Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Journey of Building a 16' McKenzie River Drifter
Hello from Minnesota! Ever feel like you need a project? No, not a "weekend building of an Ikea shelving system", I mean a real manly project with bloody knuckles, sawdust and strange looks from the wife!
Maybe it is early onset mid-life crisis - maybe it is guilt for not following in a long familial line of foresters - but one day in January of 2014 I felt an inexplicable urge to build a wood drift boat to float the Upper Mississippi and Upper St. Croix, and for our once a year trip to the "Golden Triangle" near West Yellowstone, MT.
After hours of research (most of it spent trying to convince myself I was not going crazy), I settled on the classic lines of the Don Hill McKenzie River 16' Drift Boat and pulled the trigger to travel down a course as irreversible as the river itself.
What follows is my journey to make something beautiful with my two hands while raising a little girl and maintaining a healthy marriage. Tight lines and beautiful wood.
~~~ Gopher Dan ~~~
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Gopher Dan on
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Starting to Look Like a Boat
I utilized 3M 5200 as the joint adhesive/sealant. I was sure to wipe down any excess really well with acetone.
<*))))>< Helpful Hint: I epoxied the sides while flat on the ground with three coats. I thought about sealing them with varnish prior to installation since they were flat on the ground, but decided against it. Why this may work for me: Attaching the sides is, let's just say, not precisely free of banging and bashing. I put a few dings, scratched some of the epoxy, spider-webbed a small section that was under stress when only one screw was in place, and while backing out a stripped screw popped up and de-laminated a very small section of plywood. All will require epoxy touch-ups.
<*))))>< Helpful Hint: Have someone help you. In case you think you can do this part alone without a lot of fancy ropes or some other configuration - think again. I utilized the help of the wife tonight for two 10-minute increments while attaching the second side to the bow and transom. I am sure some guys have utilized come-alongs or ratcheting ropes to assist, but having a helper was great.
<*))))>< Helpful Hint: I have no idea if clamping in rib 5 while attaching side two transom helped or hindered. You may want to try it without since everything fell in place after the rib fell out accidentally.
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Permalink Reply by Clay W. on
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Looking good. It is hard to clamp those suckers in there isn't it. Don't think you'll have any trouble attaching frames starting at the middle out.
Nice job.
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Ribs & Chines
Got a little help from my father-in-law to put in the ribs on Saturday. Oops, forgot to drill drain holes on #6 rib - which gave me a chance to try out the proper method of drilling a hole through another board, and then clamping that guide board to the rib - much easier!
The ribs all went in pretty well - sort of like wrestling an alligator that is. The #1 rib (nearest the transom) was the peskiest of them all. It appeared at first that it was much too narrow - however once the chines went in, it looks perfect. Part of the problem is the wood panel had become slightly bowed while it was on the floor while the epoxy was curing due to it sitting on an uneven surface in that section.
The chines went in fairly predictably. There were a few ribs with more gap in the chine notch than I would like. I haven't decided how I want to approach this as I would like to tidy it up - either epoxy fairing or just cover it up with little molding pieces on every rib.
After installing the chines, used a straight edge to identify high spots from side to side, and to get the bottom faired nice and level so the bottom sits flush on all surfaces. Utilized a block plane to eliminate the highest sections of wood, and a 50 grit belt sander to remove material, followed by 80 grit.
In some cases I had to remove a slight amount of material out of the bottom rib in order to get the flat edge to sit true.
I am so happy this is starting to look like a boat!!!
Next up this week, scarfing the bottom plywood before we leave to Hawaii for our 10-year wedding anniversary!
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Permalink Reply by Northstar Chris on
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Impressive stuff Bro! Keep up the hard work. I could be wrong, but I don't think our forestry patriarchs ever built a boat!
If you need an extra set of hands one night, let me know. My labor comes fairly cheap, 1 or 2 beers should cut it.
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Bottom Installed
Just in time for a 10 day vacation - got the bottom done which will allow the 5200 adhesive to set undisturbed.
First I rough cut the bottom to reduce weight and improve the flexibility, especially in the front section where the bend is most severe.
Next, I screwed the bottom down near the #5 rib with the bottom centered the way I wanted. Then, I moved to the front and got it anchored down with a few screws, and went to the back and anchored with a few screws.
I used a router to get the edge to the exact size - so that all that will be left is some sanding once it all sets up.
After I got the bottom routed, I unscrewed the front screws and put down the 5200 in the front section only back to and including the first rib. I ran into a few problems here and there - but just kept at it until I got it tackled. Once I got the 5200 spread on the front section, I then screwed down the front section back to the first (#9) rib.
Next, I unscrewed the #5 and transom screws, and put a board in as shown to spread the rest of the 5200 with a putty knife.
<*))))>< HELPFUL HINT: Spread the 5200 on the ribs before you do the sides - this way you don't get it all over your sleeves and belly!
Here is a picture just as I am starting to spread the rest of the 5200.
Here is the finished product (some of the 5200 you see has since been wiped clean). I only missed my mark on one screw out of several hundred - so I am pretty proud of myself of course!
Probably the worst part of this whole project is climbing under the boat afterward to wipe 5200 off of all the surfaces with mineral spirits / acetone. I put in some hard work to get it as clean as possible - which I am sure will be worth it once I finally get the boat flipped over.
Next up - sand the bottom - epoxy the bottom - sand the side - varnish the side - epoxy/varnish the chine battens - install the chine battens - epoxy/varnish the rub strip - install the rub strip.
By the way - an 8'8" rub strip is kind of an odd dimension given plywood is 8' long - but I followed the plans and scarfed the plywood so my rub strip will be the proper length.
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All - I have been traveling quite a bit - but did manage to make some progress throughout April.
The cool weather means it takes longer for the epoxy to set up which has been slowing me down. I bought the 206 slow hardener anticipating warmer weather - but it was in the 30's - 50's most of April so the garage has remained around 55-65ºF most of the time. I did a good warm day in the 60's which kept the garage warm enough to use this epoxy which is recommended to work at 60º+.
I filled the screw holes and gaps on the bottom of the boat with thickened epoxy and then rolled out the 105/206 with graphite powder. It is recommended when adding fillers to roll out a wetting layer - frankly I skipped this step after testing a sample piece. It is also recommended you put the epoxy in a pan and then roll it on the surface. You will see I just spread it directly on the surface to minimize waste.
The roller helps quite a bit to keep the thickness consistent. After spreading, I used a heat gun to decrease the viscosity of the epoxy which made it flow more evenly and used a brush to even it all out.
I will take some more finished pictures soon of the bottom. It cured very nicely.
Bottom ready for epoxy application (just prior to acetone cleanup).Gaps filled with epoxy thickened with sanding dust.
What I am using for the bottom.
Graphite powder.
Mix epoxy for 60-90 seconds.
Rolling it out in small batches 2' x 2' working area approximately per 20 pumps of the epoxy using the West System pump system.
After first coat. Sorry for the dirty lens using a different camera as batteries died on the other one.
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I also got the side bump guard panels cut, scarfed, and epoxied with a couple coats of 105/207 on one side, as well as the rails and chine battens. I still have the other side to do.
I also got the rough cut out of the fly deck done with a two coats on the bottom side and one coat so far on the top side. Still need to sand and add another coat as the epoxy was applied about 1.5 weeks ago.
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Permalink Reply by Reed on
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Dan,
The photos look great, I'm here in MN also and starting a similar project this month, I've been waiting for my garage to warm up, I too have found Andy to be a great resource. I'm still a little torn on which boat to build but I'm planning on a stitch and glue method of either a modified version of one of Paul Butler's boats or the Beavertail from Montana River Boats. My question for you is it seems we fish in the same places and I'm wondering about the amount of rocker in your boat and if you made it a little less (flatter bottom) to allow for easier rowing and more boat on the surface which I would think would be a help especially when the Mississippi gets skinny in the late summer?
Thanks, and looking forward to seeing the pics when its all done.
Reed
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I have oared my friend Nicks skiff and found it no easier to row. It may draft a little higher in shallow water but even that is debateable.
I also go out west for a week each year and fish Western rivers so for this project went more of an all purpose boat.
I am Maple Grove if you want to stop over and check it out let me know.
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Reed,
I think if I were to do it again maybe just slightly less rocker. It probably wouldn't be easier to row, but my buddies and I all weigh over 200 lbs. With three of us in the boat, less rocker would allow weight to be distributed more evenly. I suspect this would help us draft maybe an inch or two higher. Minor improvement at best. Main advantage here is rock avoidance in shallow water and possibly a slightly easier front casting area for front passenger.
All told, sticking to the plans was easier for my first boat ever and I am happy with the results.
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May Update - Boat Flipped - Ready for Inside Work.
Been traveling way too much - but work continues. A ton of trim work, sanding, and three coats so far of Z Spar Flagship 2015 Varnish. Still one more coat to go and a few more coats on the rails.
It is exciting to be able to finally flip the boat over - the perspective totally changes and you notice so many different things.
On one hand it is very exciting, but on the other sort of a buzz kill because the inside still looks so raw with so much potential, while the outside looks like a shiny new boat.
Just Sanded Epoxy - No Varnish Yet in this Pic
Three Coats of Varnish - One More to Go
The Flagship varnish is very nice stuff - it goes on rather smooth with minimal dripping / running if you don't lay it on too thick and go back over it after application to remove runs. There is an 18-hour waiting period between coats - which I have followed very closely. I have been using a foam brush and it seems to work fine.
Check out the daughter's new bike - the 3 year old loves whipping around the cul-de-sac.
My small camera loves the dust in the flash for some reason - sort of annoying - gotta get the big daddy camera back out or stop taking pictures at 10:00 at night.
A lot of work left!
I don't care how careful you are when using the 3M 5200 and trying to wipe it down from inside the boat when bedding the bottom of the boat - some of it will be there waiting for you when you flip the boat. I spent probably half an hour in there wiping it down and there is still some little surprises of the ol' 5200 now waiting for me.
I have the fly deck also being varnished and you can just see the rails to the right also getting varnished.
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Permalink Reply by Terry E Walsh on
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Good story! Looking good!
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