*** Plans now available! ***
Rushton's IGO Canoe
A
fast, fun and
lightweight canoe for boaters of all ages and abilities.
J. Henry Rushton owned a New York boat building shop in
the late 1800's, and his skilled craftsmen turned out many varieties of
small boats. Among them were his famous "Canadian Canoes," and the most
user friendly of those was his IGO. A couple of years ago I converted
Rushton's IGO design to skin-on-frame and built one as a wedding
present. Test paddles were a joy and revealed a boat with impeccable
handling. She's the most enjoyable double canoe I have ever paddled.
The IGO is easier and faster to paddle
than many modern canoes, but the trade-off is that she has
somewhat
less stability and carrying capacity. An IGO is ideal for messing about
on ponds, marshes, lakes and slow moving
rivers, and is great as a day paddler or solo expedition
boat. She tracks well, turns easily, and can readily be handled by
either one or two paddlers - with room for gear, kids or pets! At only
about 40 lbs {18kg}, this skin-on-frame version of Rushton's IGO is
very easy to carry and cartop.
Plans for the IGO contain instructions for both the easy to build
non-traditional version - using just a few plywood frames - and (in
somewhat less detail) for the more traditional construction I used on
the prototype. Plans include a complete and well illustrated building
guide, and full sized frame and stem patterns. Both English and Metric
measurements are provided, so there's no need to do any converting!
16' x
30" {4.9m x .76m}
Maximum recommended
displacement is 450lbs {204kg}.
