Bateau Flat Skiff 12 for first boat build?

http://www.bateau.com/proddetail.php?prod=FL12&cat=9#.UtDR8GRDt94

Thinking of this for my very first build. Anyone with experience can offer advice? Id ultimately like to build something bigger but want to start small. Its rowable, I think I could fish from it, I can put it in my truck perhaps or at least on an inexpensive trailer (I dont have a lot of money).

I am thinking about doing my own plywood cutting. Out of curriosity why is their plywood cut nearly 600 dollars? Will the materials really cost that much? Also I dont know if I should go with their epoxy kit or mix my own? Keep in mind I want ot learn what im doing, not just have a ready built boat.

Thanks in advance.

 

The FL 12 is a very easy taped seam build and a great first boat, if interested in taped seam construction. It will fit in the bed of a truck or could be tossed on a cheap Harbor Freight trailer.

The BOM requires two 1/4" and two 3/8" sheets of plywood. This will likely be Aquatek (BS6566 grade) and this stuff is pretty nice, but not the best. The plywood costs $196.30 and the CNC cut kit includes the stitch holes being predrilled, plus free shipping to any place in the continuous 48 states. Once you subtract the shipping and the plywood costs, they're not charging much to cut the kit out and drill all the holes (maybe $300 bucks).

This boat is so easy to build, you may want to save this and just cut it out yourself. The boat could be built for less then $400, which includes epoxy and tape, but not sheathing.

 

Quick weird question. Suppose someone were to fall out of a boat like that, when alone what is the best way to get back in without capsizing the boat. Is it stable enough to mount something like a transom or gunwhale ladder or would that just flip it ?

 

Well this happens occasionally, though most don't mention it. It's also one of those things you should consider practicing, on a nice day with warm water, as it does happen.

You can climb over the side, which is a rolling motion sort of thing. Yes, some water will get in the boat, as you climb in, but this is normal. You can also climb over the transom, especially if there's an outboard that you can climb up. A ladder is a bit of overkill on a boat this size, but one on the transom might be possible, say one of those fold down types of things.

 

I'm very much considering the FL12 as a learning experiance build myself. It looks dead easy to build, and it would fit my shallow draft requirements nicely, but the latent teenager in me keeps also looking at the 13' Fast Garvey too
Either way, it seems wise to build a skill set by building a small boat before I try a big one