Simviation Forum - I built a little row boat

Sep 30^th, 2011 at 4:27pm

TacitBlue Offline
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It was built with free plans from Hannu's Boatyard. They call it the Micro Auray Punt.

It was designed to be built with one 4' x 8' piece of plywood. I used two so that I wouldn't have a seam in the middle of the gunwale.

Here it is held together temporarily with screws and wood blocks.

Epoxy putty applied between the stitching blocks. Later when the blocks were removed the epoxy bead was filled in all the way around. Then, I laid up fiberglass tape on all seams inside and out and coated the whole thing with clear epoxy.

After that, I forgot to take a picture before I painted it. Tongue

The oars are my work too, I didn't want to pay $25 - $35 a piece for ready made oars, so I made my own and it cost... about the same.

I haven't had it in the water yet, I only just finished painting it and I have to work this afternoon. The paint needs to sit and cure for a few days anyway. Expect more pics of the maiden voyage. Wink

A&P Mechanic, Rankin Aircraft 78Y

Aircraft are naturally beautiful because form follows function. -TB

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Reply #1 - Sep 30^th, 2011 at 4:53pm

Steve M Offline
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Cambridge On.

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Nice! I like, that looks like 3/8" plywood?

Flying with twins is a lot of fun..

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Reply #2 - Sep 30^th, 2011 at 8:59pm

TacitBlue Offline
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Actually, it's 1/4" plywood. I know that sounds thin but trust me, this thing is pretty solid.

A&P Mechanic, Rankin Aircraft 78Y

Aircraft are naturally beautiful because form follows function. -TB

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Reply #3 - Oct 2^nd, 2011 at 11:03am

Fozzer Offline
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Hereford. England. EGBS.

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Many years ago (1970's), I purchased a full size Canadian Canoe Kit and assembled it, over a few weeks, in my living room!
I varnished her, and called her "Pocahontas"...>>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocahontas
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rolfe

My youngest lad and I travelled all around England for years, with it strapped to the Luggage Rack on the top of my motor car.
We have very few inland lakes in England, so most of our Canoeing was done on rivers and canals.
We would decorate our canoe with vegetation we collected along the river banks, and I finally fitted it with a mast and sails (which was fine with a following wind!).
We were always observed with great delight by onlookers.
(Note: For safety we always wore life jackets!)

She was stored in my back garden for many years until the rain water got underneath the varnish, and she finally rotted away.
Tip: It is difficult to apply varnish over the top of varnish, so she would have been better painted with boat paint, rather than varnish. She would have lasted forever then, with continuous coats applied!).

Many happy memories!

Paul....

....!

Similar (identical) to the Canadian Canoe here...>>>
http://www.fyneboatkits.co.uk/kits/canoes/

P.S....Well done, Tacit! You are in for lots of enjoyment!

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Reply #4 - Oct 2^nd, 2011 at 5:39pm

TacitBlue Offline
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Neat story Fozzer. I would never have thought of putting a sail on a canoe! Did it have a tendency to tip over when turning?

Funny you should mention paint, I had a heck of a time painting this thing. Marine paint is expensive and impossible to find in stores around here. I originally tried to paint this boat with polyurethane floor paint, after all it's made to be walked on, so it has to be durable. Well, I managed to get a can of faulty paint. A week after painting the boat it still had not cured! so I stripped it all off and used car paint instead. It's water proof, but not all that durable. We shall see how it holds up to scratches from beaching. If it doesn't do well, I might try coating the bottom with a coating made for truck beds, that stuff is tough as nails.

A&P Mechanic, Rankin Aircraft 78Y

Aircraft are naturally beautiful because form follows function. -TB

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Reply #5 - Oct 2^nd, 2011 at 6:11pm

Fozzer Offline
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Hereford. England. EGBS.

Posts: 24861

TacitBlue wrote on Oct 2^nd, 2011 at 5:39pm:

Neat story Fozzer. I would never have thought of putting a sail on a canoe! Did it have a tendency to tip over when turning?

Funny you should mention paint, I had a heck of a time painting this thing. Marine paint is expensive and impossible to find in stores around here. I originally tried to paint this boat with polyurethane floor paint, after all it's made to be walked on, so it has to be durable. Well, I managed to get a can of faulty paint. A week after painting the boat it still had not cured! so I stripped it all off and used car paint instead. It's water proof, but not all that durable. We shall see how it holds up to scratches from beaching. If it doesn't do well, I might try coating the bottom with a coating made for truck beds, that stuff is tough as nails.

...tendency to tip over with sails?... Roll Eyes

....

..shhhhh... Wink

....

...Outrigger floats!.... Grin

...!

A plank strapped across the centre seat, with a small plastic oil drum on either side...just clear of the water....

...I just invented the; "Catamaran"!.... Cool

...!

Paul.... Grin

...!

Varnishing it was a bad move. It looked fine when new, but after a few scuffs, trying to paint more varnish over shiny, slippery varnish doesn't work. (It would have needed to be rubbed down all over again first!).
Paint would have been a better idea, although not looking quite as nice!

Dell Dimension 5000 BTX Tower. Win7 Home Edition, 32 Bit. Intel Pentium 4, dual 2.8 GHz. 2.5GB RAM, nVidia GF 9500GT 1GB. SATA 500GB + 80GB. Philips 17" LCD Monitor. Micronet ADSL Modem only. Saitek Cyborg Evo Force. FS 2004 + FSX. Briggs and Stratton Petrol Lawn Mower...Motor Bikes. Gas Cooker... and lots of musical instruments!.... ...!
Yamaha MO6,MM6,DX7,DX11,DX21,DX100,MK100,EMT10,PSR400,PSS780,Roland GW-8L v2,TR505,Casio MT-205,Korg CX3v2 dual manual,+ Leslie 760,M-Audio Prokeys88,KeyRig,Cubase,Keyfax4,Guitars,Orchestral,Baroque,Renaissance,Medieval Instruments.

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Reply #6 - Oct 3^rd, 2011 at 2:26pm

BigTruck Offline
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Cool little project! About how much did the whole thing cost, if you don't mind me asking? You should use Rhino Liner on the bottom for a tough as nails finish and sealant. I don't know if it adheres to wood or not, but it's guaranteed for life!

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Reply #7 - Oct 3^rd, 2011 at 2:57pm

Fozzer Offline
Colonel
An elderly FS 2004 addict!
Hereford. England. EGBS.

Posts: 24861

BigTruck wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2011 at 2:26pm:

Cool little project! About how much did the whole thing cost, if you don't mind me asking? You should use Rhino Liner on the bottom for a tough as nails finish and sealant. I don't know if it adheres to wood or not, but it's guaranteed for life!

Beware...

There are dangerous waters in 'frisco Bay!

...and big ships...!

Paul.... Grin

...!

Dell Dimension 5000 BTX Tower. Win7 Home Edition, 32 Bit. Intel Pentium 4, dual 2.8 GHz. 2.5GB RAM, nVidia GF 9500GT 1GB. SATA 500GB + 80GB. Philips 17" LCD Monitor. Micronet ADSL Modem only. Saitek Cyborg Evo Force. FS 2004 + FSX. Briggs and Stratton Petrol Lawn Mower...Motor Bikes. Gas Cooker... and lots of musical instruments!.... ...!
Yamaha MO6,MM6,DX7,DX11,DX21,DX100,MK100,EMT10,PSR400,PSS780,Roland GW-8L v2,TR505,Casio MT-205,Korg CX3v2 dual manual,+ Leslie 760,M-Audio Prokeys88,KeyRig,Cubase,Keyfax4,Guitars,Orchestral,Baroque,Renaissance,Medieval Instruments.

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Reply #8 - Oct 3^rd, 2011 at 4:26pm

TacitBlue Offline
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BigTruck wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2011 at 2:26pm:

Cool little project! About how much did the whole thing cost, if you don't mind me asking? You should use Rhino Liner on the bottom for a tough as nails finish and sealant. I don't know if it adheres to wood or not, but it's guaranteed for life!

I didn't keep very good track of my expenses, but I believe it cost between $150 and $200. Not bad considering a store bought boat would cost a lot more and wouldn't fit in the bed of my pick-up. By the way, that's why I chose to build such a small boat, I don't like pulling trailers. Wink

A&P Mechanic, Rankin Aircraft 78Y

Aircraft are naturally beautiful because form follows function. -TB

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Reply #9 - Oct 4^th, 2011 at 2:14pm

BigTruck Offline
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TacitBlue wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2011 at 4:26pm:

BigTruck wrote on Oct 3^rd, 2011 at 2:26pm:

Cool little project! About how much did the whole thing cost, if you don't mind me asking? You should use Rhino Liner on the bottom for a tough as nails finish and sealant. I don't know if it adheres to wood or not, but it's guaranteed for life!

I didn't keep very good track of my expenses, but I believe it cost between $150 and $200. Not bad considering a store bought boat would cost a lot more and wouldn't fit in the bed of my pick-up. By the way, that's why I chose to build such a small boat, I don't like pulling trailers. Wink

Excellent!

Fozzer...I'm only in San Francisco for about 8 more months, then I'm headed to the calm waters of Alabama. This would make an perfect little skiff for bass fishing on a little water hole.

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Reply #10 - Oct 4^th, 2011 at 3:50pm

TacitBlue Offline
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I took her out for her maiden voyage today! I couldn't get anyone to go with me, so I don't have any pictures. Roll Eyes

All in all, the little boat did quite well. It's easy to row, turns on a dime and is stable enough for it's size. Now, I really really don't like swimming in deep water. I'm not going to panic and drown or anything if I fall in (especially w/ my life jacket), but it would be a little more traumatic for me than it would for say, Chuck Norris. With that it mind I can tell you that I felt pretty safe in this boat. If it hadn't been so darned windy I would have stayed out longer and done a little fishing. Ah well, there's always tomorrow. Wink

Also: Truck, if you decide to build one, PM me or something. I can point you in the direction of cheap supplies and offer advice if you need it.

A&P Mechanic, Rankin Aircraft 78Y

Aircraft are naturally beautiful because form follows function. -TB

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Reply #11 - Oct 4^th, 2011 at 4:01pm

BigTruck Offline
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TacitBlue wrote on Oct 4^th, 2011 at 3:50pm:

Also: Truck, if you decide to build one, PM me or something. I can point you in the direction of cheap supplies and offer advice if you need it.

Good to know. Won't be for a year or two, I need to get out of the military an get settled back home, but it's something to store away for when the time is right.

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