A boat for my son and I

[Laeelin]

I'm planning on buying/making a boat to go fishing with my son in.

I want a boat that...

1) Is light and small enough for one person to move into the water (150ish max weight)

2) Is able to hold 2 people (600lbs max with everything)

3) Cheap!

4) It will not be staying in the water. (8-10 hours in the water at a time max, on land otherwise)

5) Only needs to last a couple years.

6) Will be powered with a trolling motor (my current boat takes at least $50 per trip just in gas)

Currently I’m thinking of making a pontoon boat using plywood and fill the pontoons with foam so that even if I have a leak there is no problem.

Something like:

http://www.jemwatercraft.com/pontoon.php


My first questing is.. Do I need marine plywood, or can I just use normal plywood (HUGE price difference, and not expected to last forever anyway).

Any thoughts or suggestions to help me out?

Thanks
David

[lewisboats]

Sure you can use exterior grade ply (usually A/C) just pick through the pile to find the ones with the least # of visible voids in the inner plys. Check here: http://angelfire.com/ego/lewisboatworks to see some other boats that might interest you too (most of the plans are free).

Steve

[Laeelin]

Useful site, thanks (the images/descriptions are going to be very useful!)

A thought hit me last night...

If I make a few changes to the pontoon design I should be able to change make the platform and pontoons detachable.

This would let me make the 12' x 6' pontoon boat with 3 pieces (2 pontoons and the deck) that each weighs about 50lbs for easy moving and storage...

Thoughts?

Thanks
David

[lewisboats]

That sounds about right, but make sure your mounting points are strong enough to handle the pontoons twisting in quartering wavelets (wakes, wind waves etc)
Steve

[marshmat]

It's a good idea, for sure, having a modular boat for this. Strong mounts are very important if you do that. AC exterior ply works just fine for boats. Even better if you fibreglass over it (not hard to do at all). Do not use AB grade. AC has a good surface, a bad surface, and a good core; AB is similar but puts the bad layer in the middle where the voids in it can cause problems. In AC you can see all the flaws and patch them. Built of AC with anti-rot or paint it will last 5 yrs or more; fibreglass or resin-treat it and you'll get 10, 15 years easily if you dont' abuse it.

Love the electric trolling motor. Far better than gas for what you want. Just keep a few spare deep-cycle batteries on board in case it dies. Happy boating!

[Arrowmarine]

Check Out this little jewel. Weighs about 70 lbs. Pic is of an 8 footer but I am currently offering a 9 foot model with seats fore and aft. I have one all rigged and ready so when I get a "Hell with it, Lets Fish!" attitude I just back up, hook on and head out. My Son and I love ours. Equally at home in pond, lake or even white water rivers. One person can load it into a pickup, or get yourself a small flatbed trailer. I'm thinking about offering these in a "You Weld It" kit form in the near future.