Free Canoe Plan: Têtes de Boule Two-Fathom Canoe

The Têtes de Boule Two-Fathom Canoe appears as Figure 103 in Edwin Tappan Adney’s and Howard I. Chapelle’s The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America. It looks like Adney used this canoe as one of the two canoes he based model number MM 98 on. The model appears on page 62 of John Jennings’ Bark Canoes: The Art and Obsession of Tappan Adney. Figure 101 in Bark and Skin is a photograph of several Têtes de Boule canoes.

The Têtes de Boule were skilled canoe builders and built canoes for the Hudson’s Bay Company. They considered this 14-foot canoe a family canoe. Like other Têtes de Boule canoes, Chapelle notes, it has a flat bottom combined with a well-rounded bilge and moderate flare, which probably would make this a stable canoe for its width. The end becomes V-shaped and narrow. To arrive at the shape in the birch bark canoes, the endmost rib was “broken” in two. The stems rise almost 28 inches. As a comparison, classic canoes like the Prospector have 21-inch bows. Chapelle notes that Têtes de Boule “canoes paddled very easily.”

When modeling this canoe, I ran into few problems which is atypical of modeling canoes for this free canoe plan project. The station, plan and profile views all matched up, which is also a rare piece of gold in Bark and Skin. I like the high bow. It seems to flow into the lower sheerline unimpeded by any need to humble its appearance. There’s a grace to the moderate flare in the sides of the canoe that reminds me of Lakefield cedar and canvas canoes. I think this would make a nice cabin canoe or a solo canoe for someone who likes Canadian-style solo paddling. It’s big enough to bring the dog.

Specifications

Length: 14 feet 8 inches
Width: 33 1/2 inches
Depth: 14 1/2 inches

Free Canoe Plan Downloads and Package Downloads

Description

• Free Linseplans: The free linesplans are station and stem drawings overlaid on each other. They are drawn at full size.
• Drawing Package: The drawing package includes linesplans and each station and stem drawn separately on a PDF that prints full sized on when printed on the right paper size, usually ARCH D. You can cut these out and glue them to plywood to cut full-sized forms.

Recommended Canoe Building Books to Buy Before Building

The free canoe plans provided are the plan drawings of the canoe. If you want to build from the drawings, you will need instructions. The following books provide great instructions for building.

Canoecraft: An Illustrated Guide to Fine Woodstrip Construction The gold standard for cedar canoe builders. Use this book with the provided free plans and you’ll end up with a great canoe.

Building a Strip Canoe by Gil Gilpatrick A great cedar canoe building book that explains excellent shortcuts.

Strip Built Canoe: How to build a beautiful, lightweight, cedar strip canoe Well written and easy to follow. Every builder should own this.

Canoe Paddles: A Complete Guide to Making Your Own Paddle building techniques included with canoe and kayak building books are typically crude. Follow the directions in this book and end up with a beautiful and functional paddle to go along with your canoe or kayak.