Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
16' Double ender w/ transom
My first glimpse of a drift boat was on the Cal Salmon as a kayaker in the late 70s - i was intrigued by the way the boat rode through the wave trains and could handle the water. I got a better look a bit later on a couple of Rogue trips, watching them through Blossom Bar... I thought I'd like to try that. The idea of building one was cemented a few years ago after a visit to Andy Hutchinson's shop and seeing his build of a decked boat in sapele - what a beautiful boat. So as a start, I got Roger's book and built a model, getting an idea of how things went together and where the challenges might be. This spring, I traveled to Flagstaff to attend Brad Dimock's class, where I met an incredible variety of skilled folks, all interested in building - not to mention a shop to die for. Then it was off to Oregon and the wooden boat festival. I stopped in Bend, where I picked up a trailer and a bunch of great information from Mike Baker - now I had a trailer, and needed a boat. Materials were a bit of a challenge - I originally wanted Port Orford Cedar for the frames - in Bend, there's a reliable supply from Orepac, but in Victor, where I live, no such luck. I ended up with Alaskan Yellow Cedar for about $7/bf. Hydrotek was next on the list. McBeath lists it on their web page, but there was a 2 month wait, so I ended up getting mine from Edensaw. Following Brad's lead, I'm using epoxy from Resin Research. Now for the fun stuff...
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mike Thomas on
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Wow, that puts it into perspective ;) I was going to get with that company to find out. The plastic solo cups I mix in hold 5 pumps of resin and hardener. Thats very little graphite for 2 of those cups. I should have alot to spare of the graphite, that qt. size can I bought should be enough for quite a few boats. Thanks
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Permalink Reply by David Witton on
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Tungsten - Oops - too late. Are you saying that I couldn't sand the graphite coating and add a second layer of cloth?
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Permalink Reply by tungsten on
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Yes you can sand and add glass,i guess i missed that you did the graphite already.
12oz glass on 1/2" plywood is what you would normally see/use for abrasion.Nidacore is no where near as strong or stiff as plywood so you make it up with a thicker skin of glass.
Some tests I've done in the past suggest that when the composite (light weight core and epoxy/glass) is equal in weight with plywood, the strength is also close to the same.
1/2" ply about 2lbs a sq/ft so 900 grams
1/2" nidacore with 5 layers 12oz each side 8-900 grams sq/ft
Not saying your boat will fall apart but i think your a little light to protect against dings and concrete boat launches,doesn't Mr Baker use 22oz trax glass on his?
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I see your point. I have a test panel of the bottom construction made up as is - it weighs in at 1 lb 12 oz. I'll made another with 2 layers of 12 oz and do a bit of testing - whatever the results, I'll float it as is for a bit to see what the real world dishes out.
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Yes,you can always add more later.With the ply and frames on the inside its a little different compared to just a straight up honeycomb floor.
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Next step is adding a couple of coats of epoxy to the outside of the hull - of course, I'd like it to be perfect ;-)....
I've read suggestions about jacking up the thermostat to heat the wood before beginning, and letting it cool as the epoxy is applied. I've seen info about applying with a roller, then tipping with a foam brush - I'm open to all suggestions about what others have done. Did you sand the bare wood - what grit did you use? Did you use a tack cloth before the first coat and between coats? What grit did you use between coats? I've seen videos where the person used a heat gun after tipping to burst any bubbles in the finish. What has worked for you?
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on
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A test in the area where you are working with the several samples of the same wood you will be using, same temperatures, one with a roller, one with a squeegee, etc. Layout your tools, your scale, your epoxy, everything and first do a dry run, then try it with an actual epoxy mix. Epoxy will rarely finish as flat as you want it. Small dust bunnies won't affect anything as you will either sand it, paint it or varnish it, usually with several coats of finish. While surfaces like fiberglass cloth will print through a small piece of dust won't. If the room cools down after the epoxy is placed on the wood the air trapped in the wood won't be expanding.
Never tried the heat gun so no ideas on that.
The biggest issues I experienced were getting epoxy on things, hands, cloths that I didn't want it on, I forgot how much epoxy I had measured out, not placing the epoxy in a wide flat container when I wanted it to not to kick too soon.
Good luck.
Rick N
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Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on
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You have the right idea David. I prefer the foam roller and tip with foam brush. Small warm batches are also important. I wipe mine down with rubbing alcohol before the first bare wood coat. Don't expect the first coat to look very good as the epoxy will soak in at different rates on different parts of the wood and will be very rough.
Mike
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Mike - Aside from tipping with a foam brush, do you worry about bubbles? What do you sand with between coats?
And a side question - when you're using Nidacore on the bottom, what kind of cloth do you use as a final layer?
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The key too not getting bubbles is to roll very slowly. The few bubbles you get will disappear with the tipping.
I use about 150 between coats. Light sand on first coat and progressively more aggressive as you get thickness built.
I use 20 oz. Triax. Someone pointed out on an earlier post that you probably don't need the triax as the nidacore ads all the stiffness you need.
Mike
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This is my first boat, so I'm learning all sort of things - like how the build goes through phases. I suppose that's to be expected, most other construction project do...
First, I was in a woodworking phase with a bit of epoxy, but it seems lately that it's been pretty much all epoxy.
What with the stem cap, chine caps and transom trim coming up next - then gunwales - it looks like I'll be getting back into woodwork. I"m really looking forward to flipping it over.
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David, looking good. That bottom looks good thanks for the pic, its amazing how black that graphite gets, boat is really coming along nice. How did you get the detail stripe in your transom? I like it. The pretty much all epoxy phase preempts the pretty much of sanding phase,lol...it seems like there is no shortage of things to sand.
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