Michael Storer Wooden Boat Plans 

Wooden and Plywood Boat Plans for Amateur Boatbuilders 

Excellent Performance

Simple Construction - less time and trouble

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NEWS LINK - latest launchings, boats in action, articles, other developments

"Lots of Websites look really cool but say nothing.  This isn't one of them"  ;-)   We have real information that relates to ANY project you may be working on right now.   In the end I don't care whether you build one of my designs or not - but what I want is for you to feel excited  about BUILDING, USING and ENJOYING Wooden Boats. Of course, more people building wooden boats might be good for my business in the long run. ↑ Grab this Headline Animator

 

 

 News and Site Updates for Storer Boat Plans

Quick Canoe Electric - designed specifically for trolling motors.  5 or 6mph with a 34lb thrust electric trolling motor (Jarvis Walker, Minn Kota etc).  A roofrackable boat for fishing or day tripping. The boat keeps the Quick Canoe concept of very simple building and cheap materials, but turns it into a minimal motor boat.  It could take a very small outboard, but I strongly recommend reading the article. 

It is another collaboration, this time with Dana Stovall in the USA coming up with the concept and doing the mods.  When it worked so well we put together this slightly optimised version based on his experiences with the original boat.

Micro - I mean Nano Cruising boat - Perttu Korhonen came up with this concept using all the OzRacer running gear to make a very cute and innovative sleep aboard dinghy.  It is a case of really nice industrial design.  He has called it the Ocean Explorer.  And it works!  He's been on some two and three day cruises in Finland.

It is part crazy, part brilliant and he has used it for cold weather cruising in his home country of Finland.
It was an excellent colloboration across the globe to make this great little boat.  Perttu's plan drawings are a wonder.  93 pages for $40. 

12 foot super simple and cheap sailboat - Launch and sailing report for the the PDGoose and a free yawl version for plan purchasers - 12ft version of the OzRacer (originally inspired by the Bolger Brick and PDRacer) - it uses all the same runnng gear from the OzRacer (OZ PDRacer) so you just need to build the hull if you have the sail, spars, rudder and centreboard from the smaller boat.

Plywood Canoe Plan comparison - I have put together this page that contrasts my two main canoe design families.  The Eureka Canoe is a premium plywood canoe that is designed to behave like a classic working canoe from 100 years ago - great for touring - light and beautiful.  The Quick Canoe that is designed to be the easiest and cheapest plywood canoe to build but still work OK on open water or a river - for people who just want a simple boat that is not too precious to use.

John Goodman and his son Mark sail the first yawl rigged Goat Island Skiff up the Texas coast for 200 miles.  They were in the famous Texas200 event originally thought up by Duckworks.  The boat looks great!  David thought it was pretty fast!   This boat - Goat Island Skiff - was built from a precut plywood kit made by Clinton Chase in Portland, Maine.

Robert Hoffman in Poland has a nice bunch of photos of sailing his BETH sailing canoe on a river in Poland.  He has made a very nice job of this boat after buying the boat plans 6 months ago.

Perttu takes some videos of paddling his quick canoe down a river in Finland.  Last we saw he was building the canoe in the middle of the snow.  Now the snow has been feeding the little river he and his friend are paddling down.  They are not always heading in the right direction as they get used to canoes and canoeing, but you can tell they are having FUN!

Two Quick Canoes built in Record Time from my wooden boat plans.  Cliff and PJ build one in five days to take to the Tinaroo Wooden Boat Festival in Far North Queensland.  Clinton1 builds his plywood quick canoe in sydney - Cost $250 and only 5.5 hours to build.  The Quick Canoes are not designed to be the best canoes in the world, but they are the least bad of the most simple of canoes..

Three Goat Island Skiffs have been launched and one has been used more extensively,   Christophe's Goat in New Hampshire,  then BobWes in Sacramento, then Woodeneye in the Hunter Valley, NSW, Australia.

Pictures of the PD Goose - a 12ft version of the PDRacer.  Built by Jim Post in the USA

New Plan - Quick Canoe 155 - First one took the builder 4 1/2 hours to get on the water.  It has been designed to be as easy to build as possible while keeping some of the qualities of a good paddling canoe - in particular the ability to track.  Very good stabilty for fishing. 
Very detailed Plans $30

Repairing an old mirror dinghy.  What do you do if you buy an older boat and find it leaks.  The big trick is not to take it too much apart ... that way you can be sailing again real soon.  Conversation with Melanie from the UK.  List of repair resources.

Pictures of drop in outriggers from my boat plans in use in the Philippines to make a tender dinghy a bit more stable.

An MSD Rowboat put together by TomTre in Queensland - plywood and epoxy.  I get to see it and take photos on the water during my (more or less) yearly visit to Queensland.

Recordings of talks - I recorded a number of interviews with interesting people on my trip to the USA. Some are boat users or from other areas.  The others are interviews with people or in places that are well known like Chuck Leinweber of Duckworks,

A tour of the back storage area at the Columbia River Maritime Museum with the head curator and exec-Director, with Clint Chase boat builder and more.

USA Tour - September to November 2009 - I was in the USA doing some talks and workshops on the East and West Coasts. You can see my itinerary here. The trip was supported by the worldwide PDRacer community and Duckworks.  I am doing more or less the same talk each time about how most boats can be hugely improved without a great deal of cost.  There is a page of supporting links for the talks here.  Eventually the talk will go up on the net.

Pictures from the USA tour - Mystic Seaport, Museum of Modern Art, Woodenboat Magazine, Lake Timothy Messabout, Lake Conroe Messabout, Columbia River Maritime Museum (the storage shed)

New - Plan Supplement to extend the OZ PDR to just under 12ft long - Bob Alston contacted me a couple of years ago asking about this possibility.  He liked it so much he built a second one as a pure motor boat.  The PDGoose is an ideal second boat for the Oz PDRacer builder.  The wooden boat plans use all the components of the PDR except for the hull.  So two boats for very little extra trouble!  Links to pics of a finished hull above.

GIS third in Caledonia RAID - Joost and Viola bring their Goat Island Skiff from Holland and sail and row into a second place in their division and third place overall.  The designer knew nothing of it ... so exciting for that jaded soul.

New Website for the design under development - the RAID41 Racing/Cruising Dinghy.  The boat will leverage the  construction methods I use to create a relatively simply built distance cruising sailboat for one person with the ability to carry an extra person for more casual sailing.

FAQ section on gluing endgrain - it can be so simple to make a good strong joint in plywood or endgrain timber following this method.  Takes no time either to make a scarf join or ply butt join structurally sound.

RAID41 Expedition Sailing Dinghy - After the success of the three little 8ft PDRacers in the 200 mile long TEXAS200 there was discussion on the Oz Woodwork Forum about a singlehanded boat  for long distance events, but be a fair bit faster than the smaller boats.   Narrow enough to fit in a 4ft wide box trailer or maybe just light enough and narrow enough to get on a roofrack.  Self draining after capsize.  Plan is being put together now.  UK build of prototype underway.  The design that is emerging is the 15.5ft RAID41.  Not designed to be an out and out racer (but still quick), but scaled to make it easy for one person to handle on the water or on land.  It uses some of the standard OZ PDRacer bits so is a potential upgrade.  There have been some problems with this project.  Namely the boat is too hard to get back into after capsize because of the self draining floor shedding water.  So the plan for the moment is discontinued.

Working on Computer Precut Plywood Kits in Australia - I have been working with DuckFlat to produce accurate precut kits for both the Goat Island Skiff.  To say it has been a learning curve is an understatement!!!.  See the story.  We are interested in talking to established CNC cutting businesses in other countries to promote sales of boat plans and boat kits.

How to REPAIR AND RESTORE WOOD AND PLYWOOD BOATS - Everything from repairing a small hole through to replacing major parts of the boat.  Includes nice methods for painting and non-skid for best appearance and minimum work.

DUCKFLAT Spring School from 30 Sept to 10 October - is taking bookings.  You can build any project within reason.  You pay for the materials, but the school fee is $600 approx plus $45 for each additional person.  It is also possible to just pay to come and work on several boats - a great chance to get hands on experience of several boatbuilding methods.  Includes space, use of tools and tuition.

June 13 - I have just put a little bio of my designing background - still working on it - here - maybe it will be interesting or useful for some!

May 1 - PDRacer speed comparison with a (modified) Nutshell Pram - the PDRacer EATS Nutshells for breakfast (it is light wind but not all 8ft boats are equal - meant to be a little humourous).  See the bottom of the video page.  Broadband best.

April 27 - Another Duck Flat Boatbuildling School Photosets - We just had 10 days -  I was one of the instructors with students coming from all over Australia.  12 projects including  Oughtred, Storer, Lillistone and Barret designs.  Here is the general pic set - and here is the Eureka canoe with some new ideas on how to fit the decks so it looks like a master joiner has made them.

March 31 - Sunfish Sailors use OZPDRs for Frostbiting in the USA - David Parker wanted to use a Sunfish sail on an OZ PDR.  Already the PDR is one of the cheapest boats, but if you have a Sunfish this is a way of sailing in the colder months and keeping your feet dry.  The average cost of building a PDRacer is only a couple of hundred dollars - won't be as fast as a sunfish but sails properly in all directions is lightweight and plans are $20.

March 25 - Two internet interview podcasts with designer Michael Storer -  Podcast Interview on Furledsails.com. Noel and Christy interviewed me Michael Storer and have put the interviews up on this wonderful resource. So many great interviews.  The conversation ranges around why storerboats are different (it is because OZ boats are different) and where I got my ideas about comprehensive plans.  Also discussion of different rig types.

February 20 - 2 New Websites GOAT ISLAND SKIFF and  EUREKA CANOE - Two very beautiful websites created by the remarkable Peter Hyndman.  They detail the current state of information about building and using the two different boats, some articles, lots of pictures showing step by step details and links to my wooden boat plans.  The now (slightly) famous videos showing the boats in use are also linked to.

February 7 - NEW FORUM for STORER BOATS - There is now a Storer Boats Forum on the net.  It is at the popular OZ Woodwork Forum run by UBeaut.  They also run the very popular "Working with Wood" shows that are around Australia.  Because it is new it is still small, but it will grow and grow.  So if you have any general questions about my boats you are welcome to contribute.  Joining up takes a few minutes and they won't send you any annoying emails.

January 29 - VIDEOS - of Goat Island Skiff, PDRacer, Eureka Canoe - while in Mooloolaba Peter and I worked on a set of videos for the boats we had on hand.  We actually had a BBQ and invited some of the local storerboat builders to come along.   We had 7three PDRs, two Eurekas and "Gruff" the Goat.

The food and weather was pretty kind - but the wind was a bit puffy at times.  But no-one got into any serious problems ... I got stuck on the bottom at low tide a few times and PhilW flipped one of the PDRacers - but had it upright and sailing again about 30 seconds later.

January 21 - Chuck and Sandra Leinweber of Duckworks USA in OZ - We were privileged to be visited by the proprieters of Duckworks last week.  They run one of the biggest websites about wooden boats and selling boat plans on the web and also are my USA agents.  Chuck and Sandra are on a "Once In A Lifetime" trip to Australia and New Zealand.  

They arrived a little jet lagged on the Friday but on Saturday we rigged up the two PDRacers, the Goat Island Skiff and also arranged for Steve Wagstaff to bring his unlaunched OZ PDR along to be put in the water for the first time.  In this case the Mooloola River.  Photo series is here.

December -  Article in Small Boat Advisor - Article about the Goat Island Skiff and how the need to "compromise in Boat Design will give you exactly what you ask for.  A compromise.  However that sorrowful condition can be avoided by thinking clearly about what you want the boat to acheive.  

It should always be better than the sum of its parts!  Also a discussion on how OZ and NZ wooden boat design is different from most of the rest of the world.

December 1 - BIG DISCOUNT for some plans - up to 66% - I decided that some of the plans that sell more slowly will be discounted heavily when they are bought as PDF plans Delivered by email.  The plans included are for the three sizes of riverboats - 35, 27, 23ft all outboard motor powered and also the canoe accessories - the drop in sailing rig and drop in outriggers.

November 8 - Pictures of buildng a Goat Island Skiff hull and hollow mast - These pictures were taken at the Duck Flat Wooden Boats Spring School (book here) where Paul and Chris - who had never built a boat - put together a GIS.  And they ended up taking the fantastic result back to Sydney.  The full story and links to the photos are on my Blog.

October 22 - New Lug rig option for OZ PDR - it has a shorter mast, a little bit more sail (89 square feet) and can be reefed easily - This is available free with proof of purchase of the OZ plans.  Of course you know we have the best pages on the net or maybe anywhere about making lug and sprit rigs perform well!?

October 19 - 11 year old Dakota builds her OZ PDRacer - Story and Pictures.  Over three lots of school holidays Dakota and her Dad Larry built an OZ PDRacer.  They launched it two weekends ago.

September 21 - OZ PD Racers being registered around the world - Romania, Senegal, West Africa - even Ontario!
Not to mention Australia and Switzerland - OZ PD Racers are getting close to being launched.  See the blog

August 29 - Downloadable rigging list for OZ PDR - in PDF format.  Has some pics taken from the more comprehensive pictorial rigging guide on Flickr

September 29 - Price Drop for 27ft Venezia Riverboat / Canal Boat.  Nice boat for holidays and weekends afloat - good speed under a 15hp outboard motor. Plans price has been reduced from $270 to $180

July 26 - Adelaide Working with wood show Storerboatplans and Duck Flat Wooden Boats will be sharing a stand at the Adelaide Working with Wood Show.  27-29 July from 10am to 5pm at Wayville showgrounds.

We have a 16' Goat Island Skiff, two 8' puddle ducks (PDRacers) , a 31' Bolger Tennessee Riverboat (it's is being refurbished after 12 years of use), one part built CLC kayak.  Boat books, plans, slideshows and stuff. Epoxy and polyurethane glues.

July 14 - Quick and simple hull repairs - Major and minor.
Repairs are simplified because fasteners were almost all eliminated from the boat structure - no nails, screws or bolts except to attach hull fittings.  I replace the bottom of the PDRacer in one day and go sailing it the next.

May 25 - Setting up lugsail and spritsail rigs for excellent performance.
Many sailors and designers don't realise how much performance you can get out of tradional sailing rigs.

"EVERYBODY" knows that lug and sprit rigs are cheap - but few realise their performance potential.  Here I give some resources how to tune and set up lug and sprit rigs.  It also applies to lateen rigs.

May 24 - Historic 5.5 metre yacht Kirribilli (KA3) is being restored.
Duckflat have started work on Kirribilli, the third 5.5 Metre class yacht built in Australia, for a consortium of owners.

Keel is off - boat is upside down - hull is half stripped and half splined with fresh wood - starboard side. I'm assisting with the technical side.  We are looking at resolving some structural problems while controlling the weight of the boat and revising the keel section - the leading edge is way too sharp.

We had a talk today with the new owners today - she's built of beautiful WR Cedar planking and glued with resorcinol glue.   Tween planks is splined with almost like a veneer of cedar - no more than 1.5mm wide at the hull surface.and no variation in width. Not surprising of a Bill Barnett built boat!

• A new Eureka Plywood Canoe Launched - Builder's comments and some nice paddling photos - pretty in wood
• Photo Diary - Two teenagers start building a Eureka - they've already built the paddles
• Free Paddle Plans - added a picture of the paddles built by the teenagers building the boat above
  

May 16 - New GIS Goat Island Skiff hits the water - another happy customer from our boat plans

April 17th - I will be at the Brisbane Timber and Working with Wood Show
at the Showgrounds at Fortitude Valley.  I will have two of the wood OZ PDRacers that come out of three sheets of plywood on display but I'll be happy to discuss any of my designs.  The show is from 20 April to 22 April 2007.  The link above has more information.

April 16 - BREAKING sailing speed record in the PDRacer Class.  
The OZ PDR proves controllable and quick (for a tiny boat) in stronger winds and a big chop at the South Australian Wooden Boat Festival at Goolwa, South Australia.

April 10th - Taiwan boats
I went to Taiwan a couple of years ago and got some great photos showing how traditional boatbuilding methods have been adapted to industrial age materials.

March 20 - A NEW DESIGN
Venezia a canal/river boat for a client in Venice.  Venice, Italy that is!  You can see details of this 8.2m (27') easy to build plywood boat that is powered by an economical 4 stroke outboard motor.  15hp gives her an easy cruising speed of 6 to 7 knots.   Sleeps two and has a separate toilet compartment and galley.  Boat plans available now.

March 15 - Rebuilding a Murray River Cruiser.  NEW PAGE. Chris bought an old wood hull that had seen better days.  It had great space inside.  This page goes through some of the design process showing some of the steps and also showing pics of how the boat is now.  Duck Flat in South Australia are doing the work.

February 12 - Rigging details for OZ PDRacer sprit rig.  Also gives many tips on cheap but effective rigging for any sprit rigged dinghy.  Pictorial on Flickr

February 9th - My brochure for the Tasmanian Wooden Boat Show and the Goolwa Wooden boat festival. My agents will be in Tassie on the Boatcraft Pacific Stand but I will be at the Goolwa wooden boat show with a whole heap of boats (all wood) on the Duckflat stand and on the water with the PDRacers - come and try one!

February 8th
Madly busy getting the two original PDRacers ready for the Goolwa Wooden Boat (South Australia) show early March - it has given me the chance to take some photos to make the rigging guide

January 29
Some nice pics of the 16' Goat Island Skiff at speed.  The point is that plywood boats can look really pretty. Look on the right side of this page link if you want a traditional looking sailing boat that goes ...

January 27
Twice yearly Boatbuilding Classes in conjunction with Duck Flat Wooden Boats, Adelaide Australia

January 15
Big update to FAQ - lightweight paulownia timber, canoe design, repairing decks, tortureboards, restoring a racing dinghy

January 5
Update to FAQ with some basic fiberglassing methods - fibreglass taping plywood boats, and glassing larger areas - small areas, large areas and complex shapes.

December 28
Can three basic PDR Sailboat Hull shells be put together in four days?  The answer is YES!

September 26
Page Added to Eureka Plywood Canoe Section - Extra light version 15'6" x 34lbs
Two keen canoeists from Melbourne worked hard to pull some more weight out of the already light Eureka 155 Canoe.   Shows once again how light and pretty plywood canoes and other plywood boats can be.

PDRacer - Simplest Cheapest sailboat Site Launched
INTRO PRICE - $20 Plans - BUY ONLINE

The Goat Island Skiff - Updated August 25
The most popular of my designs - a fast 16ft sailing boat - beachcruiser.  Sailing performance is up with modern boats but traditional good looks and wood of course.  Will take a small outboard and rows nicely.  A lot of thinking is drawn from our Australian tradition of lightweight wooden boats.  It is still very strong!!!

Online Shopping - Updated August 22
You can order plans with direct online payment on the Duck Flat Wooden Boats Site.  See links on the wooden boat plans pages for each boat.

The PD Racer- Updated May 7
The cheapest simplest most basic sailing boat that you can imagine.  We built 2 for a total of $700.  Our design job was to make them sail really well - see the videos. FANTASTIC little boats for adults and kids.  Three sheets of plywood and some bits and pieces

The Fenwick Williams Catboat page- Updated May 7
A Gorgeous Catboat designed by Fenwick Williams has been launched - cedar strip - gorgeous wood work. Trusty inboard motor.

The PD Racer Project page - Updated April 26th

A lot of my time in the past few weeks has been involved with the PD Racer Project - simply the cheapest, simplest most basic sailing boat that you can imagine.  We built 2 for a total of $700.

The PD Racer Project page is up and going with cool VIDEOS showing just how well the boats work.  (I also enjoyed a week or so sailing them around on the Mooloola River - not bad work if you can get it!).