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HR SOLUTIONS-POLYSAILS
Free
and Low-Cost, Easy-to-Build Boat Plans
At PolySail, one of our goals is to make sailing and rowing more accessible and more affordable to the general public. Both of these recreational water sports are environmentally friendly and good for a person’s physical and mental health. We are particularly interested in introducing families and young people to these water sports, given recent reports about the state of our citizens’ health.
This page will link you to a number of inexpensive, easy-to-build boat plans meant for novice builders, especially teens and families. Boat building involves following directions and plans, problem-solving, measuring skills, tool use, vocabulary building, and a host of other skills related to learning and responsible behavior. We would hope that these pages prompt scout troops, community organizations, after-school programs, summer camps, park programs, and other organizations and programs to help youths build some inexpensive boats and join our efforts to introduce youth to life beyond the TV screen. Of course boatbuilding, sailing, and rowing might not be too bad for the older generation, either.
To assist you, we have organized this entry page into three kinds of links. These include:
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1. FREE PLANS: These links take you to pages of easy-to-build study plans that were featured in some World War II era “How-to” magazines. Because most of these magazines are as old as the PolySail founder, the pages are often faded and yellowed. We have digitally enhanced these plans to the best of our ability, but some of the details can still be murky. These plans involve large files that are often slow to load. Be patient. |
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2. RESOURCES: These links take you to articles, pictures, people, and other resources that might be useful in the boatbuilding process. |
11-year old Tristan
Delahunt launches his boat Red Devil. Note that Tristan is wearing
a Personal Flotation Device (PFD) or life jacket—unlike many of the
sailors in the pictures with the free old boat plans. |
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3. FREE/LOW COST PLANS AND KITS: These links take you to pages where you can get free or inexpensive sets of plans for easy-to-build sailboats and rowboats from others who like to mess about with boats. |
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CAUTION: Boats built from these plans are meant for protected waters such as small lakes and ponds with adult supervision. This information is for educational and research purposes only. By accessing the links below, the user assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury and agrees that HR Solutions/PolySails has no liability for any consequential, incidental, indirect, or special damages suffered by the user.
To access these pages, click on the sites listed below. Use your browser’s back button to return to this site. Additional pages will be added as time allows.
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FREE PLANS |
RESOURCES |
FREE/LOW COST PLANS AND KITS |
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Cootie Craft Hand paddled mini-scow for children. |
Boating Terms A visual introduction to sailing terminology. |
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Frosty 55 lb. plywood sailing dinghy. Good family project. |
Cheap Oars David Goodchild’s instructions for making PVC oars. |
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Skate 8’ utility skiff for ponds and small lakes. Sail or row. |
Make Your Own Oars Dynamite Payson’s pictorial instructions. |
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Snorky A fast little 14’ scow/ catboat that will carry two. |
Sail Area Math A Jim Michalak essay. |
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TBear Jr. Moth Class sailing scow. 70 lbs. of great fun. |
Making a Simple Polytarp Sail Ten-step instructions |
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Wheelie Willie 8’ utility craft that doubles as a garden cart. |
Sail Shaping Article on shaping polytarp sails for best efficiency. |
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Wrinkle Dink Fabric-covered double-ender for sailing or rowing. |
Making a Lightweight Box Mast. Mostly visual instructions for a lightweight mast. |
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Bingo 11’ 4” multipurpose dinghy for sailing or rowing |
Boatbuilding in Plywood Glen-L’s helpful site. |
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Jiffy Skiff 5’ pine box boat. Sure winner of the ugliest boat contest. |
Amateur Boatbuilder’s Page Lots of information on materials. |
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Hot Tub My version of Payson’s Skimmer made from Styrofoam or Lauan. |
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Yeshi (14) and Zephyr (16) Delahunt built this schooner without adult help. For more pictures of their boats, click here. An article about their boatbuilding exploits appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of Messing About in Boats. |
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Last
updated on 2/14/03