making a punt boat

Hey, I've decided i'm going to make a punt boat for this summer. Nothing fancy, just a simple 10 ft maybe. I'd like to be able to row or put a small 15-25 hp motor on the back. I'm thinking of a deck on the front for a fishing, casting, netting platform. If anyone could help me out with deciding on materials, I'd greatly appreciate the help. I'm new at this which is why i'm not trying anything beyond simple.

 

My first choice would be plywood, cheap, quick, and relatively easy for a beginner, as long as you can live with a somewhat boxy look.

Yoke.

 

My original plan was to make the two sides. (rectangles with equally cut curves on the front ends) and a back and a front brace sorta deally to keep the sides and back together. After i get that put together, i'll flip it upside down and attatch *one at a time* the bottom boards -3/8" plywood two sheets- i'll press those on and make sure they stay on. After i get the frame, im not sure where im going.

I was thinking of making the dimensions as follows- 10 ft long 5 ft wide 3 ft tall.
for the deck i'd like to have it one foot lower than the lip of the sides to keep a sorta toeboard, so i don't slip off when pulling up a net or something. the deck is going to be the 5 ft wide and about 5 feet from the bow back. Underneath i will fill with foam, to keep my raft afloat if it happens to fall apart at sea.
If i can figure out how, i'd like to make a couple little storage compartments under the deck, cut into the foam.

i need help figuring out what to use to keep the boards together, what to use to seal it, how to paint it and any tips on making it easy ;-)

 

Here are some free plans from my site, just adjust the side panel height, bottom width etc to match your specs. Use a chine log or Stitch and glue and seal with a couple coats of primer and a couple of paint.

http://www.angelfire.com/ego/lewisboatworks/Plans/LilJonboats.doc

Steve Lewis

 

thank you, that helped me out a bunch

 

Sounds like a fun project!

I'd watch out with your HP desires. Heavy motor and punts aren't meant to plane. Might want to consided 5hp maximum.