Rowboat Kits and Plans

Our rowboat kits and plans are for stitch-and-glue construction.  This is the easiest type of construction commonly in use, and eliminates the need for strongbacks and station molds.  Assembly is done on a flat table.  The planks are held together with wire "stitches" and then "glued" together with epoxy and fiberglass tape.

Odyssey™ row boats are assembled right side up on a flat table.

Kits

Our pre-cut wooden parts kits include all the wood parts (planks, gunwale rails, and frames) you will need to build the boat plus a detailed instruction manual.  We use marine quality okoume plywood.  The hardwood parts are furniture grade cherry.  An optional cell core bottom plank is available with 1/2 inch thick cell core sandwiched between two layers of plywood.  Additional materials are needed to complete the kit.  You will need to buy: copper wire; epoxy resin, hardener and filler; fiberglass cloth and tape; paint and varnish.  These can be purchased at a local marine supply store or by mail order.  A comprehensive list is included with the kit. 

Building from a kit eliminates lofting (transferring the plank shapes to the panels) and cutting them out.  Our kit planks are accurately cut with a computer controlled router.

Our pre-cut kits use our signature "sine-wave" joint for splicing the plank pieces together.  This joint is easier to align than a traditional scarph joint, is stronger, and has superior bending qualities.  And it adds an interesting detail to an otherwise ordinary joint.  The hardwood strips for the gunwales are precut for traditional scarph joints.

Self aligning sine-wave joints.

Plans

Our plans include: Full size patterns for transom, stem, breast hook, and frames; large scale general arrangement drawing; construction details for various parts; a table of offsets (X-Y coordinates) for "lofting" the planks; and a detailed instruction manual and materials list.

X-Y coordinates are transferred from a table of offsets to the plywood panels.

After you splice your 4 ft. x 8 ft. plywood sheets into two long panels (using either our sine-wave joint or a traditional scarph joint), you transfer the lofting points from the chart to the plywood using a tape measure along the "x" coordinate and a 4 ft. drywall square along the "y" coordinate.  You connect the dots with pencil using a flexible wooden batten.  Then you cut the planks (two at a time) with a jig saw and  finish off with a hand plane.

For the hardwood pieces, the wood is planed to thickness then ripped and planed to the required width.  You will need to scarph shorter pieces together to make up the long strips for the gunwales.  For the other pieces, you glue the full size patterns included to the wood and cut them out with a band saw.  From this point on, assembly is exactly the same as from a kit. 

Building from plans takes longer, but is not difficult.  If you have a source of materials nearby, this can be your best option.