New Builder - 2 UJ boats to build

[arkansawyer]

Hey guys...I picked up the plans for UJ's pirogue and am looking to get started next weekend. While listing my supplies needed, a few questions came up and I was hoping you could point me in the right direction. First, let me lay out what I'm planning on building. It's going to basically be bare bones, not straying from the plans much- to be used mostly for duck hunting transportation (not hunted from). It will need to carry one 175 lb person, 50 lb dog, a dozen decoys, and the other small things that go along with duck hunting.

I'm thinking 13.5' overall length, 1/4'' luaun, cypress everywhere else, brass screws, taped seams, epoxied inside and out, and camo latex enamel paint inside and out. I'm trying to keep the costs as low as possible, since I'm doing 2 at the same time, but want something that will last a long time if taken care of. Weight isn't a huge deal, but would like to keep it fairly light...I should be able to, given what I've listed, right?

My main questions are: what type of luaun do I need to be looking for? How much epoxy should I need for 2 boats like this?

 

[oldsparkey]

The Luann you can get would do the trick , without glassing it I would suggest the 1/4 inch plywood. The seams will need to be taped , both for support and to seal the seams.
If you epoxy saturate the wood , a couple of coats , to make sure it gets into the wood , it will strengthen it and offer water proofing.
Then the paint over that will just add more protection to it and take the gloss away , camouflaging it. You will want to lightly hand sand it after the saturation with the epoxy since it fills the wood fibers and makes some of them protrude like whiskers.

I can make two standard pirogues with the 3 gallon kit of epoxy and that includes total glassing of the boat. You will use less since you will not be using most of the epoxy for glassing. A lot depends on how you use the epoxy and don't waste any of it which is the normal reason for needing more. Left over epoxy can be used for a lot of things around the house and odd jobs.

This should make for a lighter boat since the the glass will be missing , not sure about the weight from the paint.

Example ...... I made a canoe that weighed 20 pounds and after glassing it the weight jumped to 30 pounds. It had to be glassed since I used thin ( 1/8th inch ) wood.

One other thing , since you are making two of them ... Not sure on how you plan to transport them but if you leave off any sort of decking and attached seats they will stack inside each other for transportation. IE: ..The back of a truck.

 

[arkansawyer]

Alright, I'll be ordering my epoxy from Raka. Do you recommend the 127 resin with the 608 hardener or half and half of the slow/fast hardeners. I plan on building these in an outdoor shop over the next couple of weeks. Temps may be anywhere from the 50's to 80's (it's arkansas) if that helps. Hopefully it will be the upper end of that range when I get ready to epoxy.

Those were my thoughts exactly about leaving off any decks on these boats...I want a pair that can spoon in the back of the truck, roof rack, etc.

What's your best guestimate on what something like this should weigh? I know it depends on how much epoxy and paint are used. 35-40 lb range? That's kinda what I'm hoping for after reading around on here.

 

[oldsparkey]

I like the medium harder since it gives me time to work with it. Best bet would be to explain to Larry at Raka about the temperature and see what he suggests.

At 13 1/2 feet without the glass I would guess between 35 and 40. I made a standard at 15 1/2 with glass on the outside and it came out at 50 pounds.

Chuck.......

 

[gbinga]

Maybe think about glassing just the bottom? Not very hard, or expensive, and it wouldn't increase the weight much since you could stick with luan rather than heavier BC pine. And I would think that glassed luan would be more impact resistant than BC pine without glass, though I don't have any evidence for that.

I used a luan type product called "Ultraply XL" for my pirogue. Found it at Lowes, sold as premium underlayment, for 20 per sheet rather than the typical 10 per sheet. Seemed a lot cleaner and more free of voids than the typical luan. It also specifically claimed to be waterproof, where the 10 per sheet stuff said water resistant. Figuring it to be a 20 dollar price increase per boat, I thought it was well spent.

GB

 

[a Bald Cypress]

I think a boat becomes a bit more solid if there is a fore and aft deck, no matter how small.

Given that, I would make one boat 6 or 8 inches longer than the other so they would spoon a bit easier for transport.


YMMV

Pics, we want pics.

 

[arkansawyer]

Ya'll are giving me some good stuff to think about...I wouldn't mind mine being a bit longer, my brother wanted a shorter one- he thought he wanted a 12'er, but I think I talked him out of going that short. I will definitely look at glassing the bottom as well.

Don't worry, when it happens, there will be pics. Where abouts in NW LA are you, if you don't mind me asking, BC?

 

[a Bald Cypress]

Ya'll are giving me some good stuff to think about...I wouldn't mind mine being a bit longer, my brother wanted a shorter one- he thought he wanted a 12'er, but I think I talked him out of going that short. I will definitely look at glassing the bottom as well.

Don't worry, when it happens, there will be pics. Where abouts in NW LA are you, if you don't mind me asking, BC?

I be on the wrong side of the Red River. Shreveport.