I'm deep into building my McKenzie drift boat using the Don Hill 17' Flyfisher plans from driftboatplans.com. The previously documented builds here have been a tremendous help, answering many of my initial questions. I'll certainly have many more questions as I progress, and hopefully the community can continue to guide me in the right direction.
The dry fit up/assembly revealed no surprises...it looks like a boat! I then disassembled the parts and epoxy coated the inside hull panels while they were flat. I still need to purchase fiberglass cloth. I think I'm going with 6oz for the sides and 10oz for the bottom. The bottom will be capped with a layer(s) of graphite/epoxy.
I designed an anchor arm bracket that will mount in the center of the stern. The plan is to make the bracket from 3/4" plywood with aluminum pulleys. I think the wood will be robust enough to handle a 30lb anchor...if not, I'll swap it out for an aluminum one.