MacGregor Sailing Canoe

Glued lapstrake construction makes Iain Oughtred's MacGregor Sailing Canoe a most versatile and easy to own sailboat. Credits go to the Scotsman who first dreamed up the idea for a hard shell sailing kayak. But most of the new fiberglass boats fail to capture the spirit of the original design.

Multiple Use Design
This boat is intended to satisfy multiple uses. First, it is a double-paddle canoe. But set the sail, and it becomes much more.

The open cockpit is infinitely better suited for fishing. Whatever gear you need is easily stowed within reach. And you're not all jammed in.

So many of the modern kayak designs have you sized right down to your toes!

The hull design defies the law of speed based on waterline length. Lightweight planking and fine lines produce a minimum amount of wetted surface. The MacGregor sailing canoe takes off with very little resistance.

The battened lug-rig rolls up neatly inside the boat and the whole bundle can be car-topped by one person. It's also great for getting to those out-of-the-way places or just launching from the beach.

A Great Backyard Boat Building Project
For the backyard boat builder, this project is easily within reach. This fits well with the original concept. Add high quality marine plywood bonded with epoxy, and you have a great boat anyone with some basic woodworking skills can build. It's up to you how much to fine tune the details!

I recommend the study of several books on glued lapstrake construction. No one book has all the answers. What I've done is to cherry pick the ideas that make the best sense to me, so that I have a "toolbox" of techniques.

Glued Lapstrake Construction
I will make a full tutorial available on request. The e-book contains a wealth of valuable tips and techniques you can apply for a variety of different boat building projects.

Here, I'll just give you an overview of the process that goes into building the MacGregor Sailing Canoe. When you break it down, it is fairly simple and straightforward. You will see things come together quickly, as long as you take some time to set up your workspace.

Lofting
I do suggest full-scale lofting no matter what sort of boat you plan to build. That way you will be able to make up patterns and have an easy reference guide. It's a big time-saver, especially if you want to build another.

Get some Luan plywood and prime it white. For this boat you only need a few sheets. Oughtred's plans contain the offsets to apply to a simple grid. You can lay it all out with a drywall t-square and a chalk line.
I use a #2 hard lead pencil to create the fine lines needed for accuracy.

Then, just connect the dots with some nice straight-grained battens.
Make these by ripping 3/8" x 3/4" from lumberyard spruce, fir or cedar.
I also use thinner stockfor tight curves. This amazing low-tech method creates fair curves and corrects any flaws with the offsets or layout.

The Set-up
A 16 foot workbench will work just fine for the MacGregor. I use construction grade 2x stock as good as I can find, then make t-beams to help keep it all straight. No top is needed, just the frame with a spreader or two.

Your station molds are made from either plywood or spruce boards with cleats. They are aligned on your building bench with the grid measurements from your lofting. Once they are all secured and braced, you have your armature all set up.

The Backbone
Next, the keelson, stem and stern-post. This is the backbone of you boat. Make these according to the plans using templates developed from your lofting. Outer stems will be added after planking. Take care to brace these solid, then your ready to plank. Your set-up should look something like this.

Planking

Your lining off, or planking lay-out, is done with battens similar to the ones used in lofting. It's all figured out for you in the plans, so... not to worry.

Planks are cut, two at a time for symmetry after making a "spiling" pattern right on the mold. Details on beveling the planks to fit just right are covered in my tutorial.

Epoxy is applied to the over-lapped edges and clamped to cure. It's not necessary to use any other fasteners.

The builder gave this boat a traditional "look" by adding copper rivets.

Framing

The boat ( yes, now it's a boat!..well almost) gets lifted off the molds and floors are fit to stiffen up the hull and support the floorboards. One of the advantages of a glued lapstrake boat is that few frames, if any, are required. But, a sheer clamp is needed to support the deck beams.

Building the Deck

Next, deck beams are fit, again from the lofting pattern. Before closing it up, watertight compartment panels are epoxied into the hull form.
You didn't think we'd let it sink, did you?
This renders the MacGregor sailing canoe virtually unsinkable.

After sealing all the interior surfaces, the decking is laid over the frame, fit and trimmed. The degree of finish detail is up to you. The simplest option is to spring mahogany plywood over the deck. Here the builder chose cedar strips and gave it a nice bright varnish.

With a few more details accomplished, you are just about done with the hull construction.

MacGregor Sailing Canoe built by Andrew Kitchen

These boats are very tough despite the thin components. The plank laps joined with epoxy create structural beams along its length. In fact, each part of the hull is structural. With the deck in place, it's like putting a top on a shoe box. Every part works together.

Boat Building Plans

For a complete catalog of Iain Oughtred boat designs, write to:

Iain Oughtred-Boat Designer
Struan Cottage
Bernisdale Isle of Skye
IV51 9NS Scotland