Hey Clark,

I don't really know about used plans, since, as I understan it, most are glued to the material that will compose the forms. You might find some study drawings though. A lot of the web based designers have some line for studying their designs. These are helpful in selection of a design.

I built Mac Mcarthy's Wee Lassie II from his book. The boat is a 13.5' foot double paddle canoe. It is lightweight, simple and handles nicely........very stable since you're in the bottom of the boat instead of up on the gunnels, and has enough capacity for a good bit of gear (make the enclosed fore and aft decks larger and you have lots of dry stowage). Mac's book is great for building the boat.....$20.oo with offsets for both the 11.5' Wee Lassie and the 13.5' Wee Lassie II (you could stretch this one a bit). Mac is very nice.....a big advocate of these little boats. He gives a nice history of the evolution of his version of the Wee Lassie from Rushton's design and he includes small "side trips" to some of his favorite paddling spots as a diversion from the ample building information, which is simple and straightforward. You can get full sized patterns from him for $20.00, though he does not mind if you build from the book......if he did, he would not have put the offsets in there (my opinion). He teaches building classes around the country, and he has a shop in Sarasota, where you can build your boat if you like. All the books mentioned are good ones for building a stripper canoe, as is Nick's kayak building book and Ted Moore's KayakCraft....many fo the same methods apply. All of these books have good information in them and, In my opinion, assuming that you have basic skills in reading and interpreting tables, the books are a much better deal than a set of plans. The kayak books are very good for gaining knowledge of the building method's........Nikc's book is a fantastic resource for information on strip building and one look at his boats may convince you to build a kayak instead. Unlike a sailboat or other larger design, canoes and kayaks are not that complex in construction, and can be easily and successfully built from the books.If you follow the recommended building procedures/layup schedules, and do the best job that you can, they'll turn out plenty strong for most of us.

For the price of one set of plans, you can buy four or five of these books and have enough plans to keep you busy for years, even you you followed a "one boat from each set of tables" philosophy. And the information in the books is an incredible asset.....the more you know in the beginning, the more prepared you'll be for the inevitable challenges that will arise. I'll probably purchase the revised editioin of Ted Moore's Canoecraft, because the offsetts for the boat that I really wanted to build are in there.......for about half the price of the plans, I can develope the patterns, and to me, that is an enjoyable part of the processs. I've lofted two of Nick's designs from the offsets in his book, but it will be a while before I can build one. But I learned a lot in doing it.

A lot of libraries have these books too......I've seen Nick's book, Hazen's book, and Mr. Moore's book in our local system, and strippers are not at all prevalent in our area of the country. You'll have to be your own ethics judge, as to weather or not you should build from a library book???........It is best to have your own copy on hand though.....they are very good investments.

There are definite advantages to buying plans. You are assure that the design will be as close as can be to it intention. It seems there are always a few mistakes in offset tables, and, sometimes you may wind up with something a bit different, though rarely drastically different. The tables are there to be used, you be the judge of what is the best method for you to utilize. Good luck in your search. garland

: I am trying to find a set of used plans for a 14-16' strip built canoe.
: Please email with any info. Thanks, Clark