Redwood Strip Canoe: A Free 16 ft Vintage Canoe Plan
A 16 ft canoe built from 3/8 in. redwood strips over plywood templates and sheathed in fiberglass inside and out.
Few home-built boats turn heads like a strip canoe, and this one uses warm-toned redwood. The 16 ft (4.9 m) hull is made from small 3/8 by 3/8 in. strips edge-glued over plywood templates, then sheathed in fiberglass inside and out. It carries two to four people, so it works for a solo paddler with gear as well as a small family. It is patient work, and the reward is a canoe that looks like furniture.
Redwood Strip Canoe at a glance
| Detail | Redwood Strip Canoe |
|---|---|
| Type | Canoe |
| Length | 16 ft (4.88 m) |
| Capacity | 2–4 persons |
| Construction | 3/8 x 3/8 in. redwood strips edge-glued over plywood templates, fiberglass inside and out |
| First published | Popular Science, p. 172 |
| Plan sheets | 6 |
Why strip building is worth the time
Strip planking lets you build a smooth, rounded hull without steaming or bending wide planks. Each narrow redwood strip follows the plywood templates on its own, so the shape comes together a little at a time. It rewards patience more than special skill, and the hull grows steadily as each row of strips is glued and clamped in place.
Glass on both faces turns the thin wood into a stiff, sealed shell while letting the grain show through. At 16 ft, the canoe has enough length to track straight and carry the two to four people the plan allows. Once finished, the canoe asks for little more than an occasional fresh coat of varnish to keep the wood glowing.
The original plan sheets
These are the 6 original sheets, scanned from the magazine. For building, use the full-size PDF in the download section below.
Before you build
- Mill and sort all your strips before you start, setting aside the best-matched ones for the most visible parts of the hull.
- Fair the strip hull carefully before glassing, because every bump will show once the clear fiberglass goes on.
- Choose your seat positions with the planned load in mind, as a 16 ft canoe trims very differently with two people than with four.
Download the plan
All six original sheets for the 16 ft redwood strip canoe in one file, ready to print at full size.
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