I had been thinking about a skin canoe for a while. I am not a big canoe fan, I just prefer a kayak but after a few fishing trips I started to think a canoe might be better for fishing. It would be more comfortable and it would provide a place inside the boat to put your gear. Plastic SOT kayaks designed for fishing are great fishing boats but they just weigh so much.
After I finished Stonefly and got it on the water the first thing I noticed about paddling it is it is no kayak. First impression was it was a barge compared to the kayaks I was used to paddling. Checking my GPS I found I cruised around 3.5 mph which isn’t nearly as slow as it felt. And while I don’t have anything to compare it to, I suspect it is actually far from slow for a canoe.
Next thing I noticed is how stable and comfortable it is. This is like going from a Sports Car to a Sedan. Lots of leg room. Plenty of room for a large tackle box behind me. A cooler would fit no problem. It a lot more comfortable to move around and tie on a lure. No fear of dropping something into the water. The more I fish from it the more I like it.
One thing to keep in mind is that for a canoe it is a strong tracking boat. Out on the lake that is good thing. I fish a Big lake and that means I will cover some miles sometimes. Using it on a smaller creek I found myself wishing it turned quicker. But you can’t have both unfortunately.
When I started this project I had no intentions of offering it as plans. I was just building me a fishing boat. The more I paddled it the more I was impressed. I had some inquiries about plans for it so I decided to make a few changes and offer the plans.
Just keep in mind this is a solo boat. It is designed for a single paddler to sit low in the boat and use a double bladed paddle.
This is rather long and was originally in several parts. Building Stonefly
