Wooden Boat People
By McKenzieDriftBoat.com
Guy's Wooden Drift Boat Project
Hello Everyone,
My name is Guy and this is my first post in this forum. I am here because I want to build a wooden drift boat and, undoubtedly, I will occasionally need advice of the pool of experts and experienced drift boat builders on this forum.
In preparation for this project I have read and studied three books: Drift Boats and River Dories by R. L. Fletcher, Boatbuilding with Plywood by G. L. Witt, and Covering Wooden Boats with Fiberglass by A. H. Vaitses. I have also developed my own set of construction plans based off of the "Original McKenzie Double-Ender with Transom" in Fletcher's book. I used and MS Excel spreadsheet to calculate all of the dimensions, cut angles, compound angles, and bevel angles of all frame components and I used Pilot3D software to calculate the as-cut dimensions of the plywood sides and bottom. At this point I am pretty comfortable with the mechanics of construction and I think that I am just about ready to start purchasing lumber.
Presently, I plan to use Meranti Hydro-Tek plywood; 1/4-in. on the sides and 1/2-in. on the bottom. I found plenty of places to purchase these materials, but they are all far away from Idaho Falls, Idaho, and as a result shipping costs more than the materials. Are any of you aware of a business within a few hundred miles of Idaho Falls that sells this plywood? I have a few requests in to the local lumber companies, but I have yet to talk with someone who has heard of this material before.
I also plan to use Port Orford Cedar (CVG) for the straight frame sections and White Oak (quater sawn) for the bent frame sections (chine logs and sheer rails).
Thank you, Guy
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Dave Barnes on
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See? now you're building a really short boat.
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Permalink Reply by Rick Newman on
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It's all that will fit in my garage!
Rick N
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Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on
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Very nice Rick! I think the only significant difference is that all of my frames share a common angle between the bottom and the sides. It looks like your frames have some slight variation in that angle. And I just noticed that you pointed the bottoms toward the center and I pointed the sides toward the center. I think that's six to one and half-a-dozen to the other.
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Here is a simple and handy layout gauge for marking the chine log lotches in the frames. The two small beveled pieces have the exact same (cross sectional) dimensions as the actual chine logs, which, in my design, are beveled on the top and bottom. The back-cut is there to accommodate the steepest bevel on your side frames.
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Minor setback today. The plywood arrived. I ordered 4 sheets of 4 ft by 10 ft, 1/4 in. I received 4 sheets of 4 ft by 8 ft, 1/4 in. I did not check the final quotation carefully, so the blame is on me. So I order two more sheets of of the 4 ft by 8 ft and I'll need to make two more scarf joints than I had planned. Now lets move on...
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Permalink Reply by Greg Jensen on
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Guy -
Are you using 1/4 for the bottom??
Greg
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And the scarph's are easy, I let them freak me out for a while,
but really, they are no big deal. Just takes about a week to let them cure.
I have a jig I made for my scarphs, (12:1) that worked out very well you are welcome to borrow
when you are ready, and great job on your jigs by the way.
We really need to get together soon, we will be working on our interiors
at about the same time. It would be nice to bounce some idea's off your scientific mind.
Sorry about Saturday, my daughter made a suprise visit home from college
late Friday night and I got distracted. Although she did help me epoxy a few
small pieces I am working on.
Greg
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Greg, I am using 1/2 in. (12 mm) on the bottom and 1/4 in. (6 mm) on the sides. I wanted the 4x10 1/4 in. so that I only had to scarf once, but no big deal. I made a 10:1 scarf jig for a router. Do you think that 10:1 is good enough or should I go with the 12:1? And thanks for the offer. Just give me a call any evening or weekend. I'll be working on this for some time to come. Guy
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Guy -
10:1 should be fine. A lot of people use 8:1 and have great results. I just used the 12:1 because of the increased surface area and that is what the Navy used and I think I read it in Fletchers book. Also,, for me the math worked out easier when making my jig. 24" = 2" in height. Anyway, thats what worked for me.
As an update, I started cutting out my bottom tonight, and will finish it tomarrow, should be fiberglassing the inside this weekend. And being I am a neophyte when it comes to building, I am really excited.
If you would like to melt some brain cells, come on over.... The resin I am using is truely HORRIBLE... hahaha hehehe.. I will literally be putting up a visqueen barrier around my garage to try and stop the fumes from getting in the house again... Last time was a 3 day headache....
Give me a call 220-7996, my email address that you have got corrupted and I cannot access it any more.
Greg
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Greg, I'll give you a call this week. Maybe tomorrow. Guy
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I used the West system epoxy resin and hardeners and I don't remember it being too bad at all.... I used the West system epoxy resin and hardeners and I don't remember it being too bad at all.... I used the West - zrriippp - Temperature is everything.
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West and the System III don't have bad smells. However Greg is using Polyester Resin an entirely different chemical based product.
Rick Newman
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