Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

First build

So im wanting to build my first boat this winter. I was think 14'-15' skiff, maybe even a dory. Anybody have any suggestions? It will need to be able to take up to a 10hp motor and possibly even a cuddy cabin in the front half for gear and shelter from the rain. It will mostly be used for lake and river fishing, occasional moose and duck hunting on the rivers and maybe even cruising the coast a little when i get the chance. I dont really like the plywood and epoxy boats, 1) because they look bad and 2) because they dont seem as strong and sturdy. So i need a good heavy built boat that can take the beating of Alaskan water and be built over the course of one winter.

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lawrence E. Long on October 9, 2015 at 5:37am

Josh:Now that you have POed most of the people on this site that have built many boats that are beautiful, strong(try running the Grand Canyon) and very seaworthy using PW and FG and epoxy I will give you some advice. A cedar plank 3/4" thick is not nearly as strong as a 3/4" thick plank of marine PW. The PT boats used in WWII were made of PW. If you get Wooden Boat Magazine issues #240 and 241 there is a series on building the Amesbury Skiff a 16 ft classic "work boat". This old design uses oak, locust and cedar and is a traditional plank on frame design. Another source of designs is John Gardner's "The Dory Book" The Amesbury Skiff is technically a "dory skiff" and can take up to 20HP.

Good luck on your build- and keep us posted over the winter.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by JoshVest on October 9, 2015 at 2:02pm

Oh whoops, didnt mean to offend any body.. I guess im not as knowledgeable when it comes to plywood boats. But thank you Lawrence, i will be sure to check those out!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike Thomas on October 11, 2015 at 10:58am

I was thinking the same thing, you kind of limited yourself. Not only is marine plywood strong, its also alot lighter than solid wood, and the cost factor difference would be huge too. You must be talking a plank or lapstrake boat? Though pretty, those would be very time consuming (and heavy).

If you have unlimited time, money and materials, or plenty of helpers, you might be able to build something like that over a winter.

I had a 18`plywood cabin cruiser built in the late 50`s early 60`s maybe that I restored in the 70`s, put a 90 h.p. -6cyl. Merc on, and I had it for 15 years or so and used it and fished mostly on lake St. Clair. I did glass the bottom of that boat. It was very seaworthy and carried me through plenty of bad storms (still a little scary), but not a boat for smaller rivers.

Most of the people here are building mostly classic styles and some more modern drift boats for fly fishing rivers, but there are some other types of boats on here too. The epoxy`s nowadays, though pricy, are awesome for building wood boats. Might want to re think the plywood and epoxy ;)