New Boat Build

[Kayak Jack]

<SNIP> The boat is very stable and worked fine. <SNIP> Seems to be a lot of turbulence because of the transom. <SNIP> Guess I'll just have to suck it up and go again. :roll:

Well, JD, I feel sorry for you, having to go fishing again. And, it's such a sacrifice for you too! (JD - you aren't lying as well as you used to. You're slipping a bit. Been hanging around with Piper San some?)

I think that a big part of the stability is your skill getting better. Turbulence from a transom can be eliminated by having a transom in a "Y" cross section, with the bottom having a fine line of exit to let water put itself back together. The wide part up on top can still have a motor clamped on.

 

[beekeeper]

The primary purpose for the transom on this boat was to make the boat short enough to haul in my truck without using the bed extender. It also adds width to the footprint to the rear of the boat. I knew from my other skiffs that turbulence would be increased, over a more pointed profile. The boat paddles easy and seems to cruse at a good pace. It does seem to hit a wall or peak when you try to go faster. I want to compare it to the pirogues and put in more seat time. My guess right now is, inceasing the floor to 14' and making it pointed will improve the top speed. I would have to stop being lazy and install the truck bed extender each time.
It was very comfortable to sit up high. Not the best position for power paddling, but for fishing you only need light stokes to move along. I did remove the base, and paddled from the seat with it sitting on the floor. The tumblehomed sides worked great. No problem from the wide beam. When sitting high, a longer paddle will probably work better. I will try that also.

beekeeper

 

[Hydrophillic]

Nice work beekeeper. I have my pirogue with flat transom almost finished. She will be 14' long at the top. I used cedar strips for the gunnels and chines like yours. I glued them on with pl premium and then screwed to a former set to widths. I thought to use your idea for weights but chose on bricks. I like the milk jug Idea better though. I have slight problem with by front sides. I have the bow angle right and the sides come together fine but one side always has less flair than the other. I think it is because in my haste i do not make sure the gunnels and chines are completely flush when I join them. The difference is 1/8 of an Inch.

Anyway, great job

 

[beekeeper]

Hydrophillic"
I don't think anybody on this site confesses to 1/8" differences. The bricks won't leak. How wide did you make the bottom?

Took the boat for another application of slime today. I'm having trouble getting enough. I did manage to find 5 small bass. Lots of thin coats will work. I'll just have to keep going back.
I do like this boat. It handled today's breeze very well. I used my longer paddle and it seemed to help, while sitting high.

beekeeper

 

[Hydrophillic]

The bottom is 24" plus about 1/4". The stern is 12" at the bottom and 20" at the top. I am amazed you didn't need any thwarts but I guess that is where the tumblehome comes into play. Sitting up so high I figured you needed a longer paddle. Glad to hear you slimed it good today.

Did you use epoxy to attach the gunnels and chines? Did I read correctly no epoxy? What kind of paint did you finish it with?

Sorry about all the questions.

-John

 

[beekeeper]

This is the first boat I built with tumblehome sides. I was surprised how strong the sides are. I would not care for a boat with thwarts. I have enough things to trip me up as is. The longer paddle helped when I wanted to paddle hard while sitting high. It may be a trade off because the regular paddle is lighter and if I want to go very far I can just lower the seat. I do like the long one when it is cold, it keeps the drips out side the boat.
I did use some epoxy to fair out the butt splice in the bottom. Some boat designs and types of building require epoxy/fiberglass. Chine log construction does not. You can add it if you want the added benefits, but your cost and labor will increase. I use Titebond 3 for glue. Mixed with wood flour it works to puddy holes. I glued and nailed the gunnels and chine logs. The glue alone was probably adequate.

beekeeper

 

[Hydrophillic]

I have been using pl premium to glue up my chines and gunnels with mixed success. The waterproof glue is excellent alternative. I found the pl premium applied too thick causes gaps that later have to be filled. I have found thwarts may get in the way but they are lightest thing to add some rigidity.The tumblehome would really stop alot of water from entering when paddling.

Good work

- John

 

[Kayak Jack]

'Splain yorsef, Lucy What is "pl premium" glue?

 

[Hydrophillic]

Pl Premium is a waterproof construction adhesive sold at just about every home store(i.e. Lowes and home depot). I got the idea from simplicity boats .com.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Thanks, I hadn't heard of it before.

 

[beekeeper]

I have been using pl premium to glue up my chines and gunnels with mixed success. The waterproof glue is excellent alternative. I found the pl premium applied too thick causes gaps that later have to be filled.

An advantage of using nails and screws is, they help make a tight joint and you don't have to depend on glue to fill in gaps. 3m 5200 is a waterproof glue that works well also.

beekeeper

 

[islandpiper]

My name is Piper and I am addicted to silicon bronze ring-shank boat nails.

My first boats, a sailboat and some dinghies were brass-screwed and glued. I care little about the little shiny bronze dots, evenly spaced showing through the gass and varnish. They give me confidence when the waves roll.

When using plywood the glue between components may be compromised by the glue between laminations. Drive SB RS boat nails along with the glue and EVERY LAMINATION is held to the neighboring component.

Just my opinion. I'm sure 27.32% of you won't agree.

piper

 

[beekeeper]

Can't seem to get a proper amount of fish slime on this boat. Beesboy and I went to the bayou but only caught a few small ones. It did give us a chance to compare boats and get in some seat time. His pirogue was faster (easier to paddle) but we cruised at about the same speed. The wind affected both boats about the same. My boat is more stable, allowing a higher seat.
I made a new seat for this boat and it worked really well. It is very comfortable sitting high or low. I only put a 1/2" rise in the bottom at the front. This allowed me to comfortably stretch my legs straight, lowering the knees and reducing pressure on the back of the legs.

Also made another one, a smaller size. It has the same rise in the bottom.

beekeeper

 

[Kayak Jack]

JD, Are you bending those slats around a form? Very uniform bend there? Steaming or soaking?

 

[islandpiper]

JACK, he's buying CURVED trees. Then, he cuts them with a CIRCULAR saw. piper

 

[jdupre']

I wondered how he was COPING with the curves.

Joey

 

[mike]

I'm thinking he BANDs them to get the perfect matching curves.

Mike

 

[Kayak Jack]

Sorry I asked, JD. I'm going to take a nap now. sigh

 

[beekeeper]

JD, Are you bending those slats around a form? Very uniform bend there? Steaming or soaking?

Jack, sorry for the slow response to your question. After the funnies started I thought, I would see what they would come up with next.

I do bend them around a form. No steaming or soaking. They are laminated. I make two thin strips for each slat then glue them together and clamp around the form to dry. I try to do two slats (4 strips) on the form at the same time. After all the slats are cut to length and sanded, I match each next to the one most similar in shape. Small differences between individual slats are not noticed. It takes longer to build a curved chair, but "What's time to a chair?".

beekeeper

 

[Kayak Jack]

I made a pack frame from thin strips of plywood one time. Came out OK, but if I were going to use it, the prototype needed improvement. Light weight and strong, needed more curve and better spacing, but a workable solution.