Mouse started life as a one-sheeter, that is, an exercise to develop the smallest, cheapest possible boat. As a result, it's not a boat to which you can safely trust your life in any sort of waves - as anyone who climbs into a Mouse will quickly realise. Nevertheless, a canoeist would probably consider it pretty solid, and I think it is capable of providing hours of summer fun in a strictly supervised environment. Not bad for a boat this cheap.

Mouse can quickly be knocked up in 12-24 hours of work using the kitchen table. The main material is intended to be 1/4in hardwood ply; the main hull takes one sheet, while the decks and first and third frames are intended to come out of an extra half sheet. The framing should probably be inch by half inch or so pine, although just about any cheap lumber will probably do. The stitch and glue should be epoxy and glass tape; other glues may be of cheaper varieties such as polyurethane.

In most circumstances, I would think that the decking and enclosed frames will be very valuable, as the stern and bows enclosed areas will provide a good amount of precious emergency flotation.

A sailing version is in the pipeline. I should warn you however that with so little beam it will require considerable skill to sail.

This zip file includes:

• a gif showing the lines

• construction details in both gif and dxf forms

• coordinates for cutting out the ply material for both hull and decking using a batten

• a table of offsets for Mouse

• a Hulls file for Mouse

All drawings copyright Gavin Atkin, Tunbridge Wells, March 2001