Hello everyone, new guy here got a few questions

Well i have been thinking of building a small boat to fish the electric only lakes around here for awhile now. Only thing is i dont really want to deal with fiberglass tape and epoxy because of the cost. Dont really have much cash to spend on a boat lol. Thinking of something similar to this http://koti.kapsi.fi/hvartial/skiff/skiff.htm Really want to be able to build as cheap as possible any suggestions? Also keep in mind im a complete noob, never built a boat before

 

That will be a bit difficult to build a boat which is designed as a ply epoxy built, leaving the epoxy out!?

And you will hardly find much cheaper methods to become a "captain".

Do´nt get me wrong, I will not talk you out of your project. But when a gallon of Epoxy resin is already worth a decision, than a used boat might be the better (cheaper) solution. Quite often they are for free in that size.

Regards
Richard

 

Nevertheless instead of epoxy and fiberglass you need good glue, screws and framing and get eventually a heavier and more expensive boat..

 

The late Phil Bolger's "instant boats" series includes a few small, simple craft that don't require glass/epoxy. Plans are distributed by Harold Payson. You won't save a whole lot of money or time by going to an older (non-epoxy) method, though- there's more wood, more time spent shaping wood, screws, etc. and if you try to cheap out, the boat's lifespan is greatly reduced.

The cheap way to get into simple small craft, though, isn't to build for yourself- it is to hunt around the back corners of boatyards for beat-up old aluminum or fibreglass skiffs with ratty, year-old "For Sale" signs hanging on by the last threads of a piece of duct tape. Often they can be had for a song, needing paint and maybe some rivet tightening (not too hard if you bring a friend and a couple of sledgehammers). (There are, of course, plenty of bad ones too- but with 12' skiffs it's usually pretty easy to tell if it's falling apart or not.)

 

well if i did go with the epoxy how much would i be looking to spend to build that boat? or something similar

That boat would require me to use the fiberglass tape on all the seams/butt joints and just spread epoxy on all the wood right? How much epoxy would i need and how much of the tape?

 

You would really only need enough epoxy for the seams...the rest isn't necessary if you paint it well..except the better paints are almost as expensive as the epoxy. A truly simple boat is this. Take 1 1/2 sheets of 1/4" plywood, trim a 4" strip off of one end of the 1/2 sheet. Use this with some PL Premium glue and glue the two sections together with the strip as a butt block and weight down until cured. Cut an 11" strip off of the end with the short ply and set aside. Rip 2 10" strips along the length and cut a 30 deg angle on the long end (bow) and a 15 deg angle on the short end (transom). Cut a couple of 1" x 3/4" strips off of a 12' 1x to use as chine logs and glue and screw to the outside of the panels (opposite the butt block). Make sure that 1/4" of the chine log sticks out beyond the edge of the plywood. Glue and screw a couple of short pieces along the INSIDE of the transom edge. Take your pieces and rough fit them on the length remaining plywood. Mark where you will have to buzz down the butt block on the bottom. Tack the 11" piece to the back with nails so that the sides are angled outwards by 15 degrees. Bend the bow in and tack with a couple of nails or something and shape the hull curves to your liking. Use a couple of pieces of scrap to get things pushed into shape. Square it up by marking 1 ft back from the bow on each side and them measuring from the opposite corner of the transom to each mark. Grab a tape measure and figure out where you want the seat(s). Slip a piece of cardboard under the bow and mark the Vee of the bow so you can make a Stem piece. Put a bigger piece on top and trace the angle from underneath so you can make a breasthook. Do the same for the corners of the transom/side for knees. Disassemble things, glue and screw the transom on, make the stem piece and glue and screw it in place. It should have enough room for the breasthook to rest on top but inside the side panels and be angled to match the edge of the side panels on the bottom. Put your spreaders back in and tack into place, flip the hull and square it back up. You will notice that the chine logs are angled and you will need to plane them down (the reason for the extra 1/4") so that they are even when you lay a board across the two logs. Once you have those done you will need to put one on the transom also so you can attach the bottom panel. Once you have everything planed to fit, square up the hull again and lay the bottom panel on. Mark the shape and then remove and rough cut. Glue and screw on then plane or sand to fit. Glue and screw a 1x2 from bow to transom on the bottom, and one on each side from transom to about 6" from the chine midway between the side and the middle runner. Flip the boat, measure and make a frame of 1x with ply gussets to go 1/3 and 2/3 the distance forward from the transom. Glue and screw cleats in the sides for your seats and install the Breasthook and knees. Install a rub rail on the outside of the hull and an inner wale to stiffen up the edges. Screw on a pad for your trolling motor on the transom. Caulk all seams with Latex caulk then let things cure for a few days. Put a couple of coats of primer and a couple of coats of Rustoleum on it and chuck it in the water.

 

The amount of resin and glass is given with the plans.
You can calculate the weight of resin equal to the weight of glass fabric. So, one layer of glassfibre 250gsm (gram sq meter) will need 250 gram of resin to saturate. Or if the roll of fabric weighs 5 kg you need 5kg of resin (incl. hardener).
You need about 450 gsm resin to make the wood waterproof, applied in three layers. That MUST be covered by paint or UV protectant varnish. The epoxy otherwise will deteriorate under UV light.

Of course there are other ways to build a boat. In the end, they´ll cost you all about the same at that size. Assuming you want something to last.

Regards
Richard

 

Hi Seanmay1,

Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately there is no easy way to build a boat. It is a hell of a lot of work. Some of this work is unpleasant, because of the marials required. If you're looking for something cheap buy a video of boats. Boats are ex friggin spensive. Always have been and always will. Although cost is relavand for different people, it remains expensive.

I wish Jeff would make is a sticky that there is no easy to make cheap boat.

 

In the US a used canoe in good condition is about $150.00. That works great with a

 

So true Fanie!
You can



your wife, your boss, and your bank, but you can´t s...w nature. And it is natural that water likes to be on both sides of your hull skin. To prevent that, you have to pay.
Well, sometimes you even have to pay for s........ah leave it.

 

thanks for the responses guys and lewis that seems like a good idea. I think im going look for a good price on epoxy and fiberglass and just tape the seems and paint the rest. I know it wont last as long, it doesn't have to last forever if i can get a few years out of it i will be happy. Im sure after i build it if everything goes well it wont be long before im out there building a better one.

 

I've had Sean's idea for some time now.
Lewis has sent me a drawing of what I want to build. Much like Sean wants too.
I'm not going to Fiberglass any of it.
I want to use Tung oil to protect the wood.

My boat will be built of wood scavenged from the Hurricane blow downs except for the Plywood sides and bottom.

LEWIS, What is PL Premium glue?

I'm still looking for the right Glue to seal the seams that will be compatible with the Tung oiled wood.

 

It is a Urethane glue...similar to Gorilla glue but works better from all that I have heard...at about 1/3 the price. Comes in tubes and is normally in the construction adhesive section of the big box stores. It ISN'T any of the OTHER PL products of which there are many...it has to say premium on it. It is a moisture cure so dampening the surface of the wood helps it cure.

 

Your sure it will work if the wood is oily with Tung oil?

 

No it won't. you would have to glue it to unoiled wood...and I don't know how it would react afterwards...you would have to experiment.