: Sorry if this is off topic. I'm getting ready to participate in an adventure
: race later this year and again next summer. Rules state that you cannot
: use a kayak, it must be a canoe. I’d like to make a stitch and glue canoe
: for the race(s), but all the plan I find are fairly wide and heavy.

When you get into the marathon racing boats you'll find that a lot of them are what I'd call a hybrid kayak/canoe. If you'll look at a usca c-1 or c-2 you'll see that they are fairly angular in build with fairly flat bottoms. I've been researching these marathon boats a lot lately. One of the finest paddlers I know says if he was building a marathon boat it would closely resemble his c-1...though he would cut the wing down about an inch. He says the hull is "efficient"...that he won't beat a k-1 for two miles, but he will for longer distances. He has done this in the past many times. Anyway...it depends on what the rules you have to build from on what you can build. "Canoes" invariably have high sides and high stern/bow. If by "canoe" they mean an open boat with a single blade paddle...then you could probably find a good kayak design and just leave off most of the deck (that's basically what some of the unlimited marathon boats are). I'm also in the process of preparing to build some boats for the marathon races. You might check into some used marathon canoes. Sometimes they will be fairly cheap If your race is really long you'll find that the canoes are much more comfortable, allowing you to finish fast, while in a kayak you might be fast...but not finish. One of the most important aspects of a marathon race boat is that it be light. Sometimes in an adventure race boat it is not as critical...but still important. If you have more questions you can drop me an email. I am not an expert...just a person learning how to do marathons (in boats I build...hopefully).