Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Guy's Wooden Drift Boat Project
Hello Everyone,
My name is Guy and this is my first post in this forum. I am here because I want to build a wooden drift boat and, undoubtedly, I will occasionally need advice of the pool of experts and experienced drift boat builders on this forum.
In preparation for this project I have read and studied three books: Drift Boats and River Dories by R. L. Fletcher, Boatbuilding with Plywood by G. L. Witt, and Covering Wooden Boats with Fiberglass by A. H. Vaitses. I have also developed my own set of construction plans based off of the "Original McKenzie Double-Ender with Transom" in Fletcher's book. I used and MS Excel spreadsheet to calculate all of the dimensions, cut angles, compound angles, and bevel angles of all frame components and I used Pilot3D software to calculate the as-cut dimensions of the plywood sides and bottom. At this point I am pretty comfortable with the mechanics of construction and I think that I am just about ready to start purchasing lumber.
Presently, I plan to use Meranti Hydro-Tek plywood; 1/4-in. on the sides and 1/2-in. on the bottom. I found plenty of places to purchase these materials, but they are all far away from Idaho Falls, Idaho, and as a result shipping costs more than the materials. Are any of you aware of a business within a few hundred miles of Idaho Falls that sells this plywood? I have a few requests in to the local lumber companies, but I have yet to talk with someone who has heard of this material before.
I also plan to use Port Orford Cedar (CVG) for the straight frame sections and White Oak (quater sawn) for the bent frame sections (chine logs and sheer rails).
Thank you, Guy
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on
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For the transom, I cut (slightly oversized by about 1 in. to accommodate the bevels) three pieces of 1/4-in. plywood and laminated them together with fiberglass and epoxy. I would have used the 1/2-in. plywood, but I want to save my supply of that material for the boat's deck and I have a little excess 1/4-in. plywood on hand. When this assembly dries, I will fiberglass and epoxy the inside surface. This time I did thoroughly wet the plywood with epoxy before I laid the fiberglass. Wood really can soak up epoxy.
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Tonight I cut the transom to size and laid fiberglass on the inside surface with the first coat of epoxy. This picture shows the outside surface of the transom. This board is about 20-in. wide at the top, 15-in. wide at the bottom, and 27-in. tall. You can see the beveled surfaces on three sides.
This picture of one of the beveled surfaces shows the laminations of plywood and fiberglass.
Here is the fiberglass applied to the inside surface.
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Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on
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Guy,
It's probably already stated earlier but I'll ask anyway. What weight of glass you using in the transom and sides (6 oz??) What are your plans for the bottom, 10 oz??
phil w.
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Phil,
I'm using 6 oz. on the inside surfaces of the transom, side panels, and bottom; 10 oz. on the outside surfaces of the transom and side panels (to be painted); and 22 oz. tri-axial on the outside surface of the bottom (also to be painted). I also bought some graphite powder for the final two or three coats of epoxy on the bottom.
I went with the heavier glass on the outside because I am going to paint it. I'll leave the inside surfaces "wood finished" for the most part.
Guy
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Thanks Guy, sounds like it'll be almost bullet proof.
phil w
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A little more progress this weekend. Here are photos of the inside and outside faces of the transom. It still needs a couple coats of epoxy and some sanding, but the bulk of the work is done. The screw holes are on the outside surface, which will be covered in fiberglass and epoxy and painted. None of the screws show from the inside of the boat.
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Permalink Reply by Andrés Ramos on
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Hi, my name is Andres and I am writing from Cipolletti, Patagonia Argentina.
I'm about to start building a wooden drift boat and for that I have been collecting information from different places. One is this forum and especially your post.
I hope next summer i can navigate and fly-fish the rivers of Patagonia.Best of luck.
Andres Ramos
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Andres, I hope to go to Patagonia one day. There must be fantastic rivers and fishing down there. Guy
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Thanks Tungsten.
Thanks Andres.
Tonight I finished assembling the transom. I will post some pictures tomorrow after some sanding. I think the next step for me is to roll the boat so that I can work on the bottom. I want to install the chine logs and backer-board before I install the transom, because the angle of the transom will lock these three boards into position. There is really no good way (that I can see) to install them after the transom is installed.
I may temporarily mount the transom and drill all of the holes for the wood screws through the side panels. Then I can mark the edges of the transom on the side panels, which will help me cut the chine logs to the correct dimensions. Then I can remove the transom, install the chine logs and backer-board, and reinstall the transom with epoxy and wood screws. The cutting the ends of the chine logs and backer-board will take some careful carpentry to get the angles right and have a tight fit on everything. This is not the time to rush things.
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I clamped the outer sheer rail to one of the side panels as extra support for rolling the boat. It illustrates how the rail lays flat on the curved side panel because the edge of the side panel was cut straight before it was bent into the curve. That (seemingly obvious) fact was an epiphany to me during the early stages of planning.
Here is another view.
Then I stood the boat up to see how easy it will be to roll and I was surprised that it rested on its side. I brought the boat back down and will prepare some floor supports for the roll.
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That turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. I was able to roll the boat by myself.
And here is the assembled transom.
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