: Paul- thanks for this info. I'm in the 200 lb range, but I'm working on that!
: I don't want something quite as big or beamy as the 22 ft x 28 inch
: Zimmerly boat from Sea Kayaker. Even 18 ft will be pushing it for the
: space I have to work in. The main reason I was just going to shrink the
: boat down in proportion is so I could use his measurements. I like the
: overally shape/look of the boat as well. I'd actually like something more
: like 22 inches wide and thought I could probably figure that out on my
: own. I may take a look at some of the design software mentioned in some
: messages the other day.

If you have Putz's book, take a look at my two webpages with addtional dato onn graphing his plans. I've translated the arcs and lengths that PUtz uses into simple coordinate points that are a snap to graph. You don't even need graph paper. A ruler and a big sheet of paper will do the job.

For his 18 1/2 foot walrus use: http://www.geocities.com/eureka/business/7882/walrus18.htm

and for the 17 footer use:
http://www.geocities.com/eureka/business/7882/walrus17.htm

Draw out the middle two or three forms. From just looking at the numbers you are graphing you can see about how wide the boat will be. If you want it a bit thinner, make it so. Play on paper before you commit to cutting anything from wood.

Even without a computer design program you can adjust things yourself. If you like the width of the 17footer, but need more flotation for your weight, you can just set the frames an inch or two further apart than mentioned in the book. this will stretch the boat out by roughly 6 inches to a foot. If you want more displacement, but don't have room to build the 18 1/2 footer, you can place the building frames an inch closer together, and lose about 6-7 inches from the length.

Or, you can make the sidewall height (which I don't address on my webpage) a bit deeper so that you have some additional freeboard. Just pick the height where you tack that chine to your building frames.

If you are building one of these for cost reasons, consider covering the thing with plywood. Just lay it from one chine to another and glue/screw the wood to the chines. If you do this, you can forget the bracing and all the details with preparing the canvas. This saves both time and money. You replace about $45 worth of canvas with about the same amount of wood. Search the archives for "Mike Hanks" and "Plywood walrus" and you should find some pictures and information on how this was done.

Hope this helps

PGJ

: Dale