



SCROLL DOWN THIS PAGE FOR MANY MORE PLANS

This a page of links to some favourite free boat plans at intheboatshed.net. They’ve been chosen because they are derived from traditional boats, or in some cases simply for their usefulness. There are quite a few here, but you’ll find still more in the intheboatshed.net weblog using the search gadget. If you find anything you feel I should add, please let me know at gmatkin@gmail.com.

PLEASE ALWAYS USE THE LATEST VERSION WHICH WILL CONTAIN ANY CORRECTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT TO THE DESIGNERS ATTENTION.

Boats designed by Gavin Atkin – The Barton skiff, a low powered outboard skiff – get the plans here. The Barton skiff – click on the thumbnail for a larger drawing

Brian King’s Barton skiff during construction:

See a short video of Brian’s boat in action using a 3.5hp outboard at 6knots or so. Note the near complete lack of wake, which should indicate that the boat’s working efficiently.

– The 14ft Sunny skiff – get the plans for this easy to build lightweight rowing boat here.

Sunny skiff lightweight plywood rowing dinghy

– The 12ft Ella skiff – get the plans for this easy to build lightweight rowing boat here.

12ft Ella skiff

– The sailing version of the Ella skiff – get the plans here (now in version 1.2).

The sailing version of the 12ft Ella skiff

See:

– The intheboatshed.net Julie 15ft 7in flat bottomed rowing skiff

See:

– The Light Trow

The Mk 2 Light Trow – click on the photo for a larger image

See a clip of the Light Trow sailing:

Download the Mk 2 Light Trow plans, and the model-making plans (making a model to be an important preparation for making this kind of boat). Alain Yvorra sent over photographs of a model he has made:

Alain wrote: ‘The design and plan made things very easy to follow, and the building of the model was a breath of fresh air, bringing, as I saw it coming together, quite a wonderful satisfaction.’

Also, see Ben Crawshaw’s excellent weblog about building and then cruising the Light Trow on the Spanish coast; also, read about the original trows: The Fleet Trow

– The Cinderella canoe

Al Burke’s Cinderella

Al’s comments following his first test were interesting: ‘A successful design that is an absolute delight to paddle and which brought comments like “beautiful lines” and “do you want to sell it?” from people on the beach watching the test.’

I think this is a nice small open paddler, but bouyancy tanks or bags would be a essential if you’re going to do more than paddle in narrow rivers or small shallow lakes.

See:

A Cinderella canoe adapted for rowing

Plans for building the Cinderella: Cinderella download

– The Light Dinghy

Light Dinghy plans

Light Dinghy – click on the drawing for a larger image

For more on this boat, see:

– Doris the Dory

Plans for building Doris the Dory: Doris the Dory download

– The Forest & Stream skiff

Forest & Stream skiff in built in Sweden – click on the photo for a larger image – see the post: A little classic to build this spring

– The small Bluestone schooner: My Bluestone schooner design in the spotlight and the download including the chine version

– The Electric Schock skiff Electric Schock dinghy – click on the drawing for a larger image The Electric Schock plans at Duckworks



Free designs from other designers

– A 12ft ply-built Fleet trow

Photos by Jenny Steer and Derek Thompson

Offsets kindly provided by the Boat Building Academy folks at the bottom of this post

– A sailing Duck Punt, as raced on the English East Coast

Plans for John Milgate’s Duck Punt

– The South Haven Dory

Build the South Haven Dory

– International 12 dinghy

George Cockshott’s sweet 12-foot dinghy

– Chuck Merrell’s Apple Pie

Temptations part V: a dinghy so small, your family will hardly notice…

– Canvas canoe

How to build a canvas canoe

– Hannu Vartiala’s coracle

Hannu Vartiala’s website changes address

-The Brockway skiff

Build the Brockway skiff

– Wolfgang Brink’s Greenland Kayak

How to build a Greenland kayak

– An alternative folding boat

An alternative folding boat

– Boat plans from Practical Boatbuilding for Amateurs, including the 10ft double-ended skiff, various punts etc

Practical Boat Building for Amateurs

– Thames skiff and racing punt

At last – free online designs for a skiff and a racing punt

– Howard Irving Chappelle’s traditional 14ft skiff

Chappelle’s 14ft skiff – another candidate for the 2008 boatbuilding season?

– Mark Wallace’s Black Skiff



Mark Wallace’s elegant Black Skiff

Boatbuilding plans for the Black Skiff have been designed and made available for free by Mark Wallace – he says all he asks for is to be given the credit for designing the boat.

I think it’s an elegant design. The plans are not likely to be the easiest for first-time boatbuilders to follow, but it would be well worth picking the required skills up by reading one of the classic books on this kind of boatbuilding. See theIntheboatshed.net Amazon bookshop for something suitable.

Mark ways she’s a strong light-weight boat loosely with strong links to Scandinavian types. She proven to be an excellent rower, has a capacity of four adults and has a flat bottom for easy beaching.

Go to Mark’s website for more information and plans in pdf format:http://www.markwallaceshipwright.com/plans.html

By the way, don’t miss Mark’s impressive collection of testimonials.