N Florida cypress boat

I went over today to Cross Creek Florida and looked at a 16ft New flat bottomed boat Made out of fir plywood(not Marine) and cypress Looked well made and solid. He wanted $1500 for boat and it seemed fair. My question is what would be a fair estimate for cost of materials and what would be a reasonable est. on hours to build(he said 50 hours) I live on a small lake here in N Florida and just want something to attach a trolling motor to and drown a shinner every once in a while, I have the shop and tools to make a boat but sure don't want to get into something thay will take forever to build and end up costing more than what this guy is asking,,,I know this is a little vague but any insight would sure help me hopefully make a good decision Bill W. Melrose Florida

Cypress is a good boat building wood. Fir exterior ply not so much. It will check and crack given time. Only solution is to fiberglass the hull.
If I were you I would at least buy MDO plywood or Meranti Marine plywood if cost is a big factor. You will be sorry you cheaped out on materials after
all the time and energy spent building your boat. Here are some free plans.

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/le.../DuckSkiff.pdf
http://www.soundschool.com/brockwayfull.pdf
http://intheboatshed.net/

The Brockway skiff can be built in a 16ft version - listed on the 14ft plans
The link to intheboat shed is Gavin Atkins web page - look for his free plan for the Barton Skiff.
Any of the above boats would be excellent for a beginner to build. The fir and cypress boat certainly
sounds reasonably priced. If you can get the boat before the fir is painted you can coat the interior and the hull
with cpes in hopes of preventing checking for awhile - or just relax and buy another one in 5 years or so.
Good luck.

Google up the "lumberyard skiff" as originally drawn by Maynard Bray in Woodenboat Magazine Issue #191.

http://gettingstartedinboats.typepad...d/100_0151.jpg

http://www.gettingstarted-digital.co...006_vol1/?pg=2

You can build one from #2 cypress or cedar fence boards or spend more and buy plywood. I strongly recommend cypress because it withstands neglect so much better. Any plywood boat, including those with fabric and glass, requires some manner of covered storage for longevity. In turn, all a cedar or cypress boat needs is upside-down storage on a couple of logs to keep it off the ground, and periodic repainting as sunlight and rain take their toll on the finish. Plus it is a lot more fun to work with than plywood, without any of the mess, expense and allergy risks of epoxy. You can also mix the two, namely cypress sides and transom and a plywood bottom.

Figure 40-50 hours for an experienced builder, half-again to twice more for a beginner. Nothing in these is especially difficult once you get used to string lines and bevel gages as opposed to squares and levels.

The absolute last thing I'd do is buy a CDX plywood boat for 1500 bucks. You can do much better yourself for a third of the money.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3131/...60d39b82_b.jpg
http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...unchday003.jpg