Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

After having built a NC16, FL16 and a SK17 (and being proud to find that pictures of my boats still serve as an example on bateau.com) I have just started to build a Swift Canoe (SC16).

I would like to mark the waterline on my boat, to be able to put antifouling paint on the bottom, but I can't find it on the plans. Jacques, can you please tell me where to put it? I guess it will be parallel to the centerline on the drawings. What is the position in relation to the centerline or the bottom?

Thanks in advance,
Bart

Anyone?

Bart if it was my boat i would just put it in the water and mark along the sides with a marker where it sits in the water.

Putting antifouling paint on a canoe? If you're going to haul it out when not in use, I'd rather have a more slippery finish like varnish or gloss paint and forget worrying about the waterline.

Thanx for your replies guys, but that didn't really answer my question.
The boat will stay in the water for the season, it's to heavy to haul it out every time. In the area I live in, the hull will definitely not stay clean by itself.
I thought of putting the unfinished boat in the water and marking the waterline, but I want to do all the paintwork first. And I can't see myself marking the waterline without disturbing the balance while sitting in the boat and bending over the edge... It would take a second boat to do that trick....

I'm am sure that the software that Jacques uses to design his boats can calculate a design waterline. I could put the dimensions in in program like Hulls or Delftship to do the calculations myself. But if Jacques has done it, why bother?

Bart

I was on vacation.

For small boats, the waterline changes very much with the load.
With one person and a small engine, the water line at normal trim can be as little as 5" but with two persons and a 25 HP, the boat will trim down up to 10" at the stern.
The recommendation to put it in the water rigged to your specs is good.
Or then, put a waterline at 8", use the boat one season and then correct.

If you give me the displacement, I can calculate it but how about the trim? I usually calculate for level trim but people put big engines on there, plus a cooler and 2 batteries and that changes everything.

Thanks Jacques, I'll try a waterline at 8" from the bottom and see what happens.

Regards, Bart