Free canoe mold in Wisconsin

[Iceboy]

I have a canoe mold for Thomas Hill's Charlotte that I am willing to give away to anyone who wishes to use it. You must be willing to pick it up in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It is in good shape, made out of 3/4 ply with clear pine ribbands. It may need just a small amount of adjustment but will save a lot of time if you wish to build. First come first serve. Contact me via pm or this thread and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I will add a post to this thread or delete it when someone actually picks it up.

Jim....

[Brian Palmer]

A nice little boat. I have one, too.

This probably does not bear repeating, but I will anyway, that just having a mold is not a "license" to build a boat. To be fair to Mr. Hill, you should also buy a set of his plans.

Brian

[Iceboy]

Absolutely correct Brian. I am in no way advocating building one without purchasing plans.

[BrianY]

Sorry for the hijack but I thought this was an opportunity to ask you two guys about your experiences using the canoe. I have read elsewhere that Hill's canoe designs are rather tippy - some have even called them alarmingly unstable.

They are beautiful to look at and I want one, but I don't want to go to the trouble of building one if the above statements are even remotely true. Please comment.

Thanks.

[Canoez]

First, Brian Palmer's comment is spot-on.

Second - BrianY : I'd say that the Charlotte is a bit tippy, but no more so than small canoes with similar beam. Some people try to mount seats that are higher up than as originally designed. (Charlotte's seat is actually a pad on the floor by design.) These are canoes that are intended for paddling on protected water. I paddled the one that WB has up at the school and thought it was OK, but the bay was pretty flat that day with a little bit of small chop.

Because you sit low on the floor, your center of gravity is lower. Still, I'd have to say that this canoe and the Wee Lassie from Mac McCarthy both benefit from a bit more weight in the boat (than 155# of paddler, that is...) It's one of those things that you get used to, but they can be a bit tender. These are definitely small boats that are primarily for poking around the edges of lakes, rivers and ponds on a nice day.

[Iceboy]

Pretty much describes it Canoez. Definitely a slow water craft. I use mine on remote ponds or the Sawyer county canoe trail. Having a canoe you can carry with one hand is nice. I have found that any kind of current shoves you around some.

[Richard Jones]

I built my Charlotte about 10 years ago. I've paddled it around the harbors of Long Island and on bold days, I'll take it out on Long Island Sound in 6"-12" chop. Brace your knees on the gunwales, wear your life jacket and have fun. I've never flipped and only taken a little water over the bow now and then. The V-bottom on the boat is what gives it a little wobble. My 11'6" Rushton has a flatter bottom and is much more stable, but their aren't any really ready-to-build plans for this boat.

[Canoez]

I built my Charlotte about 10 years ago. I've paddled it around the harbors of Long Island and on bold days, I'll take it out on Long Island Sound in 6"-12" chop. Brace your knees on the gunwales, wear your life jacket and have fun. I've never flipped and only taken a little water over the bow now and then. The V-bottom on the boat is what gives it a little wobble. My 11'6" Rushton has a flatter bottom and is much more stable, but their aren't any really ready-to-build plans for this boat.

The only thing that I'd point out here is that it is always advisable to learn what your skill level is before you head out somewhere like Long Island Sound or Blue Hill Bay like Richard and I have where the water temperatures might only be about 50-60°F.

Once you've gained some experience (flipped, or shipped water) and know where the edges of the boat's performance are, it's OK to go where you feel comfortable. However, do be prudent, wear your lifejacket, let people know where you're going and when you'll be back, wear a wet/dry suit as appropriate, paddle in the company of others when possible and keep an eye out for the weather and larger craft as canoes like this are just a speck out on the water.

[Brian Palmer]

My wife and I have paddled ours for 10 years (not together!) and have not found it too tippy or too slow. We once even put our two small boys in it (3 and 5 at time) and followed them as they paddled around a fair sized pond/small lake in one of our state parks.

I've taken it out in 1 ft waves and also fished from it and never thought I was close to going over. The v-botom gives it a fairly narrow waterline, but it has great secondary stability.

It is a small boat with a relatively short waterline length, but there is no reason it should be any slower than canoes of similar length.

Brian

[Iceboy]

Pretty much describes it Canoez. Definitely a slow water craft. I use mine on remote ponds or the Sawyer county canoe trail. Having a canoe you can carry with one hand is nice. I have found that any kind of current shoves you around some.

A thousand pardons. I did not mean the canoe was slow, I meant it is for use in slow water. I definitely wouldn't attempt any rapids with it.

[Canoez]

Iceboy - I didn't misinterpret things that way- I don't generally find these little double paddle canoes to be slow. Quite frankly, I do quite well keeping up with traditional canoes with a 16-18' waterline length that are being paddled by two people with single-bladed paddles. As a matter of fact, we've got a (lazy) guy who brings an aluminum square-back canoe with a 5hp motor. I can keep up with him all day long in a Wee Lassie that is laden with enough gear for a comfortable three day weekend trip. I'm sure that a boat with a longer waterline and similar beam would probably be faster, but these little canoes are surprisingly fast when coupled with a good double-bladed paddle.

[Richard Jones]

The only thing that I'd point out here is that it is always advisable to learn what your skill level is before you head out somewhere like Long Island Sound or Blue Hill Bay like Richard and I have where the water temperatures might only be about 50-60°F.

Once you've gained some experience (flipped, or shipped water) and know where the edges of the boat's performance are, it's OK to go where you feel comfortable. However, do be prudent, wear your lifejacket, let people know where you're going and when you'll be back, wear a wet/dry suit as appropriate, paddle in the company of others when possible and keep an eye out for the weather and larger craft as canoes like this are just a speck out on the water.

Perhaps I should have pointed out that my rough water paddling is done in Summer, with warm water and that I stay within 100 yards of the shore. As for larger craft being a problem, I once had some idiot in a 40' cabin cruiser come up behind me,yelling at me to get out of his way, feeling that he somehow had the right-of-way. Damn near ran me down. He only had the whole 20 mile width of Long Island Sound to manuver!

[Tom Robb]

Makes you wonder if the right to keep and bare arms is a pretty good idea, Richard.
I had a similar experience in L. Erie off Cleveland in a small sail boat. Ya gotta love those guys. LOA is inversely proportional to IQ and penis size.

[Canoez]

Makes you wonder if the right to keep and bare arms is a pretty good idea, Richard.
I had a similar experience in L. Erie off Cleveland in a small sail boat. Ya gotta love those guys. LOA is inversely proportional to IQ and penis size.

So we're supposed to brag about our small boats? :p

[Brian Palmer]

I guess I owe an apology too. I misinterpreted the context of "slow." I've used ours in mild riffles on a river when I knew there was enough water to not scrape bottom.

I would not try any hole surfing in a Charlotte.

Brian

[Tom Robb]

Yah.
Little boat/big man.
Has a nice ring to it:)