Actually, this gives me an idea. If you're doing your own design, and don't have the computational capabilities to asses volume required and achieved, you could buil the hull with extra freeboard, put it in a swimming pool or other calm water before attaching the deck, get in, and draw a curve where you want the sheerline to be.

Better yet, load the hull with the amount of weight you will carry, plus your own weight, plus an estimated weight to account for the deck and outfitting stuff (seat, etc.). Now you can be outside the boat, so it'll be easy to trace the waterline, and sketch the sheerline along one side.

Then, you can match the two sides, and cut the hull, and then add a deck to suit the hull.

Quick, cheap, and dirty.

> The sheer chine, which on a canoe would be a gunwale, can be
> placed anywhere along the side of the forms that you want, to give
> a boat of greater or lesser depth or displacement, but the measurements
> for the traditional depth are given. If you are a bigger than normal
> paddler, or planning to carry heavy gear, move them further from the
> bottom. Your boat will be slightly wider and deeper. You`ll sink a
> bit lower as you displace more water, but if you can calculate ( or
> estimate) how much freeboard you'll need, you can place that strip
> anywhere you want to get the desired result. Very simple.