Viola 14 Sailing Canoe Plans PDF

A kit for this boat is available from JO Woodworks.

The Viola 14 is intended to be a very easy and light boat to transport and get onto the water. It is meant to appeal to racing dinghy sailors and others who will be able to push this light boat hard.

It is not a normal sailing canoe shape. It is shaped much more like a sailing dinghy, so has much more stability than a symmetrical paddling type canoe and true planing performance.

Here is a video showing the stability of the Viola 14:

It has also been kept light for transport (rooftop) and performance. There are not many 14ft sailing dinghies this light. Perfect to drop into the water after work.

Plans are very detailed (85 pages), in metric, but with both imperial and metric timber lists

The lightness assumes it will be a premium build of good materials and protected with 3 coats of epoxy. Polyester and non epoxy glues are not recommended in this light and highly loaded structure. You can try, but I really don't recommend it.

The spars are two piece standard aluminium sections to keep cost down and to reduce building time

There are three rigs using our sails from reallysimplesails.com

1. 4.7sq metre (50sq ft) laminate sail with one reef to suit most sailors. Can only be reefed on the shore.
2. 6.0sq metre (64sq ft) for very experienced small boat sailors. Single reef as above.
3. 6.3sq metre (67sq ft) balance lug (our specialty) with three reefs. Ideal for RAID and distance events. Can be reefed on the water and mast unstepped for low bridges. The yard and boom can be made from a specific carbon windsurfer mast. A wooden spar option is available.

Joost Engelen, the prototype builder has participated in RAIDs demonstrating excellent speed from light to strong winds relative to much larger boats and surprisingly for an open boat has been able to continue sailing when other boats have been forced to shore. Of course you need considerable experience to pull this off.

The boat is named after Joost's wife Viola Spek, who was a dinghy sailor when young but has had about 20 years away from sailing. After her first sail she said "what a fun and easy to sail boat. She also capsized, righted and re-entered the boat.

If Viola (the boat) capsizes it comes up with very little water aboard.

Here are some more photos of Viola Spek and Joost Engelen sailing their Viola 14

Websites
Boat Plans - storerboatplans.com
Sailmaking - Really Simple Sails
Goose Sailboat

Facebook Groups

Really Simple Sails
Storer Boat Plans
Goat Island Skiff
Oz Goose sailboat

Below is one of two being built in Hungary:

All Michael Storer's Viola articles are here. The latest posts are at the top.

4 sheets 4mm Gaboon plywood