17-foot McKenzie drift boat

I'm deep into building my McKenzie drift boat using the Don Hill 17' Flyfisher plans from driftboatplans.com. The previously documented builds here have been a tremendous help, answering many of my initial questions. I'll certainly have many more questions as I progress, and hopefully the community can continue to guide me in the right direction.

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Permalink Reply by Art Page on November 4, 2025 at 4:49pm

Walnut was laminated to the square tops to add a little more counter-balance...

And routed in a couple of inlays to help position the blades vertical when you first grab them, i.e., as long as the inlays are on top the blades are vertical.

Permalink Reply by Art Page on November 4, 2025 at 4:51pm

And after a few coats of varnish, the oars are done....

Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on November 5, 2025 at 8:34pm

Those oars look great! 

Permalink Reply by Art Page on November 5, 2025 at 9:47pm

Thanks.  Keep in mind I have zero rowing experience...I just hope they perform well.  Reading up on oars made me realize oar design is a science all its own!

Permalink Reply by Art Page on November 9, 2025 at 11:45am

I haven't been able to work much on the boat, but I was able to complete the anchor arm and apply 3 coats of varnish....

Permalink Reply by Bennett Yarbrough on November 10, 2025 at 10:49am

Just a heads up make sure you’re not ever going to run a motor before you mount your anchor bracket. I regret not offsetting mine for motor clearance

Permalink Reply by Art Page on November 10, 2025 at 7:39pm

Hmmm, now you got me thinking I should just offset it when I first mount it....will have to verify the transom is wide enough.  I don't plan to run a motor initially, maybe in a couple years.  It'll be easy to remove if I need to, just 4 bolts.  Thanks for the heads-up, I'll have to think about it.

Permalink Reply by Art Page 20 hours ago

It's been awhile since the last post.  Turns out I developed tennis elbow in my dominate arm so I've been babying it and not working much on the boat.  My kid came over and we did manage to complete the final assembly of the hull (sides, frames, transom, bow). 

Next step was to steam the 15ft chine logs without affecting the scarf joint in the middle.  I ended up using gutter down spouts with a tea kettle at one end and a camp stove at the other.  After insulating the downspouts with towels, steam started to exit the middle about 15 minutes after the water came to boil.  Surprisingly it worked out quite well!  Photos show the chine logs clamped to the outside of the hull for forming.  After a couple of days of drying I'll cut and install into the chine notches.

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