Poor Guy Drift Boat

I'm not rich...

 

I have the plans to begin construction on my drift boat. I read here where a few boats were built for around $600... that's what I need to do.

 

It will cost me another $300 to build a simple trailer. I have a welder and a good used axle-wheels setup, so I am ahead of the expensive game on a trailer.

 

Any cost cutting ideas will be greatly appreciated... (like oil the interior & paint the outside).

 

Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Riverman on November 9, 2010 at 11:16am
Maybe you're on to something there Kelly... a disposable boat business.
Permalink Reply by Kelly Neu on November 9, 2010 at 11:44am
The American dream...
McDriftboat.
Permalink Reply by Bryan Bowers on November 9, 2010 at 4:58pm
There is no way to build a showboat for $600, but you can build a good driftboat. AC plywood will work and exterior luan plywood is actually sugested by Spira International for those "The Canadian" plans you purchased. I have many miles on my AC plywood driftboat and have taken it down many of the rivers you are considering. Plenty of complements and I catch more fish from it then I ever did fishing from a canoe. I would'nt run class IV rapids in it, but wouldn't do that no matter the material. I have taken some nasty hits broadside and it remained solid and no visable damage resulted. Don't overthink it, just go to home depot and get what you need to get started. Joe Spira talks a lot about the benefits of marine epoxy and construction grade materials. Take some time and read his articles and how to books he has on his web-site. He is an experienced and degreed boat designer and knows what he is talking about. I'll be towing my drriftboat to NC a couple of times in the following months. I'll send you a message before hand and if you can come check it out - the proof is in the pudding. I'm not sure of the exact number, but I think I ended up with around 900 in it, and originally I thought it would be around 600. I would not change any materials if I were to build it again and feel completely comfident in the boat - it has proven itself.
Permalink Reply by mark hilbert on November 10, 2010 at 5:53am
Riverman, If you wanna keep costs down remember to drink cheap beer while building it, the savings over month's can help you afford some better materials. 2 beers/day x 28 days building= 56. 2-30 packs of PBR = $40 10 six packs Fat Tire/90 Shilling = $80. $40/month savings, if your gonna go cheap you gotta go cheap all around.

I built a Rapid Robert last spring over the course of a month. The sides were 1/4" luan mahogany and the bottom was 3/8" ac ply. Splines were #2 pine and I fiberglassed it and coated it with polyester resin, two coats of marine paint and some varnish/turp/oil on the inside and she floated all summer. I keep a total of my costs and ended up spending $850 on it. $200 was fiberglass/resin, $100 marine paint and boat soup, $100 on oak for oarlocks and front knee brace, $50 on hardware, $100 or so on waterproof epoxy's for seams and such and probably less than $350 on wood.

The only question left is how long will she last? Gonna put her away in a friend's barn for the winter she how she does next year. I'm starting to think about doing a 14' double-ender this winter and may try the McDriftboat method and not glass it and try to get the cost down to under $500, I think it can be done. I still think I'm one more boat away from building my masterpiece and winter's are long in the mountains so it's time to decide what I'm gonns build in the basement before the wife has me building cabinets.
Permalink Reply by Kelly Neu on November 10, 2010 at 4:02pm
Or brew your own! I take back my earlier post that hardware was the highest costing items... It might be beer. Good call Mark.
Permalink Reply by Dave Z on November 10, 2010 at 6:26am
You can build a nice servicable boat that will last a long time if you search out deals. Ukulady mentioned that hardware was the most expensive- I agree. If you use quality fasteners- Si bronze, screws, nails, etc, you will spend alot of cash in a very little box! I still use them, despite the expense.

Near me, I get Meranti for $26 a sheet in 6mm, and $54 sheet for 12mm, $56 per sheet for AB fir 1/2". wood is about 1/3 or less the cost of the entire project.

Don't forget about consumables. chip brushes, paint rollers, sa wblades, etc... That stuff adds up in the overall cost of building a boat.

The other thing you could do is build two. haha. Find someone in the same boat (pun very much intended) that also wants a boat. do the work and have them fornt the cash for materials. I am currently at the tail end of the design of my own drift pram, and will be building two in 2011. One for me and one for a buddy.

Paint. Either Paint with exterior latex or oil it. Will do just fine on a working mans boat. To me, the beauty is in the joinery work anyway- wood looks nice, but tight fitting joints and smooth cuts is all the important aesthetic detail to me.

Bottom. Plywood skid shoe all the way. Search out old posts. I've talked at length about this.

Find a sawmill. about 45 minutes drive froom me is a sawmill that makes hardwood flooring material. HUGE selection of wood varieties. They ar eable to consistently sell me 20' sections of flat sawn white oak S4S at a great price. Damn near wholesale.

finally, go to my blog. www.thtchronicles.blogspot.com

My last build is on there for May 2009 posts. I believe I put my total time and cost in there somewhere. I believe it was like $1600 and I didn't skimp on materials and put a fancy varnish finish on her.
Permalink Reply by Kelly Neu on November 10, 2010 at 3:56pm
I second the notion of building two. Wish I would have done that. It would take nearly the same time to build two as it does one...Just need the extra space.

DaveZ's blog is pretty sweet www.thtchronicles.blogspot.com
Check out mine too for materials and processes: www.kellyneu.blogspot.com
Permalink Reply by Dave Z on November 10, 2010 at 6:00pm
I'll only build two boats at a time now.. haha. Park the $25k trucks outside, and keep the $2k boats inside. makes sense, huh?

Thanks Kelly. Your blog is sweet. I just stopped by for a visit. I am envious of the GC trip. All we have here are a bunch of big dumb, lazy trout in our rivers. boo hoo.

BTW, I'm gonna send you a link of my kids and I playing uke-fiddle-flute. Have you built any ukes yet? I've built several.
Permalink Reply by Kelly Neu on November 10, 2010 at 9:18pm
Only in my dreams. I have a cheap Kala tenor. I have a tendency to destroy nice things...

Ukes and Dories are a match made in heaven.

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