JEM Watercraft

Hi all. I recently decided that I wanted a canoe to explore some rivers, ponds, and lakes and also to fish out of and perhaps go on a weekend float/camp trip. I have some experience with canoes, but would consider myself between beginner and novice. I looked around at fiberglass and aluminum canoes and found a few that were alright. I stumbled upon this site after stumbling upon plans for a home built wooden canoe.
I like several of the plans and would love to build them. I have very, very little wood working experience, but I'm very mechanically inclined and know my way around most tools. Measuring isn't a problem, neither is following diagrams. The only thing that concerns me is transferring dimensions to plywood. I read up on it a little, which made it seem not so bad, but I still have my concerns.
For the questions. After looking around at stitch and glue canoe/kayaks I like the designs I've found here and at boatplans.dk better than the rest. I'm particularly interested in Gander River Canoe and the SOT Kayaks. It seems obvious after a little more research that the SOT Kayaks are somewhat in-depth. What about the Gander River? Would it suitable for a first time builder? It seems to fit the bill for what I'm looking for size and weight wise, as I want to be able to carry it fairly easily if I have to. Would it be able to handle all my plans for what I want to do that I mentioned previously? If this isn't a good "first boat," what would you recommend?
Sorry for being so long winded. I guess I just wanted to make sure it was understood what my intentions and skill level are. Thank you in advance!

Kris

That's funny you mentioned that you "looked around at fiberglass and aluminum canoes and found a few that were alright. I stumbled upon this site after stumbling upon plans for a home built wooden canoe."

That is exactly how I got started.

The Gander River Canoe would certainly handle everything you listed well.

As far as transfering the drawings to plywood, it's easier than you think.

Get yourself a drywall square (48" long) at any home improvement store. They are about $18 or so. Then it's just a matter of drawing some intersection points, and connecting the dots.

Here's an excellent picture:



You can see that this builder put a small nail at each intersection and used some clamps to bend a piece of woodwork trim to form the curve. Then you just trace that curve. You don't have to use nails to mark the intersection but it's an option. Otherwise some weights or thick books usually hold the "curve maker" in place.

Drawing the lines worries many builders but after you do the first panel, you'll see it's pretty easy on simpler designs like the Gander River Canoe. JEM plans also include Quality Assurance drawings you use to check your work.

I do have a CNC shop I work with and can provide the panels precut out of Okoume. We're still working out the small details before I list kits for all my plans but I can get you a quote on a specific model if you'd like. This is also a good option for builders who can't get high quality plywood locally.

Sounds great! I'll probably be shooting you an email in a couple weeks to get everything squared away to order the plans. I need to get things set up around here (read: clean out garage) before I do anything. By the way, thanks for the quick reply!

Kris