one sheet boat design??

[syborg]

hi folks.
allow myself to introduce.........myself,lol

i live in the south east of uk and for the last few months ive been keeping my eye out for a small fishing type boat, i live near thetford river that is great fun and thought id get something big enough for me and the kids but small enough to sling on a roof rack,

anyway....enough prattle... ive found a site that shows you how to build small skiffs using just one sheet of plywood for the entire skin of the boat, "excuse my poor boating vocabulary".

obviously theres the stitch and glue method of joining the panels together using resing and fibreglass cloth.

but where can i buy such fibreglass materials.

will it be in the car restoration department or more towards the marine and boating range of materials.

and what kind of paint and sealant can i use.

many thanks for help in advance


syborg.

[marshmat]

Bolger's "Brick", by some chance?

Most cities of 100,000 or more have at least one industrial composites supply shop, that will sell suitable glass cloth, glass tape and epoxy. A lot of these guys have a small-order retail arm as well, that caters to the boat/car hobbyists.

Marine chandlers often sell the same cloth and epoxy, but usually at substantially inflated prices compared to an industrial composites supplier.

The resins and body fillers commonly found at auto body shops are usually polyester based, and often don't get along too well with the marine environment. The added cost for upgrading to epoxy on such a small boat will only be $40 or so, well worth it for an easier to use, less smelly, stronger, more durable and more reliable system.

There are also some online stores that may be cheaper, depending where you are (south east what?). Search the forum for "epoxy dealers", "epoxy sales", etc. and you'll find a few recent threads on this topic.

[Tiny Turnip]

Hannu's boatyard http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/index.htm is great for one sheet boats. Not sure that a one sheeter will be big enough for you and kids plural at the same time though.
try google or Yell. com for 'thetford fibre glass supplies'

[gonzo]

A one sheet boat has to be pretty small. Something using maybe two sheets including the seats would be safer. A sheet of 6mm ply is not too expensive.

[syborg]

cheers folks.

im in the south east of the uk.
since my post i have managed to source some cheaper epoxy resin and fibreglass tape on ebay.
i think the "one sheet" design is strictly for the skin of the boat. obviously any seating or extras will be made of more ply. the design im looking at has a 300lb capacity. im only 140lb and me kids are still below 10 yrs old so should be fine for a bit of fun on a small shallow river.. its about 3 ft deep tops.

cheers folks

syborg

[lewisboats]

http://www.epoxy-resins.co.uk/

Are you looking at Herb Mcleod's One Sheet Skiff per chance?

[syborg]

well mate,

its more of a barge design.

angular in shape with a nice neat scale template to work from.

the one thing i didnt like is the transomes are made of halves.
but i,ll have a play and see what i can do.

but i do belive i saw the one sheet skiff.

im gonna go for the simple version "barge" first to get to grips with stitch and resin before i start gettin fancy.lol

ive added some pics of a mockup i made using modeling card.

peace



syborg

[tkk]

I think this would be a lot easier to cut:


ans it produces a "real" boat:



http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/dinghy1/simboii.htm

[gonzo]

syborg: what you show is a punt. It has a high load capacity for its lenght. I would suggest you make the bottom a curve. It will avoid two joints and will make the panel more rigid. How far are you from London? You can build one of those in an afternoon.

[hoytedow]

tkk, what size oars for the little green rowboat?

[AnalogKid]

Have you checked out the One Sheet Wonders Yahoo group? There's a number of designs and building tips ranging from rough and ready with Gorilla glue and exterior ply to fully glassed marine ply hulls using epoxy resin.

Cheers,
Andy.

[tkk]

Originally Posted by hoytedow

tkk, what size oars for the little green rowboat?

On his website Hannu says 2 meters is good. That is 6' 7" I suppose.

[Tiny Turnip]

Hannu's rule of thumb for oar length is 'twice the beam at the oarlocks (rowlocks)'
His extraordinary 4' x4' halfpea he rows with 8' oars.

Also worth mentioning he uses temporary blocks and screws to hold the chines together while glass taping them, as quicker and easier than stitching.

[gonzo]

Standard work oars are 1.5 times the beam plus 6". Flat water oars are longer and rough water shorter. They grips should overlap at the center.

[syborg]

Originally Posted by gonzo

syborg: what you show is a punt. It has a high load capacity for its lenght. I would suggest you make the bottom a curve. It will avoid two joints and will make the panel more rigid. How far are you from London? You can build one of those in an afternoon.

hi gonzo, im about 30mins from newmarket.