Daysailer plans

[wayne langille]

First-time boatbuilder looking for ideas for boat approx.18 ft., easy to build and inexpensive, not fibreglass or plywood. Thanks

[rbgarr]

WB has plans available for a pretty simple boat called the Lumberyard Skiff. They may have come out with a sail rig plan and the boat may be able to be enlarged to 18 feet from the current length. There are other larger and more complex sailboats shown:

http://www.woodenboat.com/wbstore/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=82

[TerryLL]

Based on your criteria, I don't think you'll be able to find more than a couple thousand designs to choose from.

The more information you provide, the better the advice you'll get. So, what sort of sailing, what kind of waters, your building experience, how many passengers, sail and oar or sail and outboard, and on and on.

[Steve Lansdowne]

The wood you choose to use will depend to some degree on where you're located unless cost is no object and you can order wood from afar and not sweat the shipping cost. Marine plywood is available at various places around the U.S. This might be a consideration as you consider what type of boat you want to build.

[Sailor]

I suggest getting Ted Moore's "Canoecraft". The construction methods are simple. They are exceptionally forgiving (ie:mistakes are easy to correct and absolute accuracy is not critical) and easy to build. The instructions are very good and anyone who is even the least bit handy could understand them and build a canoe. The hull is guaranteed to be watertight and with just a bit of care the hull will turn out beautiful. It's not built with traditional plank on frame construction, however the skills you aquire with a project like this will transfer over to a plank on frame hull easily as well as build up your skills and boost your confidence. I'm about half way finished mine and it's showing me that I can do much better work than I thought I could. Next I'm going to build a catspaw dinghy plank on frame. Neither one is plywood but both are doeable by the average home builder. From there a more difficult build, therefore wider range of choices are available to you. There's also a back issue of WB magazine that profiles a guy who, for his first build, built a haven 12 1/2. He redid most parts twice and learned a lot along the way. He just jumped right in and did it. Pretty inspirational. Can't remember what issue it was though. Within the past year and a half or 2 years for sure though.

[Woxbox]

Sounds like a dory to me. You can row it or sail it, either way it will satisfy and get you dreaming about the next project.

[johnw]

flatiron skiff. Get a copy of American Small Sailing Craft.