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

Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on July 5, 2013 at 12:17pm

I’m still waiting on oars to arrive. But I did install two 4-in.-dia. deck plates to access the drain plugs without removing the deck itself.

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Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on July 8, 2013 at 5:57pm

My oars arrived today, but they arrived damaged in transit and Hyde didn't accept delivery from the carrier. So I'm back to square-one with the oars. It’s frustrating, but these things happen.

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Permalink Reply by chris towles on July 9, 2013 at 9:32pm

I have a hard time believing that someone at Hyde drift boats doesn't have a spare set of oars you can borrow in the meantime. Given that u bought quite a bit of stuff from them to deck out your boat, I would think they could find something used you can borrow so you can take the boat out and get it wet. I think it's worth asking.

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Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on July 10, 2013 at 5:29pm

Chris,

To their credit, Hyde did offer to loan me a set of oars. And one of my friends offered to loan me a set of oars. But for some reason that doesn’t appeal to me at this point. I spent about a year and a half building this boat and the first time I take it out, I really want it to be “finished”. It's kind of a goal. That probably doesn’t sound very reasonable or rational, but that’s how it is.

Guy

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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on July 10, 2013 at 6:12pm

When you explain to your coworkers and family friends that you have spent a year and a half building and finishing a wooden drift boat do they give you the look that your activity was rational? You have to be a little different, in a good way, to spend the time, money and effort that we do building boats.

I can totally understand that you want it "finished". While I floated in April at the Wooden Bot Festival my boat hasn't touched the water but one time since. However that will soon change. I have been doing finishing touches to my boat (pictures soon) and I will be doing a 20 mile float on the Clearwater River in Idaho as a precursor to next years longer floats on the Clearwater and some Montana Rivers that Lewis and Clark visited for a photographic expedition for a friend.

There is also a great series of posts on Wooden Boat Forum about "You know your a wooden boat builder when:"

Rick Newman