I have started the Bayou Skiff....

[oldsparkey]

Decided to give it a look since I am close to starting it ... The seats are sitting on the top , they will be 4 inches lower and 8 inches from the bottom of the skiff.

The center seat and the Redwood block on it is one of the supports that will be on the sides for additional support for the seats. That piece of wood under there ( next to the scraper ) is the templet I will use to get all the redwood blocks set at the same height , it fits against the bottom of the top inside rail and the top of the block is against the bottom of the templet.

The position for the rear seat which will be just behind the ribs.

The position for the front seat , just in front of the ribs ....... If you noticed it has a smaller area to sit on then the other two...... This way I can adjust my weight in the boat and the passenger ( If and when I have one ) is stuck in one spot. :wink:

Now to do some dry fitting , cutting and matching everything up so it fits just right. Then some epoxy on the sides and when it has cured , some more on the back of the blocks and clamp them in place ...... when everything is in position then drop the seats in and epoxy them in place , fillet all the edges , sand and varnish.

Like I said , It's a good thing I have the time to do all this so there is no rush on getting it done.

 

[oldsparkey]

Well the middle seat is in place , the blocks are epoxied in but the seat is just resting there. It will be epoxied later when all of them are done and I have cleaned the boat out for varnishing.

A close up of the redwood blocks on the side to hold the seat , actually to help hold it since the seat will also be epoxied in place.

One down , two more to go.........

When everything is done , varnished and completed it should look sharp and sort of old fashion.

 

[a Bald Cypress]

YO Chuck,

I know that epoxy will never fail.

I was just wondering why you didn't cut notches in the seat support blocks and just set the seat rails in them.

That way you could remove any or all seats depending on what you were doing and [how big the fish you catch is. :wink: ] you would have no trouble getting it to fit in the skiff.

 

[oldsparkey]

Was entertaining that thought of the notches in the blocks for the arms of the seats........ Then figured with it back of the Jeep on it's trailer doing 60 or so MPH and bouncing around the seats would be in the grill of the tailgater behind me. Not a nice way to make friends but a good way to make them back off.

Also thought of making the blocks more aesthetically pleasing , you know a reverse tear drop or something like that..... Again .... Na...just a big square for more contact with the sides of the boat for support. Last thing a person wants is to hear a loud ...KRACK....and have one side of the seat half way down the side of the boat. This way everything is wedged in and on the inside angle of the skiff which offers more support , might call it a " V " . Figured the fish would not care since they will be in a cooler nice and comfortable and later warmed up in a frying pan with a coating of Corn Meal along with some Onions , Garlic and Cajun spices on the side to stop any frost bite they might get. Might even toss in a splash of some white wine to make them happy. :wink:

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Bald Cypress had the same idea I did. I set my canoe seats into a "J" block, and add bungees to hold then into place, but can be slud (past tense of slid) up or down to other notches.

 

[oldsparkey]

Three days to go from this .........

To This........If anything ...... someone can look at it now and tell it is a boat , boats have seats in them , Right. :wink:

The seats are just resting on the blocks waiting for some fine tuning then will be attached. You all have some mighty good ideas about the seats and how to install them. Going to do the K.I.S.S. System and just ....... Keep It Simple Stupid , which describes me and how I do things.

Chuck......

 

[seedtick]

varnish the insides before installing the seats if you really want to keep things simple

 

[oldsparkey]

varnish the insides before installing the seats if you really want to keep things simple

"O" Yes , some more sanding and then the varnishing , that is why the seats are not epoxied in right now. I wanted to get everything in there and set up before the varnishing. Next step after some twinking to get everything right with the seats is that the blocks will get a redwood and epoxy fillet all the way around , one more day on the seats but it is almost the final step. Anyway I can see the light at the end of the tunnel but it is a ways off.

Fortunately things around here will be in the 90's tomorrow ( Summer has arrived ) so the epoxy should set really quick. Like Joey said ...... No more winter builds for me"

Chuck.
PS. Knowing the wife , she will want me to mow the yard tomorrow , Man I like Monday to Friday when she is at work and I can do the serious stuff around here , like working on boats. :lol:

 

[BEARS BUDDY]

Usually when I see the light at the end of the tunnel it is a locomotive coming toward me. :mrgreen:

 

[oldsparkey]

Moving the Bayou Skiff off the table and outside is a pain... It is to wide to reach across and just pick it up , plus it weighs more then I am suppose to pick up. The wife has helped a couple of times and it gets her back so I had to find a way to do it myself.......Especially if I wanted to have piece and quiet in the house and not listen to my ..... "O" My back.

I FOUND IT.... At Home Depot. :lol:

Take a 1 inch piece of doweling about 3 feet long , get some foam pipe insulation ( the one for copper pipes ) and mate the two of them together. The foam for the copper pipes has a self seal on each edge of the cut down the middle so it adheres to itself to form a solid piece when the protective tape is removed.
To better explain it........

The Doweling with the foam around it.

Roll it under the boat , where ever you want it.

Or double them up for more support......

Set a couple of sawhorses outside and roll the boat out to the 1st sawhorse.... Then go to the front and pick it up and roll it out to the other saw horse ...but leave the stern on the table so it can be rolled back in the shop.

Now I can sand , scrape and then blow everything out with air from the compressor with the boat outside , roll it back in and take a look. The same when I want to use it for fishing.... Back the trailer up to the shop , roll the boat onto the trailer and take out.

Chuck..

 

[oldsparkey]

Thanks to the decent weather I managed to spend some time and get the Bayou Skiff completed on the inside so it can be used later this month for a short camping trip.

The seats are installed , epoxied into place.

Plus I got a good coat of the good varnish back on the inside after scraping all the pealing crap up.

When the varnish dries it will be ready to toss some camping gear in it and spend some time on the water.

 

[tx river rat]

Chuck
She is looking good. Those rollers work ,I have used solid steel shafts like that to move equipment in and out of buildings that weighed thousands of lbs.
Ron

 

[oldsparkey]

I had her together and all trimmed out , then used that dam satin varnish and had to do a lot of scraping , with this summers heat. That set me back but now she is 99% done or I should say redone.
Anyway with this better weather there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it says .... Get her ready and Let's Go Camping. I'm sure you know what I mean by that after surviving this summer.

She will not be as fast as your Brazos Cruiser SS unless I cheat and drop a gas kicker on the stern then I can give you a run for the money as long as the gas holds out. :lol:
"O" Well I'm older and slower so the skiff can be a reflection of me , we will get there sometime. :wink:

 

[hairymick]

Chuck,

John (Cadeppa) has told me just how magnificent your boat builds are and that the images don't do them justice.

That being said, your images of this boat are extraordinary. Your attention to detail during the build and the finish are second to none that I have seen. I am employed to, in part, teach fine timber work and your craftmanship just leaves me breathless. Bloody well done mate.

 

[Wannabe]

Chuck,
It would really be neat if you could bring the skiff to Pipers in the Spring for show and tell.
Bob

 

[oldsparkey]

Mick.......
You have to remember that John is a fisherman and everyone knows that fishermen stretch the truth , a little bit. :lol: Thanks for the complement , coming from you and the beautiful boats you make that means a lot to me.

Bob....
If you saw it close up you would find a lot of mistakes but with a little mud in some crucial spots it would look a lot better.

 

[Wannabe]

Chuck,
A couple of mistakes, I've made one or two mistakes before. I don't care about small imperfections, I would really like to see the boat. From what i've seen of your pictures I really like it.
Bob