Design
Freedom 17
Designed by Steve Killing
The Freedom 17 began as a composite production canoe Steve Killing designed for Bluewater Canoes in Guelph, Ontario, and it was seeing that boat that led Ted Moores and Joan Barrett of Bear Mountain Boats to ask him to draw strip canoes for home builders. Like the rest of the Freedom family she is asymmetric, with a slim bow, maximum beam just aft of centre and fuller stern sections, more vertical stems and less freeboard at the ends than a traditional canoe.
She is 17 ft long and 33.4 in wide, with gentle rocker so she turns easily, and Bear Mountain lists a finished weight of 45 to 55 pounds. A slight tumblehome makes her workable as a solo boat, though she is mostly built as a fast, responsive tandem tripper for two experienced paddlers. Bear Mountain also rates her as easy to build, which makes her a sensible first cedar strip canoe for someone who wants modern performance.
What building a Freedom 17 actually takes
Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.
Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.
Builds of this boat
Nobody has logged a Freedom 17 here yet.
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Start the first log of this boatBoats like this one
Same type, closest in length.
| Design | Plans from | LOA | Logs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17' Disko Bay | Newfound Woodworks | 17′ 0″ (5.18 m) | 0 |
| 17' Fire Star | Newfound Woodworks | 17′ 0″ (5.18 m) | 0 |
| 17' Lapstrake Canoe | Duck Trap Woodworking | 17′ 0″ (5.18 m) | 0 |
| 17' Sea Wolf | Newfound Woodworks | 17′ 0″ (5.18 m) | 0 |
| 17' Spirit | Newfound Woodworks | 17′ 0″ (5.18 m) | 0 |
| 17' Traveler | Newfound Woodworks | 17′ 0″ (5.18 m) | 0 |