Comment

Comment by Ben Kittell on April 11, 2011 at 4:04pm

Greg, thats a very good point. I understand why water shouldnt be used as a ballast, but as I have experienced and seen in rafts that can not bail water, or just bail slowly, having the boat filled with water tends to drag you through a lot of stuff. But maybe wooden boats are differant, im sure excited to find out!!!

 

Boat is decked and has been flipped back to the upside down possition for glassing and painting. putting on my second coat of paint tomorrow morning or tonight then Ill flip her again and start on the fun interior stuff.

 

I ended up doing a kind of fillet with 5200 that I can post pics of as soon as I get my camera back  (it had to go to work for the week... unlike me!). It turned out looking ok, some spots are better then others. Im very interested to see how it looks once the inside is oiled. I used tan and it looks good now, but the wood will get darker with oil and the 5200 wont, so we'll just have to see. If it turns out not looking to good then Ill have a painted interior. Im not sure if I would recommend using 5200 like that. First off its expensive, even if you find a killer deal. Plus its hard to work with, even though I used almost 2 rolls of tape it still was hard to keep clean looking.

Comment by Greg Max on April 11, 2011 at 3:12pm

Ben, great work on the boat so far.  I just saw this piece of your post "I feel like if I really take on that much water I am most likly going to benifit from the added weight in the bottom third of the boat." and wanted to remind you that water can't be used for ballast because it always flows to the low side of the boat and will actually make you more likely to flip.  Think of how your passengers may need to "high side" in the event of a collision and shift to the higher side of the boat.  Water does the opposite of this and always goes to the low side, which is not where you want the extra weight.  Good luck my friend and I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of your build!

 

Greg

Comment by Ben Kittell on March 30, 2011 at 6:37am

Rick, I do have a dremmel. Thats what I was thinking, trun the screw into a flat head to make it workable.

 

Chris, I would rather not bring electrictiy into the picture. Just one more thing to go wrong... and spend money on, maybe when I start working again. I feel like a semi self bailing system would work nicly, like what I have seen some others do for their passenger foot wells. I feel like if I really take on that much water I am most likly going to benifit from the added weight in the bottom third of the boat.

Comment by chris towles on March 30, 2011 at 12:49am

ben,
this whole self bailing issue has been fresh in my head lately..in fact it was all i could think about while skiing today oddly enough. i like the idea and function of self bailing, but for a boat that will be used for both whitewater and fishing (which will be my next build), it seems a bit overkill. i also hate the idea of a loaded down boat with 4" of standing water in the footwell (which i have seen many pictures of). seems like their could be an easier way to deal with all the water. so an idea...others feel free to pick it apart

what if all the water that entered the boat all drained to the bottom of the rowers footwell? from there you could get a sweet electric pump setup to pump all that water out of there and you could run the tubing wherever. also seems like a great place for a drin plug if you ask me. my grandfather has a sweet fountain in his little goldfish pond outside his house. i am amazed at the amount of water that thing moves and he says it can run dry no prob. you could run tubing so that the front and rear passenger /fisherman footwells drain to the bottom of the rowers footwell. the elevated rowers floor could just be a deck with slats that allow rowers footwell water to just drain thru the deck to the bottom of the footwell. you could mount the pump on the underside of the floor, and run drainage tubing out the cabinets to the side of the boat. it does mean bring electricity into the system, but it has been proven to work before. it would probably require 2 batteries to make the system redundant. but you could get one good battery and a small one as a backup.. flip the switch on at the top of the rapid to turn on the system, and you're bailing! when your just fishing with the boat (which will prob be most of the time) you won't even need to worry about it. with your already cut rib that allows water to flow between those stations, why not leave it, reinforce it on both sides with a small piece of wood with a groove cut at that spot to allow water to flow thru.

anyways, just an idea, but it could make for a sweet setup. however, by the looks of it, you're well on your way. addaboy! nice looking boat you got there. use that tape to seal those joints clean with the 5200 and that interior will look money!

chris

Comment by Rick Newman on March 29, 2011 at 10:22pm

Do you have a Dremel Tool so you can cut a slot in the screws and remove them? You will undoubtably be frustrated every time you see them or stick on a rock. The fix is easier now than later. Even a fine toothed hack saw blade might work to cut a slot. 

Good Luck!

 

Rick Newman