Glad she passed her sea trials
now christen her witn an aluminum can
and get her slimed as soon as possible
LOAFER
now christen her witn an aluminum can
and get her slimed as soon as possible
LOAFER
17 lb pirogue.......maybe
- Thread starter jdupre'
- Start date
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There ya go Fella. I'm betting you can do it. Might have ta get a little nine year old girl to paddle it though.jdupre' said:Bob, 10 lbs. ........no way. Uuuuuhhh........hhmmmmmmmm..........wait.......if I make it a little shorter.......use smaller rail stock .....thinner plywood.......................... maybe....just maybe. :mrgreen:
Bob
John, this stuff I used is kind of like heavy aluminum foil. I cut it easily with regular sewing scissors. But 10 lbs for , say a delicately built 11 ft long x 19" wide model might be possible.
Joey
Joey
I think you could shave 25% off the framing, the aluminum is adding alot of the stiffness.jdupre' said:Bob, 10 lbs. ........no way. Uuuuuhhh........hhmmmmmmmm..........wait.......if I make it a little shorter.......use smaller rail stock .....thinner plywood.......................... maybe....just maybe. :mrgreen:
Well, I gave the shiny one a real shakedown fishing trip this morning on Lake Verret and here's what I found.
1. A breeze to load and unload.
2. 13 ' 8" is just about the perfect balance between speed, manuverability and payload for the way I fish.
3. 13' 8" is also about the longest boat I can comfortably carry in the bed of my compact pickup without the bed extender, which is a welcome advantage.
4. Very stable with the extra flair and 22" bottom.
Now for the not-so-good stuff
1. If you panic every time your flashy new boat gets a minor scrape or scratch, thin aluminum sides are NOT for you. Just handling the aluminum to build the boat, two 5 minute trips in the bayou and one 4 hour fishing trip and the boat looks like it's been used pretty hard for a couple of years. A bump of the paddle makes a divot. Sliding alongside a small limb crinkles the aluminum. A 2 lb fish flopping around will leave permanent marks.
2. A bit noisy. Not as much as an all aluminum boat, but a bit more so than a glass covered ply hull.
3. The ugly caulk sealing job below the waterline drove me crazy with all the gurgling. I know it cost me several tenths of a mph.
More when I think of them.
Joey
1. A breeze to load and unload.
2. 13 ' 8" is just about the perfect balance between speed, manuverability and payload for the way I fish.
3. 13' 8" is also about the longest boat I can comfortably carry in the bed of my compact pickup without the bed extender, which is a welcome advantage.
4. Very stable with the extra flair and 22" bottom.
Now for the not-so-good stuff
1. If you panic every time your flashy new boat gets a minor scrape or scratch, thin aluminum sides are NOT for you. Just handling the aluminum to build the boat, two 5 minute trips in the bayou and one 4 hour fishing trip and the boat looks like it's been used pretty hard for a couple of years. A bump of the paddle makes a divot. Sliding alongside a small limb crinkles the aluminum. A 2 lb fish flopping around will leave permanent marks.
2. A bit noisy. Not as much as an all aluminum boat, but a bit more so than a glass covered ply hull.
3. The ugly caulk sealing job below the waterline drove me crazy with all the gurgling. I know it cost me several tenths of a mph.
More when I think of them.
Joey
Not so good news. I noticed a couple of dark spots in the bottom ply when washing down the boat. In the sun, you can just make out that the dark spots are standing a little proud of the surface. Looks like water getting between the layers. One of the marks is a squiggly line......like the glue was drizzled on in as S pattern with incomplete coverage. Nothing to do but use the heck out of the boat while I can. Hey, it was an experiment. I've spent more and got less in my life.
Joey
Joey
Forget E Bay. Use Craig's List so they can come and get it saving you having to ship it.Kayak Jack said:eBay may have a new customer?
Bob
Probably no need for any of that. I live on Hwy 1.... the longest mainstreet in the world. Just about solid houses on both sides for 90 miles. I've sold all kinds of stuff in my front yard. My old red plastic canoe sat for 1 hour ......sold. My pirogue that I built when I first got on this forum sat for 55 minutes ..,...sold. Aluminum boat, motor and trailer...... took 2 whole hours to sell that one.
Joey
Joey
Joey......
About 50 years ago I made a kayak from a kit ( if you want to call it that ). :lol:
The kayak was more like a duck boat since it had a bow and stern on it that was more like a shovel then the standard bow and stern configuration. It was narrow like a kayak and the bottom was flat and also out of the glass sheets.
The thing was a frame with fiberglass sheeting to cover it. The glass was about 1/8th of an inch thick and attached to the frame with small brads. Then the seams were glass taped to seal them.
Paddling it was a new experience for me since the sides would move if something brushed against them and the bottom would flex with each stroke of the paddle. The boat was 17 feet and really light weight , it would float over heavy dew and was fun to paddle.
I got to paddle it one time down the Econ and when I reached the take out there was a guy there and he had to look it over. He offered me a deal on it I could not refuse so I accepted it. He wanted it for duck hunting and I guess what made him like it was the light weight and the camouflage paint job I had on it with the Herters Duck boat paint. Being a kid that money looked better then the boat did at that time. :wink:
Plus that money let me get a used canoe which I used for a long time.
Chuck...........
About 50 years ago I made a kayak from a kit ( if you want to call it that ). :lol:
The kayak was more like a duck boat since it had a bow and stern on it that was more like a shovel then the standard bow and stern configuration. It was narrow like a kayak and the bottom was flat and also out of the glass sheets.
The thing was a frame with fiberglass sheeting to cover it. The glass was about 1/8th of an inch thick and attached to the frame with small brads. Then the seams were glass taped to seal them.
Paddling it was a new experience for me since the sides would move if something brushed against them and the bottom would flex with each stroke of the paddle. The boat was 17 feet and really light weight , it would float over heavy dew and was fun to paddle.
I got to paddle it one time down the Econ and when I reached the take out there was a guy there and he had to look it over. He offered me a deal on it I could not refuse so I accepted it. He wanted it for duck hunting and I guess what made him like it was the light weight and the camouflage paint job I had on it with the Herters Duck boat paint. Being a kid that money looked better then the boat did at that time. :wink:
Plus that money let me get a used canoe which I used for a long time.
Chuck...........
Chuck, your story puts me in mind of something I read maybe 15-20 years ago. Canoe and Kayak magazine had been running a series about "What Is The Best Canoe?" They had expected descriptions to settle down around a design, length, width, material, etc. All things that could be quantified and measured. Didn't turn out that way at all.
All stores talked of emotional feelings about a canoe. Stories told of bent up canoes, salvaged and used on honeymoon trips. Canoes at some uncle's cottage, where kids played pirates, swam, dove, fished, etc. with the canoe. A brand new boat taken on a long expedition with a high school buddy.
The love of our canoes comes from - and leads back to - our hearts, not our brains. We remember and think of series of sensations, feelings, sights, smells, sounds, etc. Reminds me of gals looking at dresses worn for weddings or proms.
Most of a man may come from Mars, but not all of him.
All stores talked of emotional feelings about a canoe. Stories told of bent up canoes, salvaged and used on honeymoon trips. Canoes at some uncle's cottage, where kids played pirates, swam, dove, fished, etc. with the canoe. A brand new boat taken on a long expedition with a high school buddy.
The love of our canoes comes from - and leads back to - our hearts, not our brains. We remember and think of series of sensations, feelings, sights, smells, sounds, etc. Reminds me of gals looking at dresses worn for weddings or proms.
Most of a man may come from Mars, but not all of him.
I added a much needed thwart behind the seat location......just a piece of heavy pine 1x2 about 30" long. Final weight of the boat with the thwart and 16' of bow line------ 23lbs. For a meticulous fellow like the NASA engineer that designed the boat, I'm sure it would do nicely as a fishing platform. For the slightly (?) rough and tumble type of use I give a boat.....not so much.
The length, shape, flair and width of the boat is just about perfect for my type of fishing and maybe camping too. The aluminum is probably not the best material for my needs. Alas, the Revolutionply that I had such high hopes for did not pass muster.
All in all, a possitive experience. I scratched an urge and built a unique design, made a little sawdust, discovered an really nice design that will make a nice pirogue in different materials and even took one for the team by experimenting with a different type of plywood. Yep, I really enjoyed the experience. I'll just keep using her like she is and see what happens.
Joey
The length, shape, flair and width of the boat is just about perfect for my type of fishing and maybe camping too. The aluminum is probably not the best material for my needs. Alas, the Revolutionply that I had such high hopes for did not pass muster.
All in all, a possitive experience. I scratched an urge and built a unique design, made a little sawdust, discovered an really nice design that will make a nice pirogue in different materials and even took one for the team by experimenting with a different type of plywood. Yep, I really enjoyed the experience. I'll just keep using her like she is and see what happens.
Joey
Good stuff Joey, I'm sure that I'm not the only one that enjoyed your experiment. I know most of us have had sillier ideas than that.
Cheers John.
Cheers John.
Well, John, I didn't think it was a silly idea at all. It IS a geniune, floating, paddling, fishing platform, albeit somewhat delicate. I went rogue and substituted two major components--- the bare aluminum flashing for the coated trm coil , and the undocumented Revolutionply for luan.....strictly my error. Built as designed, I have no doubt it would have been a fine craft......maybe too delicate for my use, but entirely serviceable for more meticulous types.
Joey
Joey
Joey, What was wrong with the revolution ply? It sounds like the boat wanted to oil can a bit? I figured Herb was taking advantage of the tensile strength of the aluminum, which should be much higher than the requirements of the design. I wonder if the flashing is only being held by the brads and let go where it was epoxied?
jpsaxnc, I think the problem with the Revolutionply was probably insufficient coverage on the edge grain of the bottom, or a small nick in the epoxy that let water in. The rest of the panel as well as the piece I have sitting in water for 3 weeks in fairing pretty well. It's pretty obvious that the water seeped between the plys where there were gaps in the glue coverage. You can see a squiggly dark line that I took to be glue haphazzardly drizzled in an S pattern. The 22" bottom with no glass or ribs, does give a bit but does not oil can. This is not a jump-in-and-run-up-on-a-log type of boat. Used wisely, it should give long service.
For all practical purposes, it's only brads holding on the aluminum. The epoxy did not stick to the slick aluminum. My fault. Due to the cryptic instructions ( very sparse) , I did not realize that the trim coil has some kind of coating on it that allows the epoxy to stick. The brads seem plenty strong enough to hold the aluminum rigidly in place. The big problem was that the aluminum/chine joint had to be sealed after the fact to make the joint waterproof.
IF, and I do mean IF, I were to build another one, I would build it EXACTLY as designed. I still think it's a viable design for the right person.
Joey
For all practical purposes, it's only brads holding on the aluminum. The epoxy did not stick to the slick aluminum. My fault. Due to the cryptic instructions ( very sparse) , I did not realize that the trim coil has some kind of coating on it that allows the epoxy to stick. The brads seem plenty strong enough to hold the aluminum rigidly in place. The big problem was that the aluminum/chine joint had to be sealed after the fact to make the joint waterproof.
IF, and I do mean IF, I were to build another one, I would build it EXACTLY as designed. I still think it's a viable design for the right person.
Joey
Add me to the list of folks saying thanks for sharing this build. Very interesting design and it's always neat to see new materials put to work. I learned from it and enjoyed it too. Thanks.
Here's an idea for an emergency kayak. No idea what it weighs, but not very much, I'd guess. Made from sticks and a poly tarp - and maybe with desperation and damned foolishness - or courage and initiative?
I'm not suggesting that anyone make this thing - only that you have the idea how to, in case it's needed one day.
http://www.shelter-systems.com/kayak.html
I'm not suggesting that anyone make this thing - only that you have the idea how to, in case it's needed one day.
http://www.shelter-systems.com/kayak.html