Solo Packette

The Solo Packette is the smallest boat Trevor Paetkau draws at Ashes, an 11 ft by 27 in pack canoe meant to be carried over a shoulder through brush to ponds, marshes and fishing holes that a bigger boat never reaches. She pairs modern lines with the recurved tumblehome that runs through the whole Ashes range, and with a low seat and a double blade she is steady enough for most paddlers, while a single blade suits the purist threading through reeds.

Ashes recommends her to anyone short of storage space or drawn to small, awkward water; for open lakes they point builders to the 15 ft Solo Day instead. She is a cedar strip hull, normally 1/4 in strips, with notes on going to 3/16 in strips and lighter glass to save weight. The plans come as full size templates with a materials list and scaled drawings of the strongback, seat and thwart, but no building instructions, so a strip canoe book belongs on the bench beside them.