One of the most elegant craft built by several builders in muskoka during the early part of the twentieth century was the displacement launch . Lengths ranging from twenty to thirty six feet were produced by builders such as Ditchburn , and Minnet . Twenty six feet seems to be the most desirable size . The thirty six foot versions are certainly nice but few people have a boathouse that can accommodate that length . Anything shorter than twenty six feet tends to be tender , wetter and slower than the twenty six foot version . If I were to build this boat I would opt for traditional construction with solid mahogany planking riveted to steam bent white oak frames . The technique lends itself to this type of a design and although a lot of people are sold on the epoxy technique there are several launches built seventy years ago still in use with their original bottoms . Powered by an engine in the 120 horsepower range this design would slice along at a comfortable 25 -30 mph .