A STABLE CANOE with a STRONG PEDIGREE

The Angler’s Trip has modest freeboard and low ends. This means she won’t kick up quite the fight in a wind, and will be somewhat lighter than a Prospector style canoe of the same displacement. Like many of our designs she’s drawn for backwaters, wetlands, bays and meandering rivers and creeks. She’s built to carry two paddlers and their load on modest trips. Her shallow arch makes for a stable platform for fishing, photography or family outings.

Design Versatility

Plans for the Anglers Trip include an option to build with the hull with a hard-chine or recurved tumblehome. In both cases, the gunnels are pulled in, creating not only a distinctive look but a slightly easier reach for the stern paddler. Observers with a keen eye will notice a slight increase in secondary stability in the chined version however, from a functional perspective, there is very little difference between the two options. There is absolutely no difference below the maximum waterline.

About That Pedigree – A Canadian Classic

The Anglers’ series of canoes from Ashes are modeled on the popular Bob’s Specials, designed by the Chestnut Canoe Company of New Brunswick and sold to outdoors-men who were looking for a lightweight, stable canoe suited for a quiet morning on the water, either when fishing or for simple relaxation. With time, her shallow-arch, broad beam, and low windage made her a favourite of cottagers and families.  Notably, she was also a favourite of Canada’s outdoor loving Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau.

In production from 1905 to 1979, Bob’s Specials are now featured in the catalogs of more than a dozen canoe manufacturers and her lines have been re-imagined by most major sellers of canoe plans.

• Who’s Bob?
• Checking a Chestnut – Bob’s Special

Choose This Boat If …

The Angler’s Trip is a versatile and stable canoe designed for modest trips and will easily hold the amount of gear necessary for a week on the water. Her shallow-arch profile makes her a stable craft and will better suit those who have cause to shift their weight, sometimes unexpectedly, from time to time (or have dogs or children who doing the shifting for them). If covering miles is more important that stability, the builder might be better served by choosing a contemporary asymmetric design such as the Tandem Day or Tandem Trip.

Click Drawings to Expand …
 
 

 Before You Get Started

Plans from Ashes come complete with all the details necessary to build a canoe but they do not include building instructions. If you are novice builder you will save many hours and benefit immeasurably from an purchasing either of the following:

• For Stemless Construction, Building A Strip Canoe, by Gil Gilpatrick
• For Classic Cedar Strip Building,  Canoecraft, by Ted Moore

Materials

Start with 1/4 inch thick cedar strips. 3/4 of an inch is as good a width as any and full length clear stock will make stripping your canoe a whole lot easier. Her gunnels are either a hardwood, or if a builder wishes to reduce weight, laminated softwood strips (two outer and three inner) with an outer hardwood rail shaped to please the builder’s eye. Best results will be obtained if the builder can curtail the urge to use fancy marquetry, or exotic woods. A materials list is included with your plans, as are scaled drawings of the strong-back.

Stations

Unless marked otherwise stations are laid out with the centre station placed in the middle of strongback, and each one thereafter is spaced at 12 inches on centre from the previous. At Ashes we cut our stations from 3/4 MDF. The bow and stern stations are trimmed for stemless construction, an easy and elegant construction method that contributes to her minimalist lines. Plans have the outer stem profiles marked for those wishing to use hardwood stems.

The Tumblehome

Ashes tumblehome will cause some pause for thought for first time builders, however with a little patience she will go together with minimal fuss. Novice builders choosing to build the hard-chined versions included with some of our plans would be well advised to apply equal parts patience and good humour.

Building Light

A careful builder may wish to reduce the weight of their canoe by starting with 3/16 inch cedar strips. Be careful. The Anglers Trip has a straight run in her middle and the middle hull could “float” if the hull is built to light. If so, a shoe keel will mitigate the problem. Remember, too, that you’ll have less material to start with and without experience it’s easy to sand too far! Other options for builders hoping to keep her light are to laminate the gunnels directly to the hull and use mechanical fasteners only in the ends and at the thwart. Likewise, seats can be attached to cleats glued and glassed to the inside of the hull, thus reducing the need for hangers and associated hardware.

For a precise estimate of your canoe’s final weight use  Ashes’ Weight Calculator which provide results based on materials choices and building decisions.

Weight Calculator

Fibreglass

The industry standard calls for 6 oz cloth. Builders wishing to match our advertised weights will start with 4 oz glass inside and out with a reinforcing layer laid inside and out in her middle third (on the bias). Likewise, her ends are reinforced both inside and out with two extra layers of 4 oz glass, 6 inches wide and also laid on the bias.

Printing Your Plans