Awesome, red oak it is. I may even glass them.
Thanks
RED

You may want to wipe the fresh surface with lacquer thinner or acetone just before epoxying to remove oils that seem to keep the epoxy from adhering. You won't need fabric.

I'm in my shop right now chiseling away at the leeboard bracket inletting hinges for my design of a folding model.

Good morning Rudder Forum,

I am a 59 year old middle school teacher who knows very little about sailing. I spend my time wood working; anything from rough construction to cabinet work. I will be retiring in a couple of years and intend to move to an area in central California that has a large lake. My plan is to learn the basics of canoe sailing in the meantime.

I have plans for an 18’ X 35” touring canoe of the stitch and glue construction method. In planning for this project I see that nearly universally the design is to use a leeboard as aposed to a centerboard. Again lack experience, why aren’t canoes retrofitted with a centerboard trunk? It seems that a centerboard would be a cleaner install. Is this a matter of tradition and personal preference?

BBlack

BBlack wrote:

QUOTE:
why aren’t canoes retrofitted with a centerboard trunk? It seems that a centerboard would be a cleaner install. Is this a matter of tradition and personal preference?

Centerboard trunks usually leak over time and are much more complicated to install than a set of leeboards. They also add weight and can make it more difficult to use the canoe without a sail. You may also want to consider one or two simple daggerboard trunks which can be a good compromise as shown below in the Old Town Wahoo model sailing canoe from 1971.

Benson

Benson,

Thank you for the information, I have a lot to learn.

bblack

Benson hit on the topic very well, as usual. In addition to what he said, most canoes employ leeboards simply because leeboards don't change the architecture of the canoe. The boat remains a canoe that can still be paddled as such.

Centerboards/daggerboards require extra engineering, etc. Now, International Canoes (IC's) employ daggerboards, but an IC is no more a paddling canoe than a dragster is the family car. Centerboards/daggerboards require 'trunks,' which are enclosed boxes that take up already precious space in the hull.

Thanks for signing up! We all have a lot to learn!

Welcome to the crew,

Ed