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 Dave Z on
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Rick,
I'm school #2. Oiled floors. It works in my climate. I built varnished, epoxied and glassed boat 10 years ago and it is all impact fractured under the front seat. That bottom will get replaced with a bare oiled floor. water found its way under the glass and into the fir. It is now some variety of "blackened fir" from water damage. it doesn't feel soft, but sure is ugly.
Ray Heater on the othe rhand recommends glass over fir plywood inside and out.
skin th ecat many ways. they all have trade offs and on.
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Permalink Reply by Lee E Washburn on
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Hay rick what are you going to seal the bottom of the bottom with.?good thing most drift boats are what i call dry sailed and if stored under cover should last a life time.with proper maintance.
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Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on
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Kevin,
My floor decks are easily removable. They just lay on the frames and can be lifted off and removed from the boat. I figured that way when the boat gets wet, I can still air it out easily. I agree with Rick Newman in that I would not seal the decks and fill the space with foam on a wooden boat. I think that is just asking for problems with regards to wood rot. And Rick makes a good point about being able to inspect the wood for troubled spots.
I fiberglassed the inside surfaces of the side panels (1/4-in.) and bottom panels (1/2-in.) before attaching them to the frames and I had no difficulties bending the panels to the radii needed for my boat. I fiberglassed the outside surfaces of these panels after they were attached to the frames.
Good luck with your build and don't hesitate to ask questions. Rick and others on this site gave me much useful advise for which I am very thankful. But remember, the final decisions are yours! Think... ask... think and ask some more... and then commit.
Guy
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"I may hold off on installing drain plugs for awhile and keep a bilge pump onboard."
I never understood this.... I hear this all the time. why? Do it right, do it the first time. I knw some builders think they will never take on water, or is it that folks can't seem to drill a hole in a perfectly good floor?!
Put one right in front of the rower to the left or right or both. However, your floor board design looks prohibitive. Funny and true story- a buddy of mine did floors like yours. He went fishing in it, and his nephew dumped a bucket of minnows in it. half of the minnows went under the floors, he couldnt get them all out. Parked his boat in the garage, went on vacation. Came back to a horrific rotting all through his house!
How much does this boat weigh? What does it compare to a glass boat so far?
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Permalink Reply by Dave Barnes on
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On the bottom glassing, I glassed in bottom after assembly, over the inner chines etc. before I put the front and aft floors in. fact is, You will step in the boat out of the river in wader boots and if you get out and fish 8 different gravel bars in a run, you are bringing in water each time you step back in. And then of course, at the motel, it rains overnight. After all of the above took place... I could still only bring myself to put a small hole in the transom base where it would not scrape across rocks etc, so I just tilt the boat back off the trailer and drain. I also keep a supersoaker on board to get rid of water during the day. If we never get out of the boat on a nice day, it stays bone dry, but in steelhead fishing, when does that ever happen?
db
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Thanks guys, some interesting and insightful thoughts there. Any other tips for installing a drainplug while we're on the subject?
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on
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Yeah, don't forget to put it back in when you launch! Check out You Tube for some funny launch sequences.
:<)
Rick Newman
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Dave,
The empty hull weighed 300 lbs (now add to that the weight of the seats and decks). I think I am still in the ball-park with glass boats.
My boat will need two drain plugs because I installed that backer-board down the center. Part of the problem is that I can't make up my mind on where to install the drain plugs. And the other part of the problem is that I'm not convinced I want them. If I do install them, I think I will install them so that the boat is drained when it is resting on a level trailer. And I wasn't able to mark that location until recently anyway, because only now is the boat on the trailer.
And remember, my decks are not attached to the boat. They can be easily lifted out of the boat. I anticipated the rotting fish problem...
Guy
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I'm still sheep hunting. Actually, it's more like hiking in the high country every weekend looking for sheep than it's like hunting sheep. But I'm still trying. The high country is bone dry right now; it's been a very dry summer in Idaho. And the smoke from two huge fires near Challis and Salmon are not helping matters. Here are some pictures from last weekend.
This is called a "guzzler". Fish & Game installes them to collect rain water to help out the sheep. But they are all dry right now. This one is located above treeline at about 10,000 ft.
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This is as close as I got. My friend Tom and I got within 400 yards of five rams; close enough for a shot. There were two adults and three juveniles. But the adults were nothing to brag about so I didn't take the shot. I'll save my shot for grandpa and hopefully get another chance one year. Still it was fun trying!
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I've been absent too long...
Since the "float test" last summer, I've only done a little work on the decks. So it's high time for me to get back to work and finish this project for spring fishing season. Here is a picture of the boat on the Hyde trailer.
Here are some of the tasks that remain:
1) Add shims and supports to the undersides of the deck plates.
2) Epoxy seal the deck plates.
3) Finish sand the inside and outside of the boat.
4) Prime and paint the outside.
5) Varnish the inside and sheer rails.
6) Install stainless steel rub-rails to the chine caps.
7) Reassemble the hardware.
8) Install drain plugs.
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