Wooden Boat People

By McKenzieDriftBoat.com

heavy water decking

This is my first post as well as my first wooden boat, so please be gentle. Anyway I'm thinking about a 14' x4' drifter(stitch and glue) as a winter project. I've ordered a couple of books on the subject and so far from what I can tell there is a couple of subjects that aren't covered so well by the "classic" books. For starters I'm an East coast paddler who spends most of his time on skinny technical water in either a kayak ao a raft with the family. However lately multiday trips have come up on the radar and a second boat is needed for that(5 plus gear). Not that a wooden drift boat is going to be my gear hauling problem solver. But I figure my 16 year old with 3 or 400 pounds worth of gear would be ok and we would put the other 4 in the raft.And anyway I really just want to build one of those buggers. Back to the question, what I don't see plans for or a lot of people covering in books is completely decking a boat for whitewater use. I'm confident enough in my carpentry skills to get it done on my own but I'm also positive I will overbuild it and negate the small,light maneauverable boat idea. I also figure that decking the boat would alleviate some new oarsman problems. These boats have been built for quite some time now and I'm pretty sure better minds than mine have nailed this subject down by now. My other question is about the advantages/disadvantages of making it a self bailer and how to accomplish that feat. Keeping in mind that the boat has to have room for two passengers up front(occasionally), and it will be a whitewater boat and not a fishing boat. Any advice on these two subjects would be great and sorry for such a long post but beer does that to me sometimes.

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Permalink Reply by sean williamson on October 4, 2011 at 5:46pm

Pine creek sounds great, I've floated it on a raft with the kids and also in a kayak. It seems like something I ought to be able to accomplish even as a beginner in a drift boat. Maybe if were feeling froggy afterwards we can try our hand at the Loyalsock if by some strange magic it happens to be high enough to float. Worlds End s.p. has a very nice campround especially the cabins. More importantly though not only am I the beginner i'm also a boater first so the decision on which water to float should probably go to the fishermen since not all good whitewater has good fishing too.

I shouldn't worry about it though since I haven't even bought the ply yet Tomorrow I'll talk to the fine people at Rittenhouse lumber(right off 309 just outside Philly). They have always been the goto place for me when I have something very specific in mind. Speaking of ply what is everybody using? I was thinking 3/8 Okume for sides and decking and 1/2" for the bottom along with maybe 20oz. glass. With 6 or 8 oz glass everywhere else(stitch and glue)

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Permalink Reply by John Greenleaf on October 4, 2011 at 7:14pm

I used 1/4" for the sides and 5/8" for the bottom. 1/4 sides with glass (I also used a layer of kevlar - ~10 oz total) seem to be standard for a framed boat. 1/2-5/8 on the bottom is also pretty standard. I used about 20 oz on the bottom too (glass and kevlar). Not sure if the stitch and glue guys go much different from that - I wouldn't think so.

Loyalsock is another good one. Have fished camped and canoed it a ton- would be a fun trip at a higher spring level (normal to low would be a bit boney in the upper stretches). Pretty mellow also - unless you make a run at the haystacks.