The design

  My father-in-law is a hardcore canoeist who has contributed so much of his knowledge of canoes and their design. I was very unsure in the beginning as to what design i wanted. I've paddled his canoes and liked them both. He has a kevlar 16' prospector as well as a 17' Tripper . Both by Clipper. Amazing canoes.
  The Prospector has always look like a proper canoe to me. And after I had paddled my father-in-laws kevlar version, I knew how fun and versatile it would be. I scoured the internet, for prospector plans and found this,  NorthWest canoe plans. in here is a beautiful river canoe. It is based on the prospector but with more beauty added. It has more tumblehome , which always looks nicer, as well as a few for minor changes. I loved the design. Plus the plans are a free download! I just downloaded the files and went to Staples and had them print the full size plans for less than $10.

  While my boards were only 16'ft long , and I wanted a 16'ft canoe, I knew I wouldn't be able to build a canoe this long without having a joint in the wood somewhere.(because the sides of the canoe bend) My plan has always been to make the canoe 6" shorter to account for this.

  Now I wanted to build something different from the start. The birchbark canoe looks like a proper canoe with it's high sloping fronts. I plan on integrating this into my design. My hope is that I'll get a more traditional looking canoe with some slightly better whitewater characteristics. I know it'll be a bit more susceptible to wind, but I'm willing to deal with that. You can see the bow and stern in the changed plans.