Woman sits in NEWT canoe with double paddle.Warren Jordan

This compact and easy-to-build canoe from designer Warren Jordan is a fine choice for a first-time builder who wants a lightweight craft for exploring shallow inlets, streams, and other calm waters.

Inexpensive, fun, and easy to build, this single-occupancy explorer canoe combines the sleek lines of a conventional canoe with the efficient paddling propulsion and minor draft constraints of a center-cockpit kayak. At 11' 3" LOA and 30" beam and just under 40 lbs, NEWT is one of the handiest new canoes on the water.Warren Jordan of South Beach, Oregon, designed NEWT with the desire to create a small craft that would not intimidate an inexperienced woodworker. He wanted her to be a size and weight that is easy to carry, able to accommodate a normal-sized adult, and still provide room for enough gear for a day trip. She loads and launches with ease: one can load NEWT on cartop roof racks or simply slide her into the back of a pickup, with the option of stacking two boats.

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