canoe plans CHECK.... epoxy kit CHE...oh wait...HELP??

[hopey84]

hi guys, i have been Umming and Arring over what plans to use for a while now (see last post viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8161) and i decided on the selway fisher 14ft Raven open canoe...

well i ''purchased'' the plans (are you proud JEM and HAIRYMICK :wink: i didnt scrounge haha) and i ''borrowed'' :wink: some 1mm wire from work for the stiches, the excitement of my first build has been increasing by the day, i have the 4mm ply all ready and waiting to be marked out and cut.....

then heres my problem..... apart from the ply and other wood there is no list of materials... so the resin kit.... what do i need... how much do i get... and where from?

any help would be great so i can start this little beauty of a project... many thanks in advance guys

 

[JEM]

The plans designer will have to specify what you need per his build method.

 

[oldsparkey]

I can get two boats out of a 3 gallon kit so for one boat a 1 1/2 gallon kit should work in theory. :roll:
That is providing you do not make any mistakes , spill or waste any. I don't care if you made one boat or have made dozens of them , there is always some wasted epoxy , from spillage , it setting up to fast or making to big of a batch and not using all of it.
One thing you do not want to do and that is to run out while building a boat and have to sit around waiting for more to come in. My supplier charges $156.00 for the three gallon kit for the epoxy.

Then there is the glass so take the boats length and order the glass with a couple of feet left over ........ a 14 foot boat I order in 17 feet of glass and then double it since the inside also needs to be glassed = 34 feet of glass.
Heavier glass takes more epoxy then the lighter weight glass a 6 oz glass will take less then the 10oz glass.
As you might of guessed by now , the epoxy and glass are the major expenses to making a boat.

Don't forget the Acetone for clean up when working with the epoxy and NEVER have it around anything that has sparks or a flame , the Acetone is very flammable.

Just saying how I do things , the best is to check with the designer and see what they suggest since they know there boat and what it will take.

 

[Kayak Jack]

I built a Selway Fisher canoe from plans. Will never make that mistake again. That company is a gyp. You are just beginning to find the problems.

 

[oldsparkey]

I built a Selway Fisher canoe from plans. Will never make that mistake again. That company is a gyp. You are just beginning to find the problems.

Let me ... ECHO ... what Jack said , Never Again. 1st time was the last time.

Chuck..........

 

[Kayak Jack]

<SNIP> any help would be great so i can start this little beauty of a project... many thanks in advance guys

It may be a hard pill to swallow, but my advice is to not spend any more time or money pursuing a Selway Fisher boat. Your choice, but cutting your losses early can be less costly than admitting defeat later, or getting an inferior quality product after a lot of work. Of course, you may pull it off and succeed, I could be wrong.
Just my 2 cents worth. Others may advise differently.

 

[oldsparkey]

Of course, you may pull it off and succeed, I could be wrong.
Just my 2 cents worth. Others may advise differently.

If you can pull it off , the Peterborough I built that they furnished the plans for was a good canoe. Fortunately I had a few builds behind me so I knew what they were not telling me or forgetting about telling me about how to do it. :evil:
To put it in plan language ..... I $hit canned there instructions which were utterly useless and built it the way I thought / knew it should be.

Same thing with Jack on the one he built , customer support was not there and the instructions leave a lot to be desired , especially the parts they forget to tell you about. Do a lot of thinking and know what steps need to be done about 5 or 6 steps down the road on the building.

They do have a good canoe , if you manage to build it. I used the canoe on a lot of trips and today a good friend of mine is enjoying it..........

As far as I'm concerned you will NOT have any help from them , purchase the plans and good luck. Think I am joking , just try it and if it was like in the past , you are on your own for support , answers and any help from them are non exhistance. With any luck they have upgraded there customer service but I would not hold my breath while trying to find out. :mrgreen: ( sorry ,about the :mrgreen: did not a blue one to post)

 

[Pirogue]

I will chime in too.

Here is a picture of Chuck's Peterborough and my Selway-Fisher Raven. Both nice boats. Just pay attention and don't work too fast.

A couple things about the Raven. You will gain some strength when you load it. It ain't light. But it is stable. And you will get wind cocking.

But, don't get discouraged, it is a great canoe and a very stable fishing platform.

Enjoy.

 

[hopey84]

erm...i... errr. thanks i think.. hahahaha
god i wish i had asked this whole question b4 i got the plans now haha
well cheers for that guys i now know not to waste my time with any questions to them i think ill just stick to you lot haha

wow... alot of bad feedback for selway then... oh well i have the plans now and not 1 to be discouraged ill see what i can come up with...
thats a nice lookin raven btw pirogue

this is my 1st build so it was always gonna be a slow effort and take my time, i want it to be as perfect as it possibly can (hopefully abit more than u guys are saying haha)
im pretty good with building things and iv used alot of fibreglass and filler patching up my battered old motors as a teen an got good at it so im quite confident with the epoxy side of things (cant be TOO different to the cars right? ha)

well thanks guys ill keep you all updated...