Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
New Boat Builder/Senior Project
Let me start off by introducing myself to all of you on this wonderful website. I live in Northwest PA and am a junior in high school. In my spare time I hunt anything and flyfish and centerpin for as many species as possible. As some of you may know we have steelhead fishing here and it is my passion. There is also the Clarion River and Alleghany rivers Im planning on floating for trout and bass when I build my boat. I am seriously contemplating the options of building a drift boat. The kit I am looking at is the Freestone classic 12' from Montana boat builders. I am on a tight budget due to being in high school. I would make the boat first and then worry about the trailer the following spring. What tools do I need to complete a kit? What else do I need besides what comes in their kit? What would be the minimum size garage that you would recommend for this build? Does temperature affect how the epoxy/finish set up or does it just take longer? How long would you say on average it would take a new boat builder to build a kit to a level of completeness? My dad works in a shop and can use tools well, I also have some woodworking experience but not much. Any tips? The time frame for the build would be July or late August to mid January. Sorry it got so long guys. Need to get as much info as I can before sinking that kind of money.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by larry Hambley on
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Zachary: Glad to hear of your plans. Reading your post is almost like someone asking "how do you build a house and what materials do you use?" In other words it would take hours to answer. I suggest you take advantage of the available sources of information to learn what you can then come back with specific questions you can't resolve on your own. You can consider these sources:
1. Roger Fletcher's book :" Drift Boats and River Dories" This you must have.
2. Contact Montana Boats and tell them what you plan, I bet they have info they can send.
3. Study the past forums on WBP nearly everything concerning boat building has been discussed in the past.
4. Many vendors of supplies and plans have free Tutorials on line you can study. (Fiber glass, etc.)
I am sure others can add their own sources. I envy you, I only wish I had become involved in this activity at your age. By the time your are my age, you can write the books! Best of luck and keep us informed as you progress.
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Ok I guess the main questions would be would a normal one car garage be big enough to build the 12 freestone classic and work in and should September to Mid January be a good enough time frame to build the boat without having to put in 8 hour days during the week? Ill send questions about epoxy and tools to montana boat builders themselves. I want to research as much as I can before I make the decision. How do you put in and take out when drift fishing by yourself?
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Permalink Reply by Dan Hooper on
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Zachary, I think you could easly build in a one car garage. I'm almost finished with my 12' Freestone. Although I've been working on mine for almost 3 years. Thats my bad. You can doit in your time frame if you keep at it and don't get to anal about it like I did. I think your biggest problem might be weather when you start, Your epoxying must be done when its warmer unless you have a heated garage. Epoxy does not set well in cold weaather. Another web site you might check out is montana-riverboats.com. There is alot of good info and help there also. Good luck and go for it.
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Permalink Reply by Dave Z on
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Zach,
I float the waters you mention alot.
Is this for a senior project in high school?
In your time frame- Aug- January, you should be able to get it done, no problem. If you have a large , heated space, all the better. NW PA winters suck (I grew up there).
The kit route is definitely the way to go in your situation. The kits you are looking at are top notch, and when done right, Jason's boats are real eye catchers and they are totally tailored for fly fishing.
The thing that concerns me is you are on a tight budget. I have scratch-built framed boats, 3 of them, and managed to squeak by under the $1500 mark. I did not skimp on materials at all, in fact, I used the best of everything. However, locating sources, and being able to hunt wood down, look for deals, is very time consuming. Take into account as well-
-oars. Build or buy them.
-anchor system.
-trailer.
-PA state registration and titling. It is very easy to do in PA, but it will cost $150-300.
-don't forget about the small things that really add up- good paint brushes, thinners, solvents, sand paper, adhesives, etc....
Trailers themselves are hard to find in these parts. If you want a Hyde or a Baker, it will cost you about $1400 for the trailer and then another $400 for freight. The alternative is to convert a used V-hull boat trailer. I recommend a good, solid trailer with torsion axle for a wood boat. Your boat can take a heck of a beating on the trailer on lousy PA road, long drives and backwoods put ins.
However you proceed, good luck!
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The kit comes with oars and is the anchor system something that is a definate need? I can get the registration and trailer the next year. Money isn't looking as tight any more with a good month of work this month and finding out that I can pay half up front and then pay the rest before it ships. Would a kerosene heat the single car garage enough to help with epoxy? I would do a v-hull conversion for the trailer unless I walk across a good deal which is rare in these parts. Im at about $1400 right now the base kit and shipping/crate puts it right at about $2000. Anchor was another 250ish. I would also like to upgrade the front seat but that could come at a different time.
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Don't buy an anchor, but do buy an anchor release system. In fact, it would be wiser to install it, or make provisions for the install at the time of build, rather than later.
If you are building in Aug you should be able to epoxy through september. The heater will help in the winter months.
For an anchor, I'd never buy a store bought type. I use heavy machinery chain and sometimes a front rotor off a small car. When you lose your $50 store bought anchor, you'll probbaly switch to chains, rotors, concrete-filled milk jugs, etc...
Outfitting the interior will take up more than half of your build. You probably can build the hull in a relatively short time, especially since you are buying a kit. S&G boats go together quickly, but you will want to practice glassing, laying out fabric, etc... My recommendation is to practice on something, be it a cardboard box, scrap wood, etc.
Make sure part of you $$$ spent includes a very good fresh air mask, you will be doing alot of sanding on exotic woods, glass and epoxy. Safety first!
Contact Sandy Pittendrigh through here or his site, http://montana-riverboats.com/Pages/Driftboats/Driftboat-Blueprints.php
He also is a long time S&G builder full of information. His forum is here as well,
http://fliesfliesflies.com/phorum/list.php?3
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Permalink Reply by Michael Newson on
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I can just say the best of luck to you Zach. I finished my boat when I was 20, so it can be done by young people with little woodworking experience. My advice to you is find someone in your area who has built a similar boat and check out where they built it and what they have in the shop. I was fortunate enough to use my grandpa's boat shed and he had most of the tools. Again good luck to you it is a project you won't regret getting into.
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Permalink Reply by Steven Miller on
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I think you should definitely document it and do a "build-along" here. You'd be surprised how much good advice you'll get if you post the pics as you go!
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