3 Piece Portable Rowboat

A 12 ft rowboat that comes apart in three sections which nest inside a 6 ft 6 in space, light enough in thin plywood for one person to put on a car roof in a cradle. The method is refreshingly direct: build it as an ordinary one-piece rowboat with two pairs of double bulkheads, then saw it apart between them.

The lines are conventional and only the thinner plywood on the sides and bottom sets it apart from a standard rowboat. The vintage article leans heavily on waterproofing, recommending waterproof plywood, or else three or four coats of paint or shellac worked well into every edge, two coats on all parts before assembly and two more after, screws bedded in white lead, and repainting more often than usual. A modern builder would simply use marine plywood and epoxy. The plans are free.