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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Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on June 27, 2012 at 7:33pm

I finished attaching the chine logs.  I bed them with Sikaflex-291 as suggested here (I was warned here not to use 3M 5200 for this application).  Next I'll trim the ends of the chine logs, sand the bottom edges, and then apply additional coats of epoxy to the bottom.

I've decided that the final coats of epoxy on the bottom will overlap the bottom edges of the chine logs.  I will lay down a few coats of clear epoxy, followed by a few coats of epoxy mixed with graphite powder.

Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on June 28, 2012 at 4:42am

Make that "chine caps" and not "chine logs" in the above post.  But I'm sure that you knew what I meant.

Permalink Reply by Lee E Washburn on June 28, 2012 at 1:00pm

YOU did the wright thing 5200  has plaged  mefor years boat builders love it BUT it takes heat to get it to a point that you can get the parts off.metal to wood OK wood to wood you would have to cut it off/ be sides every time i use it. it goes where i dont want it. some how or other. you most likey know what i mean. enjoying watching your work. Hope we meet up on a river some time. lee

Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on June 29, 2012 at 10:55pm

Lee, I do know what you mean.  That 3M 5200 wants to jump out of the tube and get on just about everything.  And it's hard to get off of what ever it gets on.  My calking gun is covered with it.  It's pretty tenacious stuff alright.  Guy

Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on June 29, 2012 at 10:49pm

Tonight I applied the final coatings of epoxy to the bottom.

This picture shows the bottom rough sanded with 60-grit after applying the fiberglass and installing the chine caps.

This picture shows the bottom after a couple of coats of clear epoxy.

This picture shows the bottom after a couple of coats of epoxy with graphite powder in the mix.  For each batch, I mixed about 350 g of 105 resin, 70 g of 206 hardener, and 3 heaping tablespoons of graphite powder.  The graphite powder does thicken the epoxy.  And you need to roll the foam roller deep into the epoxy, to stir it up, to keep the graphite powder from settling to the bottom of the pan.

Permalink Reply by Lee E Washburn on June 30, 2012 at 8:29am

Is that a piece of Iron bark on the pointie end. its starting to look fast. do you use blue fine line tape. do i detect some bleed through???? just giveing you a hard time GREAT WORK   lee

Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on June 30, 2012 at 10:10am

Thanks Lee.  That little cap is just a piece of the same 1/2-in. plywood used for the bottom.  I wanted something to cap the ends of the chine logs.  It's anchored with the Sikaflex bedding and three wood screws into the stem post. 

I still have to install the boweye, but I may wait until I get the boat on the trailer first to better find the right position.  I bought a galvanized-steel trailer from Hyde Drift Boats here in Idaho Falls.  Good people over there; Matt Hyde has taken the time to given me some good advice on this project.

Guy

Permalink Reply by Phillip Westendorf on June 30, 2012 at 6:26pm

Guy,

She looks cool, is there any more coats of epoxy with the Graphite in it?  Just curious.   Also are there any plans to add a Stem Cap in front?

Keep up the good work.

phil w.

Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on June 30, 2012 at 8:26pm

Thanks Phil, This morning I rough sanded the bottom and applied another thick coat of epoxy with graphite, making that the thrid coat with graphite.  That's all I have planned for the graphite; but it does make a great looking finish.  I am not planning on installing a stem cap, that's what the extra layer of 22-oz. fiberglass was for.  Tomorrow I may roll the boat over.  Guy

Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on July 1, 2012 at 12:21pm

With the help of my friend, Tom, we got her rolled over...

There's still a long way to go on this project.

Permalink Reply by Lee E Washburn on July 1, 2012 at 10:01pm

 sweet it is. KNOW the work starts.

Permalink Reply by Guy Fredrickson on July 4, 2012 at 10:03am

I can see that now.  This feels like the halfway point.

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