The Great Wicomico Canoe PDF

17' x 38" / 5.18m x 96.5cm and weighs about 55lbs / 24kgs (if built as designed)

For printed plans for Great Wicomico, click HERE

A big, stable canoe with plenty of room for the family, for fishing or for expeditions. She sleeps one - and maybe a kid - with room to spare for camping gear, so there's no need to "commando camp" on private shorelines.

The Wicomico is easy to build, easy to haul around on shore, and paddles smooth, fast and easy. Windage is low, tracking is good, and she's stable enough for those who like to pole or paddle while standing. She's just a great canoe, and it was always fun and rewarding to paddle the prototype. Which is now paddled by a family of four, and they reportedly think she's the bee's knees.

She uses about half a sheet of 12mm Okoume marine plywood, 18' of polyester cloth, half a gallon of paint or varnish, stainless steel screws, a little epoxy and a few cedar boards. The trim pieces I used on the prototype were from a downed cedar tree I literally stumbled over. The inner wood was a deep purple, and I was able to mill out a few boards from it. Unfortunately, the colors started to fade towards brown after a short while, but she still looks pretty nice to my eye.