Are the plank shapes given full-size on the plans?
No, for one main reason – accuracy – first the sheet of paper would have to be at least 8’x4′ in size. Unless this was high quality drawing paper or better still Mylar film it would be subject to stretch and distortion – for the long narrow planks involved in canoe building this is disastrous and causes major problems when stitching the hull planks together – if full size patterns are given it is essential to have a 4′ wide piece of paper so that the plank shapes are orientated onto the ply sheet accurately – the centre join between the fore and aft pieces of the plank is critical – a small discrepancy in angle here will produce all kinds of problems. The only way to mark the panels down yourself with millimeter accuracy is to use dimensions – with each set of plans we send a 2 page instruction sheet on how to draw the planks directly down onto the plywood accurately so that you will have no problems when you come to stitch the planks together – the process is simple – typically pencil
