Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

Baker 17x54 build

Well I'm building a 17 54 baker drift boat. So far I've got a pallet of expensive ply wood and one scarf cut

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Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on February 2, 2017 at 5:52am

So now I'm ready to prep for the bottom, but I do have a few questions that I couldnt find any answers to.

1)If you run a motor, can you have your anchor exit right around the middle of the transom?

A) If you cant do that because of clearance, has anyone run the anchor rope from an offset transom bracket, down to the base of the transom on one side, then through the frames at about 10 degrees off perpendicular? I'll try and get a drawing done of that.

2) Everyone seems to use 5200 to mount the bottom. Is there any reason to go with life caulk or maybe 4200?

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Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on February 2, 2017 at 5:57am

this is what I was thinking in terms of the anchor rope routing. Blue would be for an offset bracket, red would be the standard system

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Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on February 2, 2017 at 2:35pm

Hey Bennett,

If you are using a through the hull pulley then you can use a motor with it. You will just need to be mindful of the anchor if you use it with the motor down. 5200 is meant to be more of a permanent adhesive and it has a very generous open time. Boat is looking good! What ended up being the deal with the transom?

Mike

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Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on February 2, 2017 at 4:03pm

Thanks mike. So do most people just drill the hole for the rope dead center on the transom?
As far as refitting the transom, I got a third of the way down one side removed and gave up. I realized I was going to damage the side if I kept going. So I put it back together and the small gap on the left side in the pictures is maybe a 1/16 bigger. Just gooped a bunch of thickened epoxy in there. I'm glad I'm going the durabak route for the floor because it'll cover all my rookie mistakes. And what's funny is the chine logs pushed the recurve all the way up to where the side hits the transom, effectively hiding it once the bottoms on. Oh well, I'm headed to New Orleans now so next week is fair the bottom and mount the ply week. 5200 it is. I'll drink a sazerac or 10 for all you snowed in norwesters

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Permalink Reply by Mike Baker on February 2, 2017 at 4:11pm

Yep started snowing again last night, saying another foot possible. I don't mind the snow but I wish it would get above 20 deg. I am trying to refinish a boat. I go probably a little higher than center. It needs to be high enough to get the anchor out of the water but as low as possible to help with the sway issue when anchored.

Have fun in New Orleans!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Thomas on February 2, 2017 at 6:11pm

I`m planning on using a motor myself. If you have a anchor through the transom in the center, I`m thinking you would not be able to put a motor down and use it without taking the anchor off, which would be a huge hassle, for me anyway. You have more transom angle so it might clear, I set mine up for a motor with less angle, but still to raise the anchor out of the water has to be fairly high on the transom. This anchor is 30 lbs.

Your boat is really coming along and looking nice.

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Permalink Reply by David Witton on February 8, 2017 at 6:55am

My anchor rope is routed through the center of the transom, just high enough to get the anchor above the bottom of the hull. I had to solve some issues with mounting a motor that weren't involved with the anchor - you might check out my build notes for more detail.

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Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on February 8, 2017 at 4:55pm

thanks David, I'm thinking I'll just run the anchor dead center and if I need to put an offset anchor arm on later it'd be nothing to run an extra pulley to get the rope over to one side

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Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on February 8, 2017 at 4:54pm

got my bottom pretty well faired with this torture device

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Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on February 8, 2017 at 5:19pm

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Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on February 10, 2017 at 7:32pm

Installed my chines too low. I intentionally didnt cut the top bevel on the chine log. My thinking was this would allow more material to make up for a miscalculation. It worked great in some spots where the chine was set in a hair low, however I lined up the chine flush at the front which if I had the bevel cut would have been about 1/4inch too low. So now I'm laminating strips of white oak to build it up up front. Shouldn't be a big deal as the screws will penetrate the laminate into the original chine. Otherwise I would of had to fair down way too much material giving the boat a sharp rocker in the front 5 inches. Don't think the ply would make that bend.