free small sailboat plans

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Sailboat Plans

Free Sailboat Plans

A selection of some of the Free Sailboat Plans (pdf) that were published in magazines such as “Popular Mechanics”, "Popular Science" and the "Boat Builder Handbook".

If you need help with lofting out the plans click here for an article here which should help.

• Open Dayboats/Dinghys
• Rowing Boats

Open/Dayboat, Free Sailboat Plans

Everyone who digs boating has heard of the Hobie Cat, the sleek little catamaran that burst on the scene and captured the attention of all the fast-action sailors.

Marked by asymmetrical hulls and special trampoline supports, the Hobie can reach speeds above 20 mph and perform with a rare agility.

But it has one drawback.

It costs mucho dinero.

Thus, we introduce the Hobby Kat, sailboat plans, a build-it-yourself version of the “Hobie” that should cost from half to a third of the commercial version. If you have the moola, of course, go for a Hobie and have the time of your life on the water.

If not, try our Hobby

The homebuilt is not quite the same.

But she sails sweetly and fast—qualities which have made the “Hobie” popular

Even in a light air she’ll slip through the water at a fast clip.

She has no centreboards, leeboards or keel, and needs none.

The inside of each hull has built-in lift, like an airplane wing, so that as the boat heels and one hull digs in the boat is pulled back to windward.

Click Here for the Plans

She can run in very shallow water and the rudders kick up for beaching.

You can carry her on a trailer or even disassemble her.

Many a “stink pot” addict will take a second look at Tern because she planes in modest breezes, is easy to handle, and her streamlined prow arid pod-shaped, “inland scow” type hull offer slight water resistance. Then too, there’s a charm about the tiller of a sailer that’s not matched by the wheel of a motor-powered boat. Part of it is the challenge of making the most of nature’s free-wheeling breezes. Even with her 72sq.ft of sail, this Free Sailboat Plan is remarkably stable, and packs as many as four persons aboard

For thousands of inland lakes, Tern is the answer to sailing water sport, she is rugged and easy to launch

And she’s remarkably easy to build.

Falcon is a small, speedy, sporty sailboat which handles well. Tests on the original Falcon showed that she could easily out-distance boats of comparable size such as the one design class Snipe and Comet sailers.

And she will pace neck and neck with 18 footers with considerably greater sail spread.

This strong, beamy, eight-foot pram may be sailed either cat-rigged or sloop-rigged.

The dagger-board may be adjusted forward to balance the helm when sailing with the addition of a jib sail.

Oars or a small outboard motor may also be used to power this versatile Free Sailboat Plans.

Dart” is a small two or three person sailing craft, designed for use on protected waters such as bays. lakes, rivers or wherever sheltered waters are found. Its construction will repay the builder handsomely and provide a fast sailing craft, light in weight, easily transportable and cheap to construct with all difficult joinery eliminated

It provides thrilling and economical sport.

The 'Crescent', designed by C. T. Allen, is the ideal sailboat for day sailing on a small lake, river, or protected waters of a bay.

Centreboard design (Fig. 2) reduces Crescent's draft, so Shallow is not a problem.

Its broad beam of over 5½ft. makes it an ideal family boat because there is room for a cockpit large enough to accommodate four adults or two adults and three kids, and side and forward decks big enough to stretch out on when sun bathing.

"Jewel" is a 16' Crescent Sailboat being built by Mike Allen from the free sailboat plans by C.T .Allen in the 1958 "Boat Builders Handbook". And what a superb job Mike is doing check out his photos here .

Click Here for the Free version of the Plans

Sailing enthusiasts and backyard boat builders are not likely to find free boat plans for a sailing pram that can be built faster, lighter, stronger, or less expensively than Graefin-10. Two men can begin work on a Friday evening and have a smart, lively 10-ft. 85-pound sailboat in the water by Sunday evening (it’s been done).

Zephyr Is a refinement of a type of boat developed by the English for use in the rough open waters of the English Channel. Not only is it fast under sail, but it can stand up under punishment. And it’s light enough to be easily loaded atop an auto or light trailer.

Breeze-Baby

Skimming off a brisk wind or with the wind abeam, Breeze-Baby actually planes with one person aboard. Despite her rowboat lines that make her easy to build, she handles easily under her simple sail, an ideal first boat. Simple lines are adapted to plywood construction that’s strong, light and that keeps Breeze-Baby’s bilges dry

You can take her with you atop your car or on a lightweight trailer for summer fun wherever you vacation or get in a week-end’s sailing.

Cat’s Paw is easy to build because of the straight-sided hulls. The sheer line is flat and that simplifies building the form. Bow and stern are straight, so there’s no cockeyed bevel to fit and fuss with

She Is an Ideal boat to learn or practice sailing in because she will forgive so many mistakes.

Cabin Cruiser, Free Sailboat Plans

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15 Free Boat Plans You Can Build This Week (with PDFs)

Boatbuilding is one of the most ancient forms of craftsmanship still alive today. As long as our ancestors have had a curiosity about exploring open waters, they have been practicing and honing their boatbuilding skills.

To be honest, however, building a boat is no small task. It will require a lot of work and patience to ultimately create a finished product that you are happy with and that is actually seaworthy.

Of course, we have also included a few free boat plans. You can keep in your back pocket for the next time you are asked to build a cardboard boat as part of a contest or lakefront teambuilding adventure.

We hope that these resources help you in your journey to build your own boat!

Photo by SeventyFour via Shutterstock

Free Boat Plans

Why build your own boat, 1. the wanigan, 2. the mouse, 3. the slipper, 4. the handy andy, 5. the junior, 6. the jolly roger, 7. the cork, 8. the hobby kat, 9. the tern, 10. the falcon, 11. the white duck, 12. the sea midge, 13. the zephyr, 14. the gypsy, 15. the crazy cardboard boat, 15 free boat plans you can build this week (with pdfs) – final thoughts, share on pinterest.

• The Wanigan
• The Slipper

The Handy Andy

• The Jolly Roger
• The Hobby Kat

The White Duck

• The Sea Midge

The Crazy Cardboard Boat

Photo by Halsey via Shutterstock

There are a lot of reasons why you should explore building your own boat versus buying a pre-made model. Here is a quick breakdown of the most obvious benefits:

• You will know the ins and outs of your finished boat better than anyone
• It can be a great project to work on with your teenage or even adult children
• You will gain valuable skills molding and shaping wood and other materials
• You can design your boat for your specific needs
• You don’t have to trust the sometimes-questionable manufacturing of mass-produced boats
• You can create a boat that functions as your second home on the water
• You can save money if you source materials mindfully

Of course, most first-time boatbuilders still experience some level of trial-and-error. With patience and perseverance, however, you can craft a one-of-a-kind vessel that has no equal anywhere in the world.

Free Boat Plans You Can Build This Week (with PDFs)

PC Duckworks Boat Builders Supply

The Wanigan boat began as a garvey design, which is one of the older boat plans known to the Americas. Traditionally, these boats were built as work scows and were very popular among American summer camps.

The design itself is very simple, but these boats can carry heavy loads. It can also handle a trolling motor being mounted to the stern so you can cover more ground if you want to use it as a fishing boat.

The creator of this boat plan became aware of some of the downsides of the garvey design, such as the heavier weight that made it less efficient than some other designs. So he combined elements of dory and wanigan designs to create a hybrid.

The main changes include an enlarged beam, tilted lathes to provide a stiffer hull, and knocking off the top strakes to reduce the boat’s overall weight.

The Wanigan text

These additional The Wanigan drawings   may also prove useful for your build process!

The Mouse is one of the most compact and nimble boat plans we have found for this list. It is an easy build and also a great boat for two kids or a single teenage paddler.

The original builder began with a one-sheet boat design in an effort to create the lightest and most affordable boat possible. This means it is only suited for calm waters and should not be used in high winds or wavy conditions.

That said, it was built in roughly 12 to 24 hours of work time and doesn’t require a full workshop to construct. The main material that is required for building this boat is quarter-inch plywood. But the builder recommends using one-inch by half-inch pine or something a little sturdier.

The plywood and pine components are held together using a method called ”˜stitch and glue’. This method requires choosing one of the best glues for kayak outfitting , which are typically made of epoxy and glass tape rather than something cheaper like polyurethane.

The Mouse Instructions

Also, here are a few extra useful The Mouse Notes for builders

The Slipper is the first of many sailboat plans on our list and it is faster, easier, and cheaper to build than most. It also features a deeper cockpit than many other sailboat designs, which makes it safer for intermediate sailors.

This sailboat plan features dual steering stations so that you can sail from inside or outside of the helm. It also includes a centerboard trunk that hardly intrudes into the cabin at all. So that, it is easier to work around while you are in the cockpit.

The exterior hull and cabin of this sailboat feature a modified dory design using two sheets of plywood ripped to three feet wide before being joined together. The resulting hull is a modified V-shape that reduces drag.

The centerboard of this boat can also be winched up to the level of the top of the cabin or lowered down to alter the draft. This allows you to customize the boat design for a stiffer and more weather-worthy vessel if you need it.

The Slipper was also intentionally designed with an aft cabin that naturally helps to keep the bow pointed into the wind whether you are underway or the boat is anchored in the port.

The Building Slipper

PC DIY Wood Boat

The Handy Andy is a great little 10-foot portable rowboat for hunting, camping, fishing, and other recreational uses. It is actually the only folding boat design on our list, which makes it best for folks that need the most portable boat plan possible.

This boat features a 42-inch beam and a depth of about 15 inches at the mid-section. It also weighs roughly 80 pounds when assembled and can handle up to three average-sized human passengers.

The design boasts a flat bottom with canvas-bound edges and the primary material used for construction is ⅜-inch marine-grade plywood. Despite its lightweight nature, this rowboat can handle trolling motors or even outboard motors with a maximum of five horsepower.

Once finished, the hull can be folded or unfolded in less than a minute’s time.

This design makes it one of the only boats on this list that can be stored in a truck bed or easily carried by two people to be launched at more remote locations.

If you are looking for an all-purpose dinghy that can handle almost any use you might imagine, look no further than The Junior free boat plan. It can carry three or four average-sized adults and is much easier to row than a traditional dinghy.

It is also durable enough to be equipped with a small outboard motor. You could even set it up with sailing equipment if you want to use it as a sailing vessel. As we said, this is truly an all-around boat design!

This boat plan requires constructing three frames that will provide the majority of the load-bearing support. The builder recommends using ¾-inch framing with ⅜-inch plywood as the exterior material for this boat build.

Resin glue and flathead screws are also required to hold this boat together. But there is a full list of materials included in the plans we have linked to below. Sticking to that plan should also give you enough leftover materials to construct two six-foot oars for rowing this boat until you install a trolling motor or outboard motor down the line!

Channel your inner Captain Morgan when you are following these plans to build your very own Jolly Roger boat. This flat bottom boat design is designed for pond fishing . It can also be a useful yacht dinghy for getting from your dock to a larger vessel anchored offshore.

The plan follows conventional dinghy construction methods but also includes a few modifications that will save you time and energy. The wide design is super stable for boaters of all ages.

The keel, frame, chines, and risers are all cut from ¾-inch oak, ash, or any other trusted hardwood you can get your hands on. For the smaller components, the builder recommends using cedar, cypress, fir, or white or yellow pine.

Because this boat plan is also sturdy enough to handle a small motor, it includes important points for protecting the wooden hull from spark plug damage.

Be careful to follow these guidelines to build the safest boat possible if you imagine installing a motor down the line.

The Jollyroger

The Cork is another simple rowboat design. This one trends away from the flat bottom plans that we have included thus far. Instead, it features a deeper, V-shaped hull that makes it better suited to more efficient rowing and easier maneuverability.

It can be rowed easily from either seating position and is durable enough to handle up to three average-sized adult passengers. The ends of the boat are identical, which allows for multi-directional rowing.

The list of materials required for this boat plan should cost you between $30 and $50, depending on your location and hardware costs there. The resulting build is lightweight enough for two people to be carried and also to be transported on top of a vehicle .

Inside the boat, the builders use aluminum tubing to secure the struts that hold the seats. This material choice keeps the overall weight of the boat down while still adding the necessary rigidity across the beam of the boat.

The Hobie Cat is one of the most iconic and recognizable small sailing vessels ever made. This Hobby Kat plan is your answer to building your own iconic sailboat without spending thousands of dollars.

Your finished boat will be able to handle speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. It will be a super fun vessel for windy days on the lake or bay. The builder was able to construct the hulls, decking, and rudder for this boat while spending little more than $200.

From there, they purchased and installed the mast, boom, sail, and rigging, which brought the total amount spent to roughly $650 (still much less than a name-brand Hobie!). Without the mast and sail, this boat weighs roughly 165 pounds and is constructed using primarily 3/16-inch marine plywood.

You can also elect to build your own mast, boom, and sail if you have the time and skills to do so.

Those elements are not included in this boat plan, but they do offer some recommendations for where to buy these components!

The HobbyKat

Named after the common seabird found around the world, the Tern is a lightweight and nimble sailboat with a 72 square foot base design. She is made for inland sailing and planes very well in moderate breezes.

The hull design also provides minimal water resistance and the small floor plan makes this boat easier for intermediate sailors to handle. Even though it offers a small footprint, this boat is sturdy enough to handle up to four adult passengers.

One of the best things about this boat plan is that it can be built almost entirely by using only common hand tools.

Of course, you can speed things up if you have power tools and you are skilled enough to use them correctly.

The Tern boat plan includes a 20-foot mast, but you can shorten that length if you desire. The plan includes a complete list of materials and step-by-step instructions on how to plane and assemble each element.

As you might expect from its name alone, the Falcon is an incredibly speedy sailboat for its size. It boasts a 14-foot centerboard and can handle two to four passengers, depending on its size and weight.

In tests of the original build, the creators claim that this boat out-distanced many Snipe and Comet sailing vessels as well as pacing evenly alongside longer 18-foot sailboats. When finished, your boat will have a six-foot beam and a total weight of roughly 475 pounds.

For the main framing components, they recommend using white oak and plywood will be the main material used in the hull construction. The hull features a V-shaped that was inspired by larger schooners.

The Falcon is best suited to sailing on bays, lakes, and wide rivers. It is also a boat plan with just under 120 square feet of deck space and it is a great build for amateur craftsmen and sailors.

The White Duck is a flat-bottomed rowboat with a total length of 13’6” and a four-foot beam. The cockpit is approximately 15 inches deep all the way around and this boat can handle up to five passengers while maintaining buoyancy and stability.

When fully constructed, it will weigh roughly 200 pounds, but the final weight will depend on the type of lumber you choose for your build. This boat plan features plywood planking over solid wooden frames.

The White Duck is built with a pointed bow that cuts nicely through the water. The flat stern of this boat design will make it easy to attach a small outboard motor with a maximum of six horsepower.

As you might expect from its name, this rowboat is a great option for duck hunting trips. That being said, it is a highly versatile craft that can also be used for pond fishing or casual rowing on your nearby lake.

The Sea Midge is one of the smallest rowboats on our list and it is ideally suited for one average-sized rower or two small paddlers. It is only about 8 feet in length and offers a 52-inch beam at its widest point.

The Midge’s small dimensions make her ideal for navigating narrower creeks and streams. With an approximate weight of 62 pounds, she is easy to maneuver on the water and can also be much more easily transported than some of the larger boat plans on our list

The Seamidge

The Zephyr is a compact and speedy dinghy sailboat that measures roughly 14 feet long and approximately five feet across. This boat style was originally developed for safely crossing the English Channel. This means it can stand up well in rough waters.

When finished, it is also light enough to be transported on a small trailer or on top of a larger vehicle.

The boat plan calls for using hemlock or fir for the framing and oak or Douglas fir for the keel and chines.

The Gypsy is a small cruising sailboat that is meant to be equipped with an outboard motor for powered locomotion. The original design resulted in an incredibly seaworthy vessel that logged more than 6,000 nautical miles in her lifetime.

It includes a comfortable cabin that makes it well-suited for multi-day sailing adventures. This boat plan includes improvements on the original design that will help you build an extremely durable and long-lasting sailboat.

The Gypsy boat design will help you construct a vessel that can handle a motor up to 25 horsepower so that you can enjoy cruising speeds of up to nine miles per hour.

While it may require a bit more of an investment in time and money, it will also help you produce one of the best boats you can build with a free boat plan!

PC Saint Dominic Catholic School

Finally, let’s talk about a crazy cardboard boat plan that you can build in less than a day. This is a great boat plan to bookmark for your next teambuilding project so that you can earn bragging rights with your coworkers.

The plan calls for using 1.5 sheets of cardboard. But you can use the remaining half sheet to build your own boat paddle if you want to get creative.

Triple-thick cardboard is best for this boat plan. But you can always double up thinner sheets if that is all you can find.

These plans include an easy-to-follow diagram for marking, cutting, and folding the cardboard sheets to create the hull of your boat. From there, it calls for using contact cement and construction adhesive to seal the edges and corners.

If you are looking to save a little money on this build you could also use duct tape and then wrap the entire design in plastic sheeting to provide waterproof qualities.

Overall, this build is one of the cheapest and easiest on our list. It is also a great project for hot summer camp days on the lake or river!

Photo by Alexandra Soloviova via Shutterstock

We hope that you now have a couple of free boat plans to inspire you to begin your own construction project.

Don’t hesitate to check out YouTube for some useful boat-building videos when you are getting into the nitty-gritty of these build processes!

Enjoyed 15 Free Boat Plans You Can Build This Week (with PDFs)? Share it with your friends so they too can follow the Kayakhelp journey.

Peter Salisbury

Pete is the Owner of KayakHelp.com. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he grew up kayaking, fishing, sailing, and partaking in outdoor adventures around the Great Lakes. When he’s not out on the water, you can find him skiing in the mountains, reading his favorite books, and spending time with his family.

Great Projects

Build a small sailboat free plans.

These plans are for a small 15 foot knockabout sailboat.

I like these plans for their ease. Building a smaller boat is a lot more attainable than a cabin cruiser! And these plans get right to the specifics of building. From the plans:

ANY SAILBOAT fancier will like "Tramp," the trim, 15-ft. knockabout that's so easy to build in plywood. The first operation is to cut the stem, transom and side planks and assemble the forms.

Use casein or waterproof glue under the butt strap joining the side planks together. Forms can be made of almost any scrap material on hand. If you are a good enough mechanic, they can be dispensed with and correctly beveled frames made to their exact shape can be placed permanently in the boat. Screw-fasten the oak frame at sides and bottom on the inside of the transom. Then notch out the bottom of the frame to receive the keel batten...

The transom is placed last and must be beveled so that the side planks fit tightly against the cleats and the transom edge. Be sure to place white lead and a thin thread of cotton between planks and stem and transom prior to joining them together...

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Affordable Sailboats You Can Build at Home

Last Updated by

Daniel Wade

September 13, 2023

‍ Key Takeaways

• There are many sailboats that anyone can build from home depending on tastes
• Budget will be the biggest deciding factor on a majority of the process
• Consider kits that come with most of what you need or choose ones that are all-inclusive
• Design complexities and new materials may make the building time process longer
• Plan the best you can ahead of time to save money and your working hours

‍ Buying a sailboat can be expensive, but building your own can save you money. So what are sailboats you can build from home?

Sailboats that you can build from home will likely be a small boat under 20 feet. These could be from many different boat suppliers such as B&B Yachts, Brooks Boat Designs, and Chase Small Craft. Boat plans will vary based on your budget and how much time you have on your hands.

Based on my previous experience, building your own boat will take much longer than if a professional were to do it. You also have to be able to study plans, consider various sailboat designs, and have tons of supplies such as fiberglass tape or fiberglass cloth. On top of that, you will also have to be good with your hands.

Table of contents

‍ Top 10 Affordable Sailboats Anyone Can Build at Home

Building your own pocket cruiser or other styles from boat plans is an impressive feat, as this will need dedicated time and money to assure your boat sails safely. Boat building takes a lot of patience as well, especially since this will not be completed in a fast manner.

Finding boat plans and materials that fit your budget will be key to being able to complete the project. The time it takes to complete these projects will vary on your overall experience and needs. Below are 10 of the most affordable sailboats that you can build in the comfort of your home.

B&B Yachts

B&B Yachts have 14 different boat plans you can choose from to find the boat of your desires. Their shop is located along the Bay River in North Carolina where they construct all of the kits and have a 100 foot dock to show off your project once you complete it.

One popular model to check out is their Core Sound 15, as it is the perfect size for those wanting to build a modest size boat for a handful of people on board. Their website features some videos of completed projects and the plans or kits for purchase.

• 14 different models to choose from plus some dinghies
• Various monohull and multihull options
• Friendly customer service with attractive prices
• Might be too many options for some that are indecisive
• Not ideal for those wanting to have a motor sailer

Brooks Boat Designs

Brooks Boat Designs has a handful of options to consider for your next sailboat building project. They are located in Brookline, Maine and give the option to buy the kits or have them build one from scratch for you. They have plenty of knowledge, so do not be shy to ask about modifications or custom features you are looking for.

Depending on your specifics, they can attempt to accommodate some of their plans to help fit your desired outcome. By checking out their site, you can see many examples of their construction in progress and what the boats will look like when completed.

• Offers a variety of kits
• Plans vary around $50 and up, while materials will obviously add more costs
• Some plans can be rowing boats that can convert to sailboats
• Might take a while to hear back from them, as their contact section is a little outdated
• Their plans may not accommodate a ton of extras for your taste

Chase Small Craft

Chase Small Craft offers a simple process for building boats. Their kits are equipped with everything you need and will help save you time than just buying the materials outright and other parts you could need. This is arguably one of the best bang for buck instances if you want to save time and money searching for pieces to your boat.

They are located in Saco, Maine and will ship everything to your home from there. All the necessary materials are included and all you need are the proper tools and working space.

• All-inclusive kits with what you need
• Tons of knowledge on their site for boat building
• Easy process to order and customize
• Complete kits can range over $20,000 for larger boats
• Kits may take up to eight weeks to ship out

Chesapeake Light Craft

You can expect high-quality boat kits from Chesapeake Light Craft . They feature 18 different sailboat kits that vary from eight to 20 feet in length. This should be more than enough to find one for you if you are newer to boat building.

They also have a wide variety of other kits in addition to the sailboat, in the event that you wanted to order a small kayak or paddleboard in addition to your sailboat. The prices vary considerably when considering a small or larger boat, so check the complete list of options to in order to potentially fit your needs.

• Plenty of sailboat offerings to choose from
• Different beautiful hull form options to consider
• Easy to build and perfect for sailing
• Only has basic materials needed for kit, so you may need to purchase other items
• Has epoxy shipping fee no matter if you pick up item

Dudley Dix Yacht Design

Dudley Dix Yacht Design has an extensive list of plywood and single skin sailing boat options. They have plenty of sail plans and kits to consider depending on your goals. These follow a classic look for sailboats, which are aesthetically pleasing.

If you are wanting one to accommodate a small family, they have more than plenty to look through. The cost is not as bad compared to others, but keep in mind that you may need to throw in your own supplies or specific tools to get the job done.

• Plans start at $30 and range up to $7,500 or more for kits
• More than enough of options to consider
• Affordable variety of sailboat offerings
• Might be too many options for those new to sailing
• Most are wood without the use of aluminum or steel

Farrier Marine

If you are in search of a multihull to build, then Farrier Marine is what you need. They offer a unique folding catamaran that is trailerable and give you the option to build it yourself. This not only makes it an appealing option, but anyone can take this multihull boat wherever they want with ease.

It features a thorough construction guide once you receive all of the materials. These also come with stainless steel fasteners and an aluminum mast for high-quality materials. Pricing will vary since you must request which model type you are considering.

• Ability to build a unique catamaran
• In-depth construction guide to help
• Easily handled and trailerable
• Price may be too high
• Limited offerings since only a few multihull options

Glen-L Marine Designs

Building a boat from Glen-L Marine Designs can save you time and money. They feature an easy system to order and receive the kits, as well as an in-depth guide to building them. This is an appealing option compared to most boat kit sellers.

The beauty about Glen-L is that anyone can build these from scratch, so you do not have to be the best boat builder in the world to get it done. They offer guides and helpful insights from their team to point you in the right direction. Plans vary around $15, while kits can range well over $1,000 depending on boat size.

• Nearly 50 designs to choose from
• Complete guide to help anyone build it
• Plenty of price points depending on size
• Might be overwhelming with the amount of options
• Could take a while to get parts since they are popular

John Welsford Boat Designs

John Welsford Boat Designs invites new and veteran boat builders that want a taste of quality small wooden boats. The boat plans are designed to meet your specifications and are catered to your desires.

There are seven sailboat designs to choose from so you do not feel overwhelmed in the process. However, they do not sell kits all the time, so you would need to have the materials or be on the lookout for the best prices when they are available.

• Seven sailboat plans with different sizes
• Quality boat builder and supporting community
• In-depth knowledge provided to you when you order
• Might be too small of boat size
• Kits are not always available

Iain Oughtred

There are plenty of options on the wooden boat store, but you should narrow down your search for Iain Oughtred’s line of sailboat kits and plans. There are 25 different plans to choose from, which should accommodate most everyone looking to build their own boat.

While they do offer some kits, they do not routinely offer sailboat kits. You would need to purchase all of the materials if you are considering one of their sail plans. Keep this in mind if you are considering, as you would need to hunt down the parts yourself.

• 25 different sailboat plans to look through
• Various sizes to contemplate for you sailing needs
• Prices will vary but are not bad compared to market
• No sailboat kits, only plans
• Newer boat builders might find too many options unappealing

Paul Gartside Boat Builder and Designer

Gartside Boats is a boat builder company based in Long Island, New York that showcases a variety of boats from traditional and newer methods of boat building. Within that variety, they have boat plans meant for six to 50 feet in length.

With an abundance of options, you will need to contact them regarding prices and any customizable options. Kits may vary as well, as they typically design in-house and build for you.

• Experienced boat designer that can accommodate with custom plans
• Many options are trailerable
• Can have plans for up to a 50 foot boat
• You will need to contact them for prices
• Customized options may make process more complicated for new boat builders

How Much Does it Cost to Build a Sailboat at Home?

As you have likely already done so, the math between building your own boat and buying one may be a huge difference. Likewise, you may even enjoy the challenge of taking an older boat that is gutted and restoring with parts from a kit to build one new again.

But how much does it cost exactly to build a boat from the comfort of your own garage or workshop? The prices are going to vary dramatically depending on your situation and material needed to get the job done. In addition, the time that it takes to complete this will also vary.

Sail plans are rather inexpensive if you are aiming to build a small boat. These plans allow you to see the workings of the boat design and what you need to build the boat.

Without these plans, you will not know the exact details of the design and it can cause major issues with the boat’s hull or other areas of the boat. Think of these as the backbone or instructions of the boat’s infancy before being built.

Price Per Square Foot

You should assume to pay anywhere between $300 to $600 per square foot if you are interested in building a boat. Buying a kit outright can be a good way to save time, but oftentimes these do not come with everything you need.

Instead, you should try to source as much of the materials at the best price as possible. Thinking ahead is part of the process and you might be able to score a deal at a lumber yard or hardware store for parts.

Boat Designs Matter

The design of the boat will be much different from one boat to the next, regardless if they are the same size in length. If you are pondering boats that range anywhere between 16 and 20 feet, you should factor in the shape of the hull, any rigging, and various appendages.

Prices tend to increase when there are more complexities within the designs. If you are considering a kit with more details than others, you will also have to pay more for the designs on that as well.

Kits Can Differ

It is important to understand that all kits are not going to be the same. As you gander at sailboat kits online to stitch together, you need to thoroughly look over to see if you have everything you need before buying.

It would also be at your advantage to ask the seller if any additional parts or supplies are needed. This may change your dynamic on the kit buying process and you may pass up one for another if it has everything you need. An all-inclusive kit may cost several hundred, if not thousands, of dollars more to have the convenience of everything in the bundle.

Construction Approaches

Some boat plans may require you to have certain tools to get the job done. This means special saws or planers, which the average person simply does not have.

Purchasing specialty tools might be expensive upfront and hard to find depending on what it is. Your best bet would be to check locally for others trying to sell their tools or consider a boat plan that does not require extensive tools to finish the job.

How Long Does it Take to Build a Sailboat?

An easy to build sailboat could take a while to build from scratch. Many different variances come into play that are difficult to pinpoint for everyone. But how long is that exactly and how will your experience play into this?

A fun project to sail in the wind could take you several months to well over a year depending on the boat plan and how big your boat is going to be. In addition, the materials all need to be accounted for prior to starting in the event a hardware store does not have them in stock.

Time Varies

The time that passes for simple boat designs on small sailing vessels can be done in a few weeks. This is assuming you have everything you need and work non-stop around the clock.

Certain complex situations may make the process long, such as the difficulty of working with some materials. If you are a skilled laborer, it may take you half the time compared to a novice. The amount of time it can take will vary on your availability and skill level.

Planning ahead will undoubtedly offer the most time-saving features. It also helps if you can tackle parts of the project at your own pace.

Complexity of Design

The design of the boat may make the construction process longer. For example, it may take you longer to build a catamaran compared to a similar lengthed monohull.

More complex designs might require more materials, therefore making the process a bit longer to complete. Furthermore, you will also need more experience working with difficult designs and that will affect you more as a newbie.

Be sure to manage your expectations well and do not allow yourself to become too stressed over this fun project. If you can, seek expert boat building advice from a local builder or the company you purchased sail plans through.

Quality Materials

The quality of the materials will matter significantly when building a boat and will greatly affect the time it takes to construct it. Handling fiberglass or carbon fiber might require specialty tools, while wood also demands a certain level of craftsmanship.

If you are not skilled at working with the material at hand, it might affect the quality of the build and you may have to go back to fix mistakes. This will definitely add more time to your project, because mistakes are bound to happen with your first project.

To save time, consider adding the tools and materials throughout the year or as often as your budget allows. You may want to try testing your skills on fiberglass or other materials to get a feel for how to work with it.

Related Articles

I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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8 Sailboat Plans

These sailboat plans are not for the novice woodworker. Building a sailboat requires a good knowledge and a lot of experience in woodcraft techniques. For those that are competent woodworkers, the successful completion of the construction of a sailboat can be a great ego trip!

Always read the sailboat woodworking plans carefully and make sure that there is enough information provided for you to be able to complete the project - before you invest in materials. Some of the plans are excellent, giving a great deal of instruction in text, pictures and drawings while other plans are only drawings and still others are only sketches.

As well, some of the sailboat plans, require a woodworking shop that is outfitted with a good selection of stationary power tools such as a table saw, jointer and thickness planer.

These sailboat plans are for the expert woodworker.

Additional boat plans can be found under the specific type of boat:

Canoe plans

Dinghy plans, houseboat plans, hydroplane plans, kayak plans, motorboat plans, paddle & oar plans.

10' sailboat plans .

Pilgrim 590 sailboat plans .

12' sailboat plans .

Puddle Duck Racing Sailboat plans .

14' sailboat plans .

Plywood sailboat plans .

Tri-maran sailboat plans ..

Dinghy sailboat plans .

These dory boat plans are provided in exceptional detail, including step-by-step digital pictures and instructions for every detail.

This is the perfect boat project for even a novice woodworker., impress your friends and family by building this exquisite dory boat.

• About Modern Wooden Boats
• Tips & tricks
• What’s inside a boat plan ?

Petrel 33: widen your horizons

Petrel 33 is the logical evolution of her smaller sister petrel 28 , with the task to expand the horizons of cruising activity for a 4-6 person crew, raising the bar of onboard comfort, keeping the boat size under the critical (for a homebuilder) size of 34 foot – 10 meters of overall length., a “new classic” looking cruiser, sturdy, with no frills and weird solutions, ready to let you sail with a decent speed and a very good comfort level both at anchor and sailing., the starting point is the very good sailing capabilities shown by the petrel 28, so i decided to develope this hull into a enlarged design, keeping a quite narrow hull for actual standard, prolonging the bow lines for a plumb stempost; i expect to have a similar behaviour of the proven 28footer, with a tender weather helm in every situation, a very soft and gentle wave riding attitude in a seaway, and a good acceleration coming out of the tacks, i expect a little bit more speed given the longer water length ; section are moderately full at the bow, maximum beam is around 60% of hull lenght , transom sections keep a moderate vee.

Stability calculations give us good parameters (see stability curve attached) , with a real large positive area stability, a 123° AVS (Angle of Vanishing Stability) with loaded boat, and a minimal negative area in the stability curves.

Rig and sailplan:

Sailplan is based on a 50% area split among mainsail and a furling jib ; we kept the upwind sailing area to a moderate value, avoiding “wannabe racers” temptations; a decent sized gennaker can be hoisted on the fixed bowsprit, an obvious choice given the fact that the new generation furlers are making this sails very easy to manage for cruising crews too, adding the pleasure of sailing downwind in light airs at a decent pace, a weather situation which is quite a pain in normal mainsail + jib configurations ; in roughest situation you can hoist a storm jib on a removable internal stay fitted on a high load chainplate leaning on the forward structural bulkhead ; rig is a classical 2 spreaders mast , spreaders are 15° swept, there is a structural backstay and no structural runners, lower shrouds are doubled., deck gear configuration features classical sturdy and manageable solutions, without too many frills : 4 self tailing winches to pull sheets, halyards and control lines, 2 stoppers array on cabin top panel, 2 tracks for jib cars, so that the jib can keep a decent shape even furled, a small track for the mainsail purchase, all the control lines are led to cockpit to avoid bow walks in “spicy” situations (plans will detail how to make bombproof fitting points for lifelines too);, boat will be powered by a diesel (20-30 hp) or electric (7 kw) inboard engine fitted with a saildrive or shaft-line transmission ; this will allow to keep a decent pace while motoring in zero wind situation, or to add a good booster to sail thrust if needed; i expect to reach a 6.5 knots boat speed at 2000 rpm with a 30 hp diesel engine., rudder and steering system:, rudder is a single blade semi-compensated one with tiller steering system ; there will be two options detailed on plans: spade rudder with ss steel shaft (this solution is depicted in rendered images), and an easier to build transom hung rudder., finkeel is naca profile keel made of welded steel plates, ; ballast is made by lead poured in the keel hollows ; keel is fitted on the hull with a web of bolts on solid hardwood floors, with nuts and high thickness ss steel counterplates under the cabin floorings; keel load is carefully distributed to avoid any local high stress area., interiors and on board living:, this area marks the main differences among this 34 footer and her smaller sister; higher hull topsides and two more meters of boat make a world of difference in terms of interiors and on board comfort; we have 6 regular berths, a comfortable galley and dinette area, a decent volume for on board systems and storage, all that you need to medium-long range sailing given the size of the boat ; both forward and after cabin are closed with a small door to gain a little bit more privacy ; cabin height is around 191 cm , cockpit is quite wide, and it’s designed to be comfortable for a crew of 6 while sailing with the heeled boat too ; transom area is protected by a sturdy wooden hinged structure that can be lowered when moored to be used as a transom platform. low sleek coamings protect the forward area of the cockpit , making the primary winch basement too; toerails and good sized areas among cabin flanks and hull sheerline make going to the bow a very safe operation even when boat is heeled and in rough conditions;, building system:, given the good amount of miles sailed by petrel 28  in every sea state with very good reliability, i keep a similar structure for this project, upgrading the scantlings to cope with higher stresses; so the boat structure is a grid of plywood bulkheads and frames linked by solid wood stringers and a mixed plywood-solid wood structure forming keel backbone and stempost ; hull planking is made by 12 mm plywood, with the radiused area made by two layers of 6 mm plywood panels , all glued to the underlying structural grid , in a reliable , sturdy and easy to build system called “radius chine” ; cabin , cockpit and deck surfaces are made by 10-12 mm plywood panels stiffened by a grid of secondary stringers, solid beams and other structural elements; the hull bottom is further stiffened by a number of solid wood floors , tightly spaced in the centerboat area, where they bear the finkeel loads. all critical areas and structural bondings are strengthened and stiffened by epoxy resin laminated glass fabric and epoxy resin liquid joinery and structural bondings. this building system is definitely suited to be realized by home builders or small boatyards, with a basic level of wood craftmanship , in a decent amount of time given the size of the boat., in my view this will allow a small boatyard to build and offer a highly customized top level sailboat keeping the final prize to a reasonable level, which is basically the main concern when it comes to manage a small boatyard..

Building plans and study plans: project Petrel 33 is is completed : now I’m starting the long and meticulous process of drawing the building plans; complete plans will be available approximately at the end of spring at this link , anyway if someone is so committed to long for an immediate start of construction he can purchase plans starting from now, a first batch of drawings (hull parts , assembly scaffold and hull structures) will be delivered within a week so that he can start building, the rest will follow as scheduled within half of June 2018; study plans and bill of materials will be available approximately within the end of April 2018 and will be downloadable form this page for free, as usual. Stay tuned !!!

Plans price: 900 € for paper sheets, 840€ for pdf format drawings, 350 € for cad engraving files (required if you want to cut all the plywood parts with cnc machinery, includes keel steel plating shapes) ; plans will be made approximately of 27 drawings and a 25 pages booklet with assembly sequence, tips and tricks, plans can be purchased here, a discount will be available for the first buyer ., petrel 33 specifications, hull length: 9,90 m (bowsprit included), overall length: 9,90 m, maximum beam: 3,03 m, prismatic coefficient: 0,53, sink rate: 170kg/cm, canoe body wet surface: 18 m2, draft at design displacement: 1,80 m, vacant ship diplacement: 3400 kg (all gear up, no water and food, no fuel), design displacement: 4050kg (crew of 4 + luggage, 50kg fuel, acqua 150 liters water, 100 kg extra), maximum displacement: 4500 kg (crew of 6 + luggage, full fuel, full water), ballast: 1300 kg: fixed keel, upwind sail area : 47,3 m2 , mainsail 23.2 m2, jib 24 m2, staysail on removable babystay: 6.5 m2, gennaker: 65 m2, mast height on dwl: m 13,3, performance parameters : sa/displ^0.66 = 19.5 , sa/wet surface = 2.6 (canoe body only), engine: diesel inboard with saildrive or shaftline transmission, 20-30 hp, 50 liters fuel tank , electric engine specifications on plans, accommodations: 6 fulls sized (1,90 m or more) berths, 1 v berth at bow, 1 double berth on transom , 2 galley berths, interiors: charting table with main electric panel, vhf radio and chart plotter area, galley with stove, sink and 30 liters fridge, enclosed toilet with wc sink and shower, central table in dinette with foldable wings. 190 cm height in the whole galley area., systems: 12 v and 220 v wiring scheme, fresh water and black water plumbing scheme, 200 or more liter freshwater tanks.; two service batteries and a engine dedicated battery, ce label : possible b6/c10 , data to be required as extra item..

• plans: 900€ for paper version, 840 for PDF version , 350 for CNC cutting files , can be purchased here

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How to Build a Boat

Classic boat plans from a 1937 issue of Popular Mechanics , updated for the 21st century.

It was a long time since anyone in my family had built a boat. The last was my Uncle Paul. He was a shipbuilder who learned his trade beginning at age 14 in Hamburg, Germany. Every morning, the boy rowed from the family's dock out across the shipping lanes of the Elbe River, which flows into the North Sea.

The trip to the shipyard where he was apprenticed took an hour and a half, longer in winter, when there was fog and floating ice on the water. After three years, Paul received a journeyman's certificate and a berth aboard a gigantic four-masted windjammer named Passat—"trade wind" in English. That was in the 1920s, before the fascists confiscated his family's own small shipyard and the Berendsohns left for America.

A few months ago, I decided to try my hand at the ancestral trade. I've built everything from houses to a blacksmith's forge , but there's no more evocative project than a boat, at least to me. Since before Austronesians first gazed across the Pacific, wooden vessels have stood for craftsmanship and the drive to explore. I sifted through PM's archives looking for a classic design and eventually settled on a 10-foot dinghy from our May 1937 issue . It looked elegant, yet simple enough to build on a pair of sawhorses.

It's been many years since my Uncle Paul was around to lend advice, so I ran the drawings past Timo White, a boatbuilder at Tuckerton Seaport, a small maritime museum on the New Jersey coast. It turned out that Timo was in the midst of restoring a surfboard built from plans in the July 1937 issue of PM. (It was a big year for seafaring projects, I guess.)

He confirmed that the dinghy was a good candidate for a first-time builder and agreed to lend a hand if needed.

Shipyard in the Driveway

On a wintry early spring morning I set out for Willard Brothers Woodcutters, a sawmill and lumber dealer in Trenton, N.J. You can spend hours there, roaming stacks of delicious-looking walnut, cherry and oak, some of the boards as wide as your arm is long. I bought red oak for the Sea Scout's frames (that was the name of the craft in the plans, and I chose to keep it) and a 2-inch-thick slab of white oak for the wedge-shaped stem at the bow.

Back home, I started making a racket feeding planks through a table saw. My skills were creaky--I've spent too much time in recent years fixing stuff and not enough building--but over a few days my old confidence returned. The Sea Scout began to take form.

Most boats begin with the frames, the ribs that provide structure to the hull. I roughed them into shape, along with the stem and the gracefully shaped stern wall, or transom, which I cut from ¾-inch plywood. Then I braced it all to a building board--which is nothing more than a 2 x 10 with a chalk line marked down the center.

⚠️ To simplify the project, I omitted the mast and centerboard. Instead, I built the Sea Scout, named after the craft in the original article, to be rowed or powered by an outboard motor. She works well in either configuration. You can find the original plans and materials list here.

The boat's skeleton was in place, but each member still needed to be precisely beveled before I could secure the curved planks of the hull. The next step was to clamp thin strips of wood, called battens, to the frame to stand in for the planks, so I could measure and mark all those angles. Then, I took the parts off the board and finished shaping them.

Often, the weather confined me to the garage, but when the sun emerged I worked in the driveway. If you want to get to know the neighbors, start building a boat. Linda from next door asked whether the craft would be sailed, rowed or powered by an outboard motor. Others wondered where I would go with it, how I'd get it there and what I would name it. A truck driver from Tulnoy Lumber, dropping off some marine plywood, approached respectfully. "This is beautiful," he said, with an old-fashioned New York accent as broad as the hand he ran over the frames.

Anatomy of a Boat

Working the Plank

I don't know how Uncle Paul felt about it, but boatbuilding can be acutely frustrating. The bane of my weekends proved to be a small bronze screw. A No. 6 Frearson flat-head, to be exact. Like most modern DIYers, I'd been spoiled by drywall screws and other aggressive fasteners that practically plow into the lumber. Even using a specialized, tapered drill bit and a waxlike lubricant with the unlikely name of Akempucky, I managed to wreck screws by the dozen. The head on one would strip a moment before the screw was fully seated, while another would shear off on the last eighth of a turn, leaving me with a shiny Frearson-head penny.

Timo had tried to downplay the arcana I'd face--"It's more like house carpentry than fine-furniture building," he had said--but I still found myself floundering on occasion. One challenge was that the 1937 article was more an overview than a detailed set of plans. And, though it pains me to find fault with my forebears at Popular Mechanics, the sketch contained suspicious discrepancies. Timo helped me recalibrate some of the dimensions midway through the project—and I had to trim several pieces after they were assembled.

The biggest hurdle came when it was time to plank the hull. The classic way is to bend strips of solid wood to the frames. I'd chosen marine-grade fir plywood instead to save time, but now I was barely able to force the hull's 14-inch sheets into place. There was no way the half-inch plywood I'd planned for the bottom was going to work.

Timo advised me to switch to a special, wafer-thin marine-grade plywood and plank the bottom in two layers. He came swooping in one Thursday morning to show me the technique. He stepped out of his truck with a broad smile, and a block plane in each hand, and my mood lifted. He politely took a sighting down the chine logs where we'd attach the bottom, and spent a few minutes planing them to the last measure of precision. Then we got to work with staples, glue and screws--and in a couple of hours the project went from a plywood flower bed to a small craft with sensuous compound curves.

It was satisfying, but my mistakes still showed in details like the placement of screws and the shape of the stem. "You know what they say," Timo told me. "Putty and paint makes a boat what it ain't." I got out my paintbrushes.

Maiden Voyage

We launched the boat at Tuckerton Seaport on a cool, overcast day that felt more like September than June. Down at the dock, Timo produced a can of Amstel Light in lieu of champagne. "Go ahead," he said, "pour it over the bow." I popped it open and emptied the beer over the paint. "I christen thee Sea Scout," I said. Then we slid the little craft off the dock and into the water.

You might think a feeling of triumph came over me. Not so. The Sea Scout looked very small, almost helpless, as she sat bobbing at the end of the painter, the little rope that Timo had threaded across the bow. I felt humbled. A phrase from the Book of Psalms flashed in my mind: "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business on great waters."

I wasn't aiming for any great waters myself. I eased off the dock and into the boat. Timo handed me the oars. Awkwardly, I drew the handles back, just above my hips. The craft slid forward gracefully, almost like she was on ice. As Timo watched, I braced the left oar down in the water and swept the surface with the right. The Sea Scout pivoted neatly, unexpectedly elegant and spry.

If the oars were a kick, you can imagine the thrill I felt when I mounted the 2.5-hp Mercury Marine outboard on the transom. It's a clean-running four-stroke engine, compact yet almost zippy on a boat this small. I gave the engine full throttle and cut some nice straight lines and a pleasingly tight curve complete with a crisp little wake.

With the afternoon gone, my first voyage was complete. In the end, I decided to donate the boat and engine to Tuckerton Seaport. Frankly, I needed the space in my garage and driveway: The Sea Scout was a good first foray into wooden boatbuilding, but I knew I could do better—and I'm already sifting through plans.

The Sea Scout, a Decade Later

Ask anybody who’s ever built a boat, and they’ll tell you one thing about it: you’re not the same after you’ve built one. And that goes for me, too. The little boat, which I built back in 2009, shaped me as much—or perhaps more—than I shaped it.

The Sea Scout project brought a flood of mail from our readers, some of whom had built the boat or knew someone who did. One woman still had the boat that her father built. She sent a picture of it and recalled the many pleasant hours she spent with her dad as her father taught her how to sail in it. She kindly offered to donate the boat to us, thinking that perhaps we could put it in our lobby. I wish I could have taken her up on the offer.

When you build a boat, you take your place in the long line of craftspeople—professional and amateurs alike—who have plied that trade and learned about the unique burden of building a craft upon whom someone’s safety and enjoyment will depend. Building a boat is humbling, you remember every mistake you made building the thing as it bobs up and down, and waves wash over its bow or crash into it from the side.

You feel it shudder, but it doesn’t give way as you look over the side at the murky depths. And afterward, you look at every boat with a more knowing eye, a greater respect...and you wonder if you could build it.

Roy Berendsohn has worked for more than 25 years at Popular Mechanics, where he has written on carpentry, masonry, painting, plumbing, electrical, woodworking, blacksmithing, welding, lawn care, chainsaw use, and outdoor power equipment. When he’s not working on his own house, he volunteers with Sovereign Grace Church doing home repair for families in rural, suburban and urban locations throughout central and southern New Jersey.

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Boats plans for self builder - in metric

Imperial plans on duckworks.

Jérôme Delaunay Naval Architect - Nautline design office in naval architecture: I design and draw custom boat and sailboat plans, in plywood epoxy and other materials. Sailboat plans for shipowner construction and professional construction. Plans of multihulls, plans of catamarans, praos and trimarans. CFD hull study, digital hull basin, engine optimization. I offer scantling calculations, keel calculations, mast and rig calculations. Composite sampling calculations. DXF digital plans for CNC digital cutting.

LIST of WOODEN BOAT PLANS – By Michael Storer

Plywood boat plans and wooden canoe plans. sailing dinghy . power . row . paddle . overnight, a boat building course in a book.

Click on an image for more information about our inexpensive, highly detailed boat plans and wooden canoe plans

Viola 14 Sailing Canoe Boat Plan

A sailing canoe to make dinghy sailors happy – 75lbs and for a simple boat, beautiful beyond belief – visit page.

Viola 14 Sailing Canoe is fun and exciting. But easier than a sailing dinghy to transport and store.

Canoe performance and Dinghy stability. 14ft – 75 pounds (34kg)

Viola is extremely stable allowing the crew to stand up and step and unstep the lug rig mast while on the water. Try that in a symmetric paddling canoe hullform! If righted correctly she is almost dry after capsize.

Three Sailing rigs with two piece masts 4.7 and 6.0sqm full batten rigs. 6.3m balance lug with three reefs for distance sailing. 75lb hull. Four sheets 4mm plywood.

More about the Viola 14 Sailing Canoe Plan here

Kits For Viola 14 Canoe Europe – Viola 14 Sailing Canoe Precut Plywood and Timber Kits Americas – Viola 14 Saling Canoe Precut Plywood and Timber Kits

16ft Kombi Sail and Paddle Canoe Plan

A 50/50 Sail and Paddle Canoe for one or two with more stabililty for sailing – visit page

The Kombi Canoe is a development of our recent sailing canoes to bring paddling ability up equal to the sailing ability.

Great for families as it can be used as a pure paddling canoe, but also sail well with one or two adults aboard.

More about the Kombi Sail and Paddle Canoe here.

NEW Plan – Mini Outriggers for Adding stability to sailing canoes and small dinghies

The Mini Outriggers are to add stability to a sailing canoe or small dinghy and aid stability to reduce the risk of capsize on other relatively slender boats.

They are set above the water to allow a sailing canoe or narrow dinghy to be sailed normally .

More about the Mini Outriggers here.

Taal Stand Up Paddleboard in Plywood

Both speed and stability at the same time.

A beautiful plywood Stand Up Paddleboard designed for distance paddling.

The user feels the stability, the water thinks it is a low drag pintail. 12ft

We created a board that hits the numbers for a good canoe or rowboat. Less wetted surface with a stable midsection and excellent weight carrying.

12ft and Stable for beginners but with the low drag of a kayak/pintail type hull (see the stern photos).

More about the Taal Touring Stand Up Paddleboard Plan here

Goat Island Skiff Sail Boat Plan

Simple, modern performance and famous worldwide.

Justifiably famous.

Simple to build but light, fast, pretty.  Fast with 1 to 4 adults

Rows and Motors and will sail rings around other character boats. 15.8ft

More information about the Goat Island Skiff Plan Facebook Group for asking questions about the Goat Island Skiff

Quick Canoe 155 – build in 2 weekends

Very simple plywood canoe that handles well and looks right.

Quick DIY wooden canoe that works better than most flat-bottomed canoes and many fibreglass ones.

Even looks good on the beach. 15.5ft

First one took the builder 4 1/2 hours to get on the water – but most take 2 weekends. Half the weight of many fibreglass canoes. Lighter than most plastic. 55lbs from big store plywood. Another took 5 1/2 hours .

It has been designed to be as easy to build as possible while keeping most of the qualities of a nice paddling wooden canoe.

In particular the ability to track – excellent first boat plan. Click here for a comparison between our fast and our classic paddling canoe plans

More Information about the plywood Quick Canoe Plan

Eureka Canoe – Classic Plywood Canoe Plan

Light and lovely to paddle. simple plywood boat plan.

Light on the land, Prettiest Plywood or wooden Canoes anywhere. 15.5ft

Excellent distance touring boats.

15’6″, simple construction for a wooden canoe. 32 – 45lbs (15 to 20kg)

Click here for a comparison between our paddling canoe plans.

Click here for more information about the Eureka Plywood Canoe

Quick Canoe Electric Cargo Canoe Plan

Wooden cargo canoe for electric trolling motor 34lbs thrust.

5 to 6mph using a 34lb thrust Minn Kota or other electric trolling motors. DIY plywood canoe for fishing and roof racking.

Keeps the simplicity and low materials cost of the Quick Canoe Family. 15.5ft

Cartop transport. Very detailed Wooden Canoe Plans.

Click here for more information about the Plywood Quick Canoe Electric

Oz Goose Light Family and Club Sail Boat Plan

Low-cost family sailing dinghy, regattas and club training and learn to sail.

The Oz Goose is a small boat that is super easy to build.

Cruising or teaching with three adults or excellent club racing performance sailing with 1 or 2 in the boat. 12ft

The famous line is we can build 10 of these in the Philippines for the price of importing a single Laser sailboat. Boat speeds are very matched for excellent tactical racing when not heading off for a family picnic with two adults and a bunch of kids aboard

For training, the goose will carry an instructor and two adults to sail with good sensitivity and speed. In stronger winds, we commonly see downwind speeds of 10 to 13knots and sometimes much more.

Also, visit the  Oz Goose Group on Facebook More information about the Plywood Oz Goose – see the website

“BETH” Sailing Canoe – Elegant plywood boat plan

Simple, brilliant performance – one person cartop – sailing canoe portability.

A touch of the 1870s but fast about as much fun as is possible on a plywood boat. 

Yawl Rig with speed – a wooden canoe that can scare the Lasers at your local club .

Racing dinghy experience recommended! 

A small boat for amateur boat building that is light enough for one person to roofrack 70lbs plywood canoe hull. Sailing Canoe boat plan

Click here for more about the  plywood BETH Sailing Canoe Plan

Drop-in sail Rig Plan for Canoes and Kayaks

Convert a canoe or dinghy into a serious sailboat.

Convert most Kayaks or Canoes into an INSTANT SAILBOAT.

Everything removes as one unit except for the mast step

Also fits some rowing dinghies that are small or narrow.

Very cheap beginners plan.

Read more about the Drop-In Sailing Rig Boat Plan

Drop in Outrigger Canoe conversion Plan

Convert canoe, kayak or dinghy to a fast sailboat trimaran with amas..

Create a paddle or sailing outrigger canoe from a fibreglass or wooden Canoe or Kayak.

Even an elderly Grumman!

Convert your old canoe into an awesome sailing machine or fishing or diving platform.

Each component is under 10 pounds and everything removes cleanly from the boat apart from 4 small fittings and a mast step.

These Amas and crossbeams work for fibreglass and wooden canoes and dinghies, Fibreglass, Aluminium and some plastic canoes.

Performance sailing (see the video on the plan page ) or as a stable fishing platform or to make a super quick sailing multihull.

If you buy the plywood boat plan for the outriggers there is a free supplement available to set it up for sailing. Very cheap plan for a big boost in performance.

Find out how to convert your canoe, kayak or dinghy to a fast sailing outrigger canoe

Handy Punt – simple fishing punt Boat plan

Light cartop load, simple to build and stable – ideal first plywood boat plan.

Outboard motored Punts are the simplest plywood boats.

Good performance, easy construction, stable fishing platforms.

And lightweight for cartopping on roof racks.

An easy first boat plan for first-time boatbuilders.

6 to 8hp – 10 in some regions

Click here to find out more Outboard Punt Boat Plan

Russki Wave Ski, Surf Ski, Sit Down Paddleboard Boat Plan

Easy to build sit down paddleboard from two sheets ply.

Simple plywood waveski or paddleboard from two sheets of plywood.

Paint it and keep it on the car roof ready for use after work.

Small light boats usually are used more frequently than complicated and expensive boats.

Find out more about the Russki Plywood Wave Ski Plan

15 1/2 ft Storer Rowing Skiff Plan

Easy pretty plywood rowing skiff plan for oar.

Simple lightweight rowing skiff for one person and maybe a passenger based on the Goat Island Skiff.

Or Adult and a couple of kids.

Pretty and quick rowing boat on the water.

Simple lightweight rowing skiff for one person and maybe a passenger or a couple of kids. Based on the Goat Island Skiff. I used to get enquiries about using the Goat Island Skiff sailboat hull for rowing. It does row well but blows around too much.

This is much, much better. Pretty and quick rowing boat on the water.

Find out more about the plywood Rowboat Plan

Dayboat/Launches Boat Plan Bundle 23 plus 27ft (7/8.4m) Venezia

Boat plans for two simple prefabricated cruisers for low power outboard in one package – 23 and 27ft.

Picnic boat, party boat, river-cruiser, camp aboard, mini home-away-from-home. 

Cuts through river and lake chop with zero bouncing and pitching.

Pack includes 23 and 27ft Dayboat versions in one plan pack includes Venezia below.

Simple plywood construction. 10 or 15hp 4-stroke for 8 to 10 knots. Venezia and Dayboat Launch Boat Plan Package

More about the 23ft Plywood Dayboat/Launch Boat Plan

“Venezia” 27ft trailerable canal boat

Stretched version of 23ft – both included in the plan above.

An 8.2m (27ft) boat for gentle cruising in rivers and canals.

Great appearance, sleeping accom., separate toilet – your layout.

10 to 15hp 4-stroke. 2 wooden cruising motor boat plans for the price of one –  Venezia and Dayboat Launch Boat Plan Package

Read more about the 27ft Venezia cruiser canal boat plan

TC35 Riverboat – Prefab, Economical Liveaboard for Two

Minimal liveaboard plywood boat 35ft.

Very economical, near wakeless cruising motorboat.

Light on the gas and light on building materials.

Revised wooden boat plan for an extremely economical, efficient low horsepower riverboat.

35ft. 1 x 15hp or 2 x 10/15hp. Simple Prefab Plywood Construction.

Find out more about the TC35 River Cruiser Plywood boat plan.

OZ RACER – 8ft Sailing Dinghies. 

Smaller versions of the 12ft oz goose sailing dinghy – 8ft for easier storage..

12ft Oz Goose  for Capacity and Performance

• Same easy construction
• Same Sail and Foils
• Much higher performance
• Much larger capacity

OzRacer RV 8ft – General purpose version

OzRacer RV is the same small boat hull but with more space in the cockpit and is a slightly simpler build.

4 sheets plywood.

These Boat plans are a modern boatbuilding course in a book. Capacity 1 adult and one child or maybe 2 adults

Find out more about the OzRacer RV

OZ RACER Mk2 8ft – Race Version

OzRacer Mk 2 has a centreboard for more performance but a bit less room for extra crew.

Three sheets plywood. Simple Plywood Boat Plans. Capacity 1 adult and one child or maybe 2 adults

Find out more

Free plans Oars and Single Paddle & Double paddles.

Simplified paddles and oars based on classic designs – free plan.

• Free Plans for Wooden Oars
• Single Paddles
• Double Paddles.

I didn’t want to charge extra for nice paddles to go with our nice wooden Canoe plans

Download Free Oar and Paddle Plans from this page.

Tips and Tricks for Boatbuilding, Woodwork, Use of epoxy.

CLICK HERE for many helpful articles about the selection of materials, boatbuilding and boat repair techniques. All to help home boatbuilders.

The Master list of Articles we have written to explain and help out home boatbuilders

Blog Articles about a whole range of design, building, sailing technique articles.

Free Boat Plans

The plans offered here are free public domain boat plans.

Cabin Cruisers

Canoes and Kayaks

Fishing and Utility

Speed Boats

Privacy Overview

Click here for details of the Terms & Conditions, Use of our Plans, Back-up, SFDesign Philosophy etc

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Free Plans for Stitch and Glue Boatbuilding

Some free boatbuilding plans are very good, others are worth exactly what you pay for them. If you choose to use free boat plans, do your homework, and try to find others who have built from the plans. There are many Yahoo and Facebook groups out there. It's worth it to do a search. It's a good idea to check the measurements and to build a model from the free plans just to make sure you understand the process.

Here is my page on stitch and glue boatbuilding

Stitch and glue plans are good wooden boat plans for beginners.

Making a model will pay back later and save you time when you build because you will have figured out how the boat goes together.

Your model will also help you decide if you like the look of the boat BEFORE you spend a lot of time and money building a wooden boat from scratch.

In a more complex boat, free is not always less expensive because the designer of bought plans will usually have taken the time to give you better instructions, material layouts, and is often available to answer questions.

I built the green pram using the stitch and glue method of boatbuilding. The plans were free. Follow my day to day diary building Gavin Atkin's Apple Pie dinghy.

Free Stitch and Glue Boat Plans in no Particular Order.

Email me if a link is broken. I try to update everything often but the internet is a fast paced place. (and I'm not so quick)

I've included some plans that are free but not strictly pure stitch and glue. Some are combination methods and some are build with little support pieces, chine logs, that are used to screw onto or glue on. They are easy techniques.

I have not built most of these boats and cannot endorse them. It's up to you to figure out if they are suitable for you.

• Apple Pie Pram I built this and found it to be a lovely usable tender.
• Clown 450 Free sailboat plans and instructions IN FRENCH but nicely illustrated. Have a look.
• Micro Folding Dinghy Free Plans. Since the seams are glued but not rigid, it is not really Stitch and glue but interesting to look at.
• Thai Inspired Longtail Boat
• Free Stitch and glue plan for a Simple to Build Cruising Kayak from Spira International
• Free plans for Doris the Dory from In the Boatshed. Combination building methods.
• Herring Skiff Free Stitch and Glue Boat Plans 12 Ft Motor Skiff
• 4. Metre Dayboat by Radoslaw Werszko. Can be use with outboard. Nice contruction photos.
• Several free plans also by Radoslaw Werszko.
• Very simple Sailing Dinghy Designed to be built very quickly. Simplicity boats. Not strictly stitch and glue but simple. There is even a song!
• Free Guillemot Kayak Plans from Guillemot Kayaks.
• Guillemot Kayaks offsets for Ganymede Kayak PDF. Also instructions on Instructable
• Mini Sharpie is a one sheet boat from Simplicity Boats.
• Ella Rowboat Free online plans. Stitch and Glue Assembly.
• Cinderella Rowboat Also from in the boatshed
• Blondie Sail trainer and yacht tender designed by John Bell, pdf file
• How to build Cheap Boats Sailing Canoe. Includes sailing rig. Not very detailed but interesting as a historical document.
• Elf designed by Steven Lewis and available from Duckworks Magazine. Offsets and diagrams. 12 ft long sailing and rowing boat.
• Mouse Boats on Yahoo groups. Plans from Duckworks also. Lots of fun in a tiny boat. Good project and very popular, for children or adult to use in quiet water. Stitch and Glue.
• Free plans for a Bernarda 10 Well not quite free, you have to send the designer a photocopy of your money!! This is a great funny web page.
• Free Pirogue boat plans from Morten Olesen, Naval Architect. You need to email for the plans but it's free. Also other plans for sale.
• Gavin Atkin's "In the boatshed" has several free boat plans . A mother lode of nice designs. Lots of easy to build stitch and glue plans
• Free 3 sheet dory Instructions and photographs. Hannu's Boatyard, he has several models. Can easily be built stitch and glue along with the frames.
• Bateaux Bois Free and paid Plans for some respectable boats. Look under 1- Plans Bois. In many languages. Get Mr. Google to translate but it's well worth having a look.
• Free Stitch and Glue plans for single and double kayaks from Kayakyak. These have been built and tested. Nice looking boats. The Plans are actual plans not offsets.
• Portable Boat Plans has several designs for free. Many other of his plans are very inexpensive. Ken Simpson designs inexpensive easily built boats.
• Duck Punters Free Plan Fairly tender sailing canoe type. Wander around the website some. Designed for chine logs but can be converted.
• Plans for U , Almost free ($3) Expired copyright plans. Norwegian pram looks promising. Not much detail but documentation of how the boat was built in the past. 10 plans for 3 dollars.
• Puddle Duck Racer , the little boat that could. Very simple 8ft boat. Free plans. Usually built with chine logs but could be adapted to stitch and glue as long as you glass tape the seams.
• Mike Waller Design has Pippie8 Tender Exceptionally well laid out and documented free plans
• Bateau.com has 3 free designs A 7.5 ft sailing dinghy, a folding kayak and a canoe.
• Free rowing flat bottom boat from Mark Wallace. Table of offsets. Can be sailed.
• Mike Gill mini Tugboat free plans. Cute boat.
• Free rowing skiff from In the Boatshed
• Flo-Mo Amazing collections of plans. Some great experiments from a meticulous craftsman. 1-2-and 3 sheet designs. Great fun.
• Free Optimist Sailing dinghy plans are in Italian! Get Mr Google to help you translate. Proven design. If you plan to race make sure dimensions are exact so you're class legal.
• Free Optimist Sailing dinghy Original optimist plans
• Wooden Boat Magazine free plans for a Motor Holly Point Skiff.
• Many free plans from the Toledo Community Boat House Some Stitch and glue and some other methods. Great resource.
• Plywood stitch and glue Kayak Instuctables are a greatre source. Go to the website and do some searching. Changes all the time.
• Useful Boatbuilding Books My page on boatbuilding books, most of which I have in my library. Some good information.
• Rodent, Sailing Dinghy for a youngster Could be built as stitch and glue. Shown as chine log construction. Email for plans.

Many people offer free plans from old publications such as Popular Mechanics. Since epoxy was not available then, they are not stitch and glue. They could be adapted however. It is usually possible to replace chine logs (strips of wood that connect bottom and side with screw and glue) with an epoxy fillet and fiberglass cloth. It is important to strengthen the seams, inside and out, with fiberglass strips if you remove the chine log.

More Free Plans hiding in Books.

A very good way of getting free plans is by purchasing designer's books. For 20 or so dollars you can get plans for several boats AND detailed instructions on how to build them.

Many designers offer plans at very small cost. It's often a better bet to purchase these than some of the free plans. Check out Duckworks plan pages There are many good designers here and a few free plans as well.

If you are looking for wooden boat plans for beginners it's hard to beat stitch and glue.

• Carbon Fiber Characteristics
• Boat,Oar & Paddle Plans

I try to be accurate and check my information, but mistakes happen. A good set of plans can save you lots of time and if you've paid for them you can actually often contact the designer and get help.

The ads on my pages connect to Amazon. If you buy something from a link on my page, I get a referral fee that pays the web page expenses (not my time, that's for sure.)

Free boat, paddle & oar plans

Boat, Paddle and Oar Plans

Boatbuilding and sailing articles.

Small Print

This information is for general knowledge. Before you start, do your homework. Make sure you understand the plans before you start and work safely. I don't endorse any of these designers or plans. After you've decided to build, enjoy yourself.

Absolutely Free Boat Plans

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BoatNews.com

Free model boat plans: the MiniX, an easy-to-build radio-controlled sailboat

We set ourselves a challenge: to make a sailing model. In the end, after hours of reflection and work, we discovered that we took as much pleasure in designing and building as we did sailing our yachts. Here is the description of our project and the plans to download. Another article follows with the steps of the realization.

An easy-to-build, eye-catching, high-performance sailboat

Who hasn't dreamed of a little wooden sailboat with a beautiful canvas cover? The idea for this project is a child's dream.

Sailing on a regular basis in "scale 1", we had the idea of having fun by sailing two boats to race in our "spare time". The boats had to meet the following specifications:

• Easy to transport . Measuring just 50 cm, our MiniX doesn't take up much space in a trunk. However, the keel and mast can be dismantled. If need be, the MiniX can even be included in our vacation luggage.
• Able to be thrown into the water "out the back of the car" without complicated implementation.
• No investment that would jeopardize our homes. As this is not a one-off activity, we didn't want to invest in expensive radio controls (our boat's biggest expense). A basic radio control kit is powerful enough to handle "small" sail surfaces.
• Resembling a sailboat at best, hence the presence of the deckhouse and cockpit. These two elements give a sense of scale without resorting to model-building. Above all, a sailboat must be beautiful. Don't we also sail for the pleasure of our eyes?

Modern construction

To keep it light (ready to sail , the MiniX weighs just 800 g), the hull is an extruded polystyrene/epoxy resin sandwich (laminated Depron). While this process is not impact-resistant (though...), the structure and sandwich make it very rigid. Together with the deck, the whole thing forms a kind of egg whose strength is astonishing. It's impossible to apply the slightest twist to the hull, despite its lightness (the bare hull weighs just 260 g).

Our yacht has a chine hull. But this doesn't detract from the look, as the chines are largely rounded and, combined with the straight bow, give the illusion of a beautifully shaped hull. When sailing close-hauled, the stern of the MiniX lifts off, limiting drag in the water.

Technical data

• Overall length (with rudder): 56 cm
• Hull length: 51 cm
• Width: 17.6 cm
• Draft: 25 cm (but this may change...)
• Air draft: 92 cm (mast: 86 cm)
• Operating weight (with sails, servos, batteries and keel ): 800 g
• Bare hull weight (without servos and keel ): 260 g
• Weight of ballast: 240 g (but may vary according to draught...)
• Wing surfaces: Jib= 6 dm² GV= 15 dm²

MiniX drawings

You can download the plans. They're simple and precise. We made our two boats by printing them on a basic A4 printer. Then we simply assembled the sheets by superimposing them and gluing them (repositionable spray glue) to Depron. A sharp cutter is all it takes to build the MiniX with precision.

Just one thing: we've put a lot of heart and soul into building this yacht. We'd be delighted if our experience could be put to good use. Don't hesitate, help yourself! But be so kind as to let us know with a little comment. We'd love to hear from you.

Here you can download the first part of the plan in A4 PDF format .

With this you already have the complete boat. Based on the construction photos, there's not much missing to build the whole MiniX. But since we're taking care of you, here are the sail plans too:

• Mainsail plan

Real sails with webs for their shape.

The construction budget

MiniX doesn't have to be expensive. We've always tried to find a way of "diverting" objects to make our project a reality. So it's hard to come up with an exact budget. It will be higher for someone who doesn't even own the basic tools , and much lower for someone who does it in the back of his already well-stocked workshop.

• 6 mm Depron sheet (2 sheets, 125 x 60 cm)
• Epoxy resin + fillers
• Glass fabric
• 4 mm plywood (a small piece for the keel , keel shaft and rudder)
• Carbon tubes (6 mm for the mast and 4 mm for the booms)
• GV carbon batten (1/10 mm in kite stores)
• Remote control servos kit ( first price: ?60)
• Florist paper for the sails (a good opportunity to give pleasure...)
• Blenderm (surgical tape), available from chemists, to join the sails. Cut the 20 mm roll in half to double its length.

In the end, we estimate a maximum budget of ?120 per boat (calculated in 2021).

Because a construction project like MiniX is above all a team project... And in a team it's good to be complementary.

The MiniX project went through a long phase of gestation - reflection - intellectualization - drawings - exchanges - helping hands to get to this stage. Today, it's sailing thanks to this pooling of skills. We hope you'll enjoy this project as much as we have. And we look forward to hearing from you in the comments or on the forum. Enjoy!

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Gill 12 Tugboat Free Plans

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Description

Free plans. To download the file, click   HERE

Please note Mike Gill is an amateur small boat designer and like many of us, has no formal naval engineering background. But he has designed a cute little boat and has generously agreed to offer the plans for free here.

Included in the zipped folder are:

• the building sequence (below)
• 13 construction photos
• 9 drawings or dimensioned photos

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