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 Rick Newman on
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Ain't science wonderful?
Rick
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Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on
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I used the old plywood bottom panels as templates to cut out new plywood panels. 1/4-inch Okoume plywood. This was a long time coming.
Finally time to say goodbye to this old plywood. But I won’t throw it away quite just yet.
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I used the old plywood bottom panels as templates to cut out new plywood panels. 1/4-inch Okoume plywood. This was a long time coming.
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It’s coming together. I clamped the forward most panel to start taking some of the stress out of the wood.
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Chris Craft. I finally got the pistons out of the 1959 Chris Craft 283 engine. Two came out easily. Five were a struggle. And one was very obstinate. On that one I cut the pushrod above the bearing and hammered on the flat surface with a 3-lbs hammer. After all that the cylinder bores look better than I expected. They will have to be oversized, but probably not sleeved.
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Chris Craft. I installed the frames that support the propeller shaft strut. Then I screwed down the plywood panels. Then I laid out the bottom planks leaving 1/8th inch gaps between the planks. Then I traced out their positions with a pencil. After that I stowed all the planks again and will now start fabricating the new battens that attach to the inside of the plywood between the bottom frames.
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Cutting and shaping the battens that attach to the inside surface of the plywood between the frames.
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Chris Craft. Shaping the battens to the curvature of the bottom plywood. There are 14 in each side. Each on is different.
Lay the batten on the curved bottom so each end is about the same distance off the bottom. Then trace the contour. Material above the contour is sanded away.
Toward the bow there is a complex contour so it’s necessary to trace both sides of the batten.
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Chris Craft. Battens are shaped. Decisions time. I’m not sure how to best proceed. I will probably attach the battens with a few wood screws and inspect how things fit on the inside.
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Chris Craft. I checked the fit of the starboard bottom planks.
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Chris Craft. Removing the last three planks. So many wood screws. That’s a 2.5 gallon bucket.
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Plankless...
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