design number: 011
Starwind 860 The Starwind 860 is a power trimaran that I'm currently developing for my own use. She's intended to be a versatile, practical boat for a wide variety of duties on inland lakes and canals, the Great Lakes, and coastal regions.
The drawings for the Starwind 860 are currently in work, and construction of hull number one is underway. The Starwind 860 will face a variety of missions: Canal and lake cruising for 46, with some camping on shore; voyage duration 27 days Extended canal, lake and coastal cruising for 2; voyage duration up to 30 days Day trips for 46, with kayaks, dive gear, etc. along for the ride Cargo duty at the family cottage: at least one tonne of building materials, queensize mattresses,
long and/or awkward shaped objects, and the ability to work from the boat without stability concerns At the same time, she'll be operating in a broad range of conditions with many different types of crew: Wind and sea states from 0 to 4 in typical use, capable of handling force 56 if necessary Crew will include young children, seniors and every age in between, plus dogs We're also putting some performance and dimensional constraints on her: Top speed of 20 knots when lightly loaded No mast (we have low bridges) Trailerable with a common minivan or light truck (thus max beam 2.5 m, max weight on trailer ~2000 kg, bridge clearance on trailer ~4 m) Fuel consumption should be minimized (thus range maximized) to the extent possible given the other criteria In order to fit all of this in one boat, something has to be sacrificed. In this case, I'm willing to sacrifice build simplicity and time. Trimarans are a lot of work to build there's no way around that, and it's the main reason why you don't see many of them coming off production lines. The tradeoff for the extra work is a very stable platform (for the cargo/workboat role and to give pontoonboatlike comfort to the senior crew and the daytrippers) and slim, efficient displacement hulls that won't pound when the waves come up and that can be propelled with a 40 to 70 hp outboard. Plans for the Starwind 860 won't be available until the prototype has been launched. Don't hold your breath as a personal project, this boat tends to end up at the bottom of the work pile, and I'd be very surprised if she hits the water before 2014. Power trimaran Starwind 860
Length overall: 9 m
Length waterline: 8 m
Displacement lightship: 1,200 kg
Displacement at design load: 2,100 kg
Beam overall: 5 m
Beam waterline:
1 m
Draught normal: 1 m
Draught minimum: 0 m
Bridge clearance normal: 4 m
Bridge clearance minimum: 3 m
Length outrigger: 7 m
Beam outrigger: 0 m
Wetted surface: 16 m²
Power typical: 41 kW
Power description: Outboard 4070 hp
Length/displacement LDR: 7
Power/displacement: 20 kW/t
Length/beam: 9
Length/beam outrigger: 19 What these parameters and ratios mean
Plans available: Not at this time
Build status: Under construction.
Design number: 001