The New Guy !

Ok folks nice to be here hope you can help out a little on this......here goes:

I wanna build a craft that will allow me to do this:

Row
Stand to Fish
Sleep aboard
Bring other folks with me
Take entended rowing expeditions (1-2 weeks)<----I do these solo!
Handle a 2 1/2+ foot chop on a large open lake
Real shallow draft for skinny water fishing
Plywood build real simple design

I was thinking a mixed breed kinda a wherry, a duck boat, a mac style drift boat, a sharpie, a pirouge, and an adirondack guide sorta kinda all in one ? With a bit of perhaps carolina dory too? My real perplexing problem is the capacity to draft issue.....there is some mighty skinny water around here! And, I would love to be able to take my wife and two kids on some day trips. On my last expedition I passed thru some very shallow class1-2 riffles and the Tennesse River and Lake Guntersville etc,,,,, What are you people's thoughts? Canoes have worked for me but I kinda want a larger feeling more comfortable boat that is a stable fishing platform and.....room to sleep on board...and I just gotta ROW! HELP!?!?!?!

I also still want it to be a "small" boat errrrr sorta kinda well I think you get my drift !

Don't want much do I ?


Thanks in advance for you insight and input !
Dave

 

You may very well be asking for to much. How big are the kids? A couple 20-35 pounders would be much easier to accomadate that 100+ pounders.

A boat that could be rowed effectively by one man and sleep four, even with two small ones, is pushing it. Considering a 5.5hp outboard for adverse conditions, while still being set-up to row in favourable ones, is an option. You could kick up the motor, or remove it to a secure location more amidships, when not needed or wanted.

Most of what you specify could be obtained in a boat for one man. The 2.5 feet plus chop could beat you up though. If the wave period is short, you would probably only be able to go directly into, or run with, the waves. You could be quickly overcome if they were on your beam. Forget about rowing into this, as the combo of waves, and the attendent wind that generated them would soon tax your strength.

I've been looking for a boat design by Phil Bolger- the "Owlet". You might find it interesting. The design meets alot of your needs. Originally years ago I saw it in Wooden Boat Magazine. Take care.

TGoz

 

I agree, this is a big ask for one boat. It seems to me that the only thing that comes close to meeting all your requirements is one of the specialist built ocean crossing rowboats such as:
http://www.fedor2002.ru/cgi-bin/cm/get_doc.fpl?s_id=1447&lang_id=2

 

Wait a second

I am sorry I was not very clear there. I only need to sleep 1. When and if I do day trip with the family it would only be in smaller protected waters. My best guess would be all of us for a day trip would be a payload of about 700-800 lbs. Most of the time it will just be me, and some stuff or lets guess a payload of 250+ plus pounds. Does that help? Myself and a weeks provisions gear etc all fit into a 17' aluminum canoe pretty easily, and I can carry myself and the two kids very easily in that thing too. Sorry for the mis-understanding.

The ocean boat is way cool though !


Thanks

Dave

 

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/riverrunner/index.htm

Something like this seems to fit most if not all of your specs. The problem with skinny water and rowing is that in a decent sized boat, you want some rocker to get the ends of the boat out of the water, while adding rocker increases the draft of the boat, so you have to come up with a happy medium between draft and ease of rowing and wetted surface and stability and room and weight and ease of build and and and....

I can also see if I could come up with something similar but taylored to as many of your specs as possible.

Steve

 

Oh, and for sleeping purposes, you will need to have a removeable rowing thwart, so you will have enough room in the middle of the boat to stretch out.

I started playing with the idea and have what might be a workable hull shape...sort of a rowing punt/jonboat shape of about 15.5 ft (so it can come out of ply with the minimum of seams) long and 4.5 ft beam, 3.75 ft wide on the bottom. I can get 450 lbs capacity out of 3.5" draft, but to get 800 lbs I would need to go to 5" of draft. A compromise would be to have the transom hit the water at about 650 lbs capacity, and anything over would simply slow you down a bit and be a bit more exercise as the transom drags.


Steve

 

What about this design ?

I just found this, what do think about it , and what would its capacity be?
www.duckworksbbs.com/plans/jim/rb42/index.htm

 

You will have to settle for less stability in order to acheive the other requirements. In order to stand with any sort of reasurance it takes a wide bottom hull (or sponsins).
Plywood is heavy by the time it gets peotected. I think a carbon fiber/foam core vacume cast hull is definately needed to get all your list filled. Also consider a snap on cover with a draw string waist (kayack style) for those choppy conditions. Saves on white knuckle bailing when you REALLy need to be rowing for your life.

 

I no longer have the link but there is a fellow in central California that has a CD on vacume bagged foam core catamaran hulls. He even gives workshops. Google around with homemade catamaran sites & you'll find him. I think the process could be adapted to the type of boat you need.

 

Yes...the RB42 isn't a boat to stand up in with any kind of security at all. It will sure row nice tho, but the bottom is only about 25" across at the widest and it tapers quickly away. It would not meet the "stand up to fish" criteria.

Steve