Kayoe or Canak

18.18 in Boat Plans, canak, kayoe, mississippi, on, or, shantyboat, the

I designed and built my first boat in the mid 70s, when we were living in Nebraska. I was a busy student with limited budget and time. The area has small lakes and shallow rivers and creeks but plenty of wind sweeping in off the plains. So I designed a sort of cross between a canoe and kayak. Double chine, plank keel, low freeboard, partially decked, approx. 16 by 3. Also, it had to fit out the kitchen window after hauling it up the basement stairs. Using trajectory curve mathematics, I was able to compute the length of both chines, the sheer, and sheathing panel lengths as well as calculating all offsets. No strongback was needed; all parts fit together as cut. A friend had recently built a Windmill sailboat. He was impressed as I simply put the pieces together. I had used a parallel projection so all bevels were constant angles which were easy to precut. Consequently, I was able to get tight joints and use resorcinol glue successfully. As an experiment, I built a pair of leeboards, attached a push-pole rudder, and used a closet pole mast and nylon tarp for a sprit sail rig. With this I was able to maneuver up and down the lake, but sailing rigs dont get much more crude than this.

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Shantyboat on the Mississippi

13.14 in Boat Plans, cabin, framing, made, mississippi, mistakes, more, on, shantyboat, the, were

In July, we are bringing the shantyboat across country to launch in the Mississippi River on an art and history expedition:

Thanks to espressobuzz for the historic photo

A journey to rediscover the lost narratives of river people, river communities, and the river itself. 

Secret History is an anthro-historical artists journey through the history of a river. It weaves together threads of adventure, history, art, and story. 

We take to the river, Those forgotten waterways that flow through most towns, hidden behind levees, shoved underground or behind the seediest neighborhood.

Just a few generations ago, there were whole communities of people living right on the river in shantyboats. And people living in the bottomlands that flood every spring. Now mostly all gone.

We are fundraising right now to help make the project happen. There is also a beautiful video we produced to give you a lyrical flavor of the project.

Support A Secret History of American River People Kickstarter

The Kickstarter campaign is critical for launching the Secret History expedition. It will help pay for final outfitting of the shantyboat and transporting it across country. It will make sure we have decent audio-video equipment to record our interviews in the river communities we visit.

Thanks for helping support the project.

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