Boats?

[MATT HASSMER]

Has Anyone Ever Tried To Build Their Own Boat? There Are Several Companies Offering Plans (& Some Offering Materials In Addition) On The Net. Has Anyone Tried To Do This?

[Ed Falis]

I have a kayak hull built with wood-strips from plans, that's been sitting in the basement waiting to be resumed for 5 years. Probably get back to it after I finish the kitchen cabinet project. (Like next winter).

[Art Kelly]

See Grumbine's website: http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/

[John Hain]

I built a little 8 foot jonboat a couple years ago. What type of boat are you interested in building?

[Gary Kvasnicka]

I built this last year, it took approx 250 hours including milling the strips (bead and cove). I enjoyed every minute of it, so much so, I have the lumber and plans for a smaller one, for my daughter.

Check out this website, lots of pictures, and instruction. If you have any questions on Kayak building, PM me I will be happy to answer what I can.
http://www.oneoceankayaks.com

[Tyler Howell]

Creeker Dave Richards built a fine sailing craft. He is not very active now but has a lot of threads if you do a search on his name.

[Jim Creech]

I have built a number of small craft and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them. As a matter of interest, SMC founder Ol' Keith has asked me to moderate a boatbuilding forum which I will in all probabilty do.

[MATT HASSMER]

i would like to build a 16' to 19' v-bottom center console. i've seen some plans that i like on bateau.com. one the posts above was for a site where a gentleman used luan from local hardware store. on his site, he mentioned a delamination that occurred which i have been told is a result of voids in standard plywood as opposed to little or no voids in marine plywood. marine ply is really espensive & i was kinda looking for some other alternatives; i guess you get what you pay for. i did find an inexpensive marine ply, but there is no distributor in my area & therefore raises the price (adding shipping) to that of the more costly alternatives. i live 1.5 hrs away from hampton/norfolk which is a major shipbuilder area, but i could not find any inexpensive materials available. right now, i'm only doing research & i still have to convince my wife on this venture.

[MATT HASSMER]

awesome. any ideas? suggestions?

[Jim Creech]

I do not believe there is any such thing as " inexpensive materials" however if you must use lumberyard plywood such as lauan you may want to consider fibreglassing the outside osf the hull with 6 oz cloth and epoxy and epoxy saturating the inside of the hull . Most Lauan and other less expensive plywoods are not made with waterproof adhesive and are not very rot resistant. Also consider that you will eventually have your family or close friends aboard and you do not want your boat to come apart. Safety is always of paramount importance.

[MATT HASSMER]

i was referring to a product called Ultraply XL. it is made by the moreland co. it is the most inexpensive plywood that can be used for a marine application. unfortunately, no one sells it near me. i've read other net entries that say you can use A/C grade ply since the wood would be encapsulated in fiberglass.

[John Hain]

For a boat that size with a center console, you'll want to do the job right. For that, you'll want to treat the exterior with fiberglass cloth and epoxy. Certainly, I think you want to epoxy coat the interior. You could try "waterproofing" the boat with other solutions, but when the water is combined with prolonged UV exposure, the wood will really start to go downhill.

That would be the less expensive option for fiberglass reinforcement. The problem is, it doesn't look very good compared to higher priced options. But it certainly does not look bad by any stretch, especially with good preparation, technique and sanding. You can then varnish it so desired.

That's my amateur opinion. Certainly, others will offer better solutions than my "poorman's" techniques. I built my jonboat for the purpose of getting around swamps and shallow lakes for bass fishing when I lived down south.

[Gary Kvasnicka]

Matt,

Check out this one it's called Ocean Pointer. It's the one I plan to start after the kids finish college in three or four years.
www.by-the-sea.com/stimsonmarine/smplans.html

Cheers,
Gary

[Jim Creech]

Matt,
I checked out the plans Gary provided the link to and she appears to be a fine vessel indeed. Being strip planked instead of plywood presents an entirely different construction approach cost wise as planking material can be purchased and cut as needed ( a few boards at a time). Tradiationally strip planking calls for boards to be ripped to a given width and a bead and cove routed on each edge and attached to frames. This process allows for only a few boards to keep you busy for a week or so although it is always easier to do all your machining at one time. Keep researching plans and I am certain that any Creeker with any boatbuilding experience (including myself ) will be more than happy to assist any way we can.

[MATT HASSMER]

For a boat that size with a center console, you'll want to do the job right. For that, you'll want to treat the exterior with fiberglass cloth and epoxy. Certainly, I think you want to epoxy coat the interior. You could try "waterproofing" the boat with other solutions, but when the water is combined with prolonged UV exposure, the wood will really start to go downhill.

That would be the less expensive option for fiberglass reinforcement. The problem is, it doesn't look very good compared to higher priced options. But it certainly does not look bad by any stretch, especially with good preparation, technique and sanding. You can then varnish it so desired.

That's my amateur opinion. Certainly, others will offer better solutions than my "poorman's" techniques. I built my jonboat for the purpose of getting around swamps and shallow lakes for bass fishing when I lived down south.

so, the most expensive part of this endeavor would be the glassing of the hull?