Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
16' Double ender w/ transom
My first glimpse of a drift boat was on the Cal Salmon as a kayaker in the late 70s - i was intrigued by the way the boat rode through the wave trains and could handle the water. I got a better look a bit later on a couple of Rogue trips, watching them through Blossom Bar... I thought I'd like to try that. The idea of building one was cemented a few years ago after a visit to Andy Hutchinson's shop and seeing his build of a decked boat in sapele - what a beautiful boat. So as a start, I got Roger's book and built a model, getting an idea of how things went together and where the challenges might be. This spring, I traveled to Flagstaff to attend Brad Dimock's class, where I met an incredible variety of skilled folks, all interested in building - not to mention a shop to die for. Then it was off to Oregon and the wooden boat festival. I stopped in Bend, where I picked up a trailer and a bunch of great information from Mike Baker - now I had a trailer, and needed a boat. Materials were a bit of a challenge - I originally wanted Port Orford Cedar for the frames - in Bend, there's a reliable supply from Orepac, but in Victor, where I live, no such luck. I ended up with Alaskan Yellow Cedar for about $7/bf. Hydrotek was next on the list. McBeath lists it on their web page, but there was a 2 month wait, so I ended up getting mine from Edensaw. Following Brad's lead, I'm using epoxy from Resin Research. Now for the fun stuff...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Witton on
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I'm camping in the area Friday night - I hear there's no barbecue this year ;-(... What about details on the boat parade?
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on
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I know of no BBQ at the Lodge so I am trying to organize one. Where will you be staying? I am going go out on a limb and suggest that it will run as we have been doing it. In other words, these are from 2009:
Launch your boat at Finn Rock Landing on Quartz Creek Road between 7:30 and 9:30. Greg Hatten will be wrangling boats and coordinating the launch. Park you car and trailer at Tatman Wooden Boats parking behind the building at 49209 McKenzie Hwy. We will have free shuttle back to Finn Rock Landing will be running from 8:00am to just before the launch at 10:00. The float to Eagle Rock Lodge and the boat show is about one hour so the parade will arrive at the lodge at the scheduled 11:00am start of the event.
At Eagle Rock Lodge the boats will be pulled out of the river and onto the lawns for the day. Eagle Rock Lodge will move your trailer from the Tatman Wooden Boat lot to the lodge lawns for boat pick up after the show. If you prefer you can continue your float after the show. All you have to arrange is your trailer shuttle.I will contact Randy and Greg to see what they know.
Rick Newman
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Permalink Reply by chris towles on
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Nice dierks double bow eye. I have two at the machinist right now getting tapped and threaded. What did you do for attachment? I'm getting 3 1/4-20 holes tapped, then I think I might JH weld in a stainless all thread rod and use nuts on the back of that to hold in into the boat. What did u do?
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Your setup is way more bomber than mine - I tapped a single 1/4x20 hole and managed to get 3/4 of an inch of allthread into the eye, then I used a 2" fender washer on the inside. I looked around, even went down to Tacoma Screw in IF looking for SS allthread, no luck. I've been thinking that single hole might be a bit wimpy, I'm going to be asking the folks in Oregon what's the standard.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Thomas on
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You could always get a couple stainless bolts and cut off the heads and have them welded together ;)
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I'm not a welder, but I was always under the impression that the aluminum and the steel would not play nice together with a welder. I could be wrong, but it seems even using dissimilar hardware can lead to issues, which I can understand as the two metals have differant properties. Hence, my reason for wanting to jb weld the junction of dissimilar materials and then using the steel nuts inside on the steel threaded rod for the actual hardware connection.
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Well, once upon a time I talked with Matt Hyde at Hyde drift boats. He told me the aluminum wasn't strong enough to bolt into. He wanted to weld it to a plate and then bolt that on. My machinist buddy however does not agree with his sentiment, and as a guy who cnc's aluminum for a living I'm gonna trust his judgement. I told him to make it as strong as possible and I'll hope for the best.
A buddy of mine used to work for a whitewater company down in the snake river canyon. They had an old Yellowstone drifter that the camp cook used to use to ferry gear and food across the river. It was a pretty haggard old boat. One morning, at high water, the camp cook came down and found an empty rope, with a bow eye attached on the end. The boat was never seen again.
Trying to avoid the same fate. Going for triple redundant.
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Permalink Reply by Kurt Selisch on
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Hi Chris, I have had a number of boats with Dierks bow eyes and have never had a problem. A couple of years ago I did a solo trip on the Owyhee. Take out it was pretty crowded and I was in a hurry to get home. So I winched the boat up a grass embankment and onto the trailer fully loaded, 120 qt cooler, kitchen box, fire pan, odds and ends, etc. Of course the only thing left in the cooler were a couple empty beer cans floating around, but still. The bow eye held fine. I just do two 1/4 20 all threads and seat them with a dab of JW weld also. Triple should be bomber.
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Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on
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Let me add my two cents worth on the "bolt" discussion. Being a Mechanical Engr. (41 yrs) This stuff is right up my alley.
1. The two hole eye thingy is probably cast aluminum, based upon the picture posted above. It doesn't have nearly the strength of rolled flat stock, like 6061-T6 Alum. You want as long a thread engagement as possible, 3/4" should be enough.
2. Use Loctite thread locking compound on the threads when you assemble the threaded rod/screw into the casting. Locktite works well in aluminum as it fills the micro spaces between the male treads and the tapped hole. You'll need to apply a bunch of heat to the joint just to remove the screw from the tapped hole, if you need to down the road.
3. Dave, If I were you I'd add a minimum of 1 or two additional holes in the casting. I wouldn't bet my boat on a single 1/4-20 screw. High risk situation if you ask me!
4. You folks need to consider the possible failure method. The boat's significant mass and possible different applied forces can vary a bunch. Like the force of the current on the boat and an impact load either on the water or on the trailer. A side impact on the plate in the water (think big rock & lotsa water pushing the boat) can do a lot of unseen damage to the casting which may weaken it.
5. I'd also use S.S. Thr'd rod or a long S.S. cap screw (with head and un-threaded portion of the shank cut off, creating a stud) to thru bolt it through the stem and on the inside add, rather fender washers a 1/4" x 1" x (req'd Lgt) 4-5 inches long Aluminum plate with appropriate holes for the multiple screws. This will distribute the loads over a larger area.
I happened to use a different eye with two 3/8-16 threaded studs and the Alum plate (described above) with S.S. Washers and Nuts with Loctite applied. I sleep good at night with this set-up.
Hope this helps,
Dorf
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Chris, I didnt mean weld the stainless to the alum. I meant take 2 ss bolts of the right lengths, cut off the heads, chamfer the ends and have them welded together. The stainless welded is mighty strong as in to make a pc of ss allthread. Then I would do as Dorf said and loktite everything together. For sure at least 2 studs. Thats probably what I`ll do with mine
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To explain it one step further, dont need threads though the stem, just a inch on each end. So bolts will work good. My stem is pretty thick, I cant weld the stainless myself but my nephew said he would do it for me (expert welder)
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Dorf - Thanks for the detailed reply. Re Chris's comment above, I was worried about the aluminum's ability to hold onto the threads, so I went for the only place in the eye that would let me tap a deep hole. I could get a couple of 3/8" holes at either end, then I'd have three bolts.. I had a hunch I was slightly under spec, I'll add that to the punch list.
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