How to build a Water Rat canoe

The Water Rat is a sort of cross between a kayak, a canoe and a punt. Practical to use on a river, lake or dam on flat water, lightweight and easy to transport and very stable.

Best of all is that you can build it yourself in your garage with two sheets of marine ply. It’s a great first project for someone wanting to give boatbuilding a try or just keen to have a family boat to play with for the summer.

Designed by Doug Laver and with plans from Ross Lillistone, the Water Rat comes in two sizes. A nine-foot version is perfect for one adult and a 12-foot version suits two adults, or one adult and a couple of children. The plans and materials are available from BoatCraft Pacific. The pictures below show some of the steps of building a Water Rat.

Plans and marked up panels

Working from the plans you mark up your sheets of ply with the outline of each panel. Basically, a series of dot points are joined together to make smooth curves. You then glue the ply sheets together using a butt join, and cut the panels out using a jig saw.

Joining the panels with cable ties

Showing the bottom of the hull from the bow

Gluing the panels together, removing the cable ties and adding watertight compartments

BoteCote epoxy and glue filler all joints

Decks and gunwales

Fibreglass tape on all joins

Fitting the skegs

Fiberglassing the hull

Grandad's seat and grandson's seat

Hi-fill undercoat

Plans and materials (including ply, glues and epoxies) are available from BoatCraft Pacific, see https://boatcraft.com.au/