Swamp Rat is a quickly and easily built canoe that is modeled after the Cajun pirogue, the time-tested utility boat of the Louisiana bayous. She incorporates many of the qualities that have made this type of boat one of the handiest and most popular of small craft for use on sheltered waters, whether for fishing, waterfoul hunting, or just exploring the inexhaustible backwaters that are the last remaining cruising grounds for the solitary paddler.
As with all of my designs, I like to study the origins of the different craft to try to approximate hull forms that have proven over time to be most efficient for their purpose, keeping in mind that the people who developed these boats had only oar, paddle, pole, or sail for propulsion.
Their boats therefore simply had to be of efficient form. So I designed a hull that incorporated moderate rocker for maneuverability, narrow beam for easy propulsion, moderate side flair for reserve buoyancy, shallow draft and other features that resulted in an attractive, efficient and easy-to-build boat.
I was more than pleased with her appearance, and the water trials far exceeded my expectations. Swamp Rat proved to be quite fast and maneuverable both with a single occupant in the comfortable webbed middle seat with a double paddle or with two paddlers in the ends with canoe paddles.
Construction of Swamp Rat is straight-forward; the entire hull is gotten from one 1/4”× 4’x l6’ panel of marine plywood which can be purchased in a 16’ length or can be easily spliced from two 4’× 8’ panels. Structural members consisting of 3 rigid frames, stems, chines and gunwales are gotten from common lumberyard materials and the hull is set up solidly on a simple ladder-frame jig that allows this boat to be assembled very efficiently without the chance of something going adrift.
The plans for Swamp Rat include detailed large-scale construction drawings for all assemblies, an accurate layout for the plywood planking, plywood splicing instructions and full-size patterns for the frames. No lofting is required. Also included is a comprehensive booklet of construction notes that describes all components and building procedures and is number-keyed to the corresponding assemblies in the drawings.
Includes Swamp Rat plans, patterns, instructions, and US shipping.
~Take advantage of our 20% off special on orders of $75 or more! Apply coupon code: Boatbuilder Special at checkout. [Valid for US orders only]
~Plans in PDF: Plans for Swamp Rat can be ordered for email delivery in PDF format, at a discounted price.
~Consider including my book, Boatbuilding My Way, in your plans order. Available in Hardcopy or discounted PDF Format, it is the ideal companion to plans from Jordan Wood Boats.
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