O.K.. No responses as to what canoe can be altered and built at or under 10', so I found a friend that has molds for a 12 1/2'er. Beam 34" and a reasonably flat bottomed center section. The semi-flat bottom runs for around 3 1/2 to 4'. Sides are approx. 12" with a little tumblehome.

My questions are: If I remove the center two forms and bring it down to 9 1/2' long, keeping the 34" beam, a little of the flat bottom, keeping the same basic shape to the stems, will I loose a lot in the tracking area. If so, will it help to wrap an outer stem down and continue around a foot or two on the bottom, tapering into the bottom.

The reason for the shorter canoe is that I got enough wood to cut 540 strips of poplar, 1/4" x 7/8" x 10'. Also got approx. 20 stips of redwood from 8' to 20'. So, I want to build a few short canoes for the grandkids and their friends to use up some of this wood, then I can use the rest to add some detail to a kayak or three. These will be kids with little paddling experience and the better they track from the get-go, the better chance they will have to get where they're going.. The semi-flat center to help with stability.

Thanks for any ideas..

Rehd