Anyone built a boat?

[Sam Berlyn]

Hi,

I was going to build a small boat c. 6months ago, but was put off by the fact that I'd have to store it.. not many boats are >7' !

I would like to build one, any suggestions?

[WoodMangler]

I've been toying with the idea for quite some time, but haven't taken the leap yet. Big project. You might try lurking in rec.boats.building for a bit.

[KR & CA Hunter]

Sam. I assume that you mean Hi,

[mark]

For a sailboat, I would recommend the Weekender. Good plans, easy enough for anyone with some carpentry skills. Do a search for stevenson projects.

[mark]

Ooops didn't see the size requirement. Maybe on of his little dingys, or a cedarstrip canoe would work for you.

[R. Wink]

You might want to try out a Mouse Boat at

from 1, 1 1/2 or 2 sheets of 1/4 Laun plywood using a stitch and tape method. Almost all under 8 ft. lg. R. Wink

[Lobby Dosser]

One 8 foot by 3-4 foot bookcase.

[Lewis]

Yep -- several, actually. The first was an eight foot hydroplane I built when I was about your age, or maybe even a year or two younger. Many of the skills used in building boats out of wood are the same as building other things out of wood. (Then there's stitch and glue, which is easy as can be, but not like any other building method known to man.) I'd suggest first deciding what kind/size of boat you want to build, then look for plans or building ideas, then come back here if you have questions about the techniques it will take to build it. Lewis

[Larry Jaques]

Lew Hodgett is building a little dinghy. Give him a holler.

----------------------------------------------------------------

• OPERA: A Latin word * Wondrous Website Design

• meaning * Save your Heirloom Photos

• "death by music" *

[Dan Valleskey]

store it?? aw shucks- always room for another boat. I have had boats in the dining room. One was so long it stuck into the L.R., where one night, we named it, christened it, than cleaned it.

That was before I was married- I always figured, if I could have bikes in the living room, wet suits in the bedroom, climbing/ camping gear in the study, than boats in the dining room should be fine.

I once lowered a 17 foot canoe into the basement, we had to stick the tail end on the neighbors gutters to get the angle right to get it down the stairs.

you can store a canoe or kayak about anywhere. I've seen them hanging on the wall in an apartment, like a piece of art. Easiest place to store one is to tie it to the shop ceiling. A paddling buddy of mine just leaves his boat on his truck all year. Of course, it is not a wood boat.

If you want one bad enough, if you want to built it bad enough, you'll figure out where to keep it. I'm into double digits (under roof), but I bet I could squeeze one more in if I had to. Than, there is always the back yard. and the yard shed. oh wait, I have bikes in there now-

-Dan V. (who will be try>Hi,

[tillius]

Yup. I've built a 16' pirogue, an 8' folding boat, and an 8' bolger brick.

The Priogue was first, took two sheets of 1/4" luan plus glass tape and resin. Cut, stitched, and glassed one weekend. Painted the second weekend, in the water the 3rd weekend.

The folding boat was a disaster as I used the wrong kind of contact cement to glue the rubberized canvas hinges and it failed in enough places to destroy the plywood in other places. Put it aside and decided to build the Bolger Brick.

The brick is by far my favorite, weighs less than the pirogue, I can car top it myself. Takes a motor well. Was easy to build and is very stable in the water for my kids.

8' long by 4' wide with 2' sides. google bolger brick and you'll see a lot of info and plans.

It's small enough I lean it against the wall in the garage when I'm not using it.

I did build a car-topping 'trailer' for it. basically a 2x4 ladder 14' long, with handles on one end, fold up boat stops at the other, and 8" lawn mower replacement wheels at that end. Put carpet along the 2x4's to protect the bottom of the boat and the roof of the car.

I sit the boat on it, roll it up to the rear of the car, put then handles on the roof as a fulcrum, and lift the other end as I slide it on the roof.

When I get to the water, I take it off the roof with a reverse process and wheel it right down the ramp till it floats off. Saves the back.

Good luck with it.

[J T]

Sat, Dec 4, 2004, 8:36pm (EST+5) [e-mail] (mark) says: For a sailboat, I would recommend the Weekender. Good plans, easy enough for anyone with some carpentry skills. Do a search for stevenson projects.

Apparently he'd need something 7', or less. The Weekender doesn't qualify. Besided it'd need a trailer.

JOAT Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind dont matter, and those who matter dont mind.

- Dr Seuss

[J T]

Sat, Dec 4, 2004, 7:10pm (EST+5) [e-mail] (Sam=A0Berlyn) waves and says: Hi, I was going to build a small boat c. 6months ago, but was put off by the fact that I'd have to store it.. not many boats are >7' ! I would like to build one, any suggestions?

Now you knows what the archives is for.

[e-mail]&= lr=3D&num=3D30&hl=3Den

JOAT Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind dont matter, and those who matter dont mind.

- Dr Seuss

[Art and Diane]

I recently finished building a 20' 2 person Kayak and really enjoyed it. Some of the Kayak kit suppliers also offered small boats that looked like fun projects. I'm sure there are many out there, but Chesapeake light craft had a few models. Try a search for "wooden boat kits" or "wooden boat plans" depending on which way you want to go. I found that if I had had to purchase the materials plus the plan, the precut kits was about the same price.

Art Learmonth

Sam Berlyn wrote:

[Lobby Dosser]

Nutshell Pram - 7'7". Row it or sail it. Quick Google search will get some drawings and pictures.

[BD]

I really did build this from these plans. Quite a kick in the pants. It's a nice rowing little dinghy. After I first Built it, I retrofitted it for sailing and made a nice little hollow mast for a spritsail. It actually sails pretty well. Not much room, but pretty fun for what it is.

Sincerely

BD

[Lawrence Wasserman]

I'm not sure what you mean by the 7' comment, but look up "one sheet skiff" & Herb Mcleod (spelling?) for an easy & cheap small boat.

[Evan]

[Ron Magen]

Sam, If you are the 13-year old from a previous post {and I feel I'm correct} . . . a 7 or 8 foot boat is a good size to start with.

There are SEVERAL good designs that produce an 'ultra simple' to a 'fun' boat, as well as act as a 'teaching tool'.

See if you can get a copy of 'Build the NEW Instant Boats' by Harold {Dynamite} Payson. He is a proponent {as well as the prototype builder} of the small boat designs of Phil Bolger. He also has a web-site,

.

'Tortoise' is about the simplest thing there is . . . yet a great number of people have built her. Many have used this 'to ugly to steal' 6ft 5in craft as a tender for larger boats. A step up from this is 'Nymph'. With ' . . .shapely lines and a rounded hull. . .' this 7ft 9in 'mind boggler' gives a 'Cadillac ride'. For pure fun in a small package, there is the 7ft 3in 'Bee' While she can be rowed, the real thrill {for someone of your stature - rather then my 200+ pounds}will be with a small outboard !!

I would be happy to advise you SPECIFICALLY about 'Nymph' and 'Bee'. I have built both, and written about the process in

, for which I also write a monthly column.

Regards & Good Luck, Ron Magen Backyard Boatshop

[J T]

Tue, Dec 7, 2004, 9:12pm (EST+5) [e-mail] (Ron=A0Magen) says: See if you can get a copy of 'Build the NEW Instant Boats' by Harold {Dynamite} Payson. He is a proponent {as well as the prototype builder} of the small boat designs of Phil Bolger. He also has a web-site,

. 'Tortoise' is about the simplest thing there is .

Hehehe I'v got most of his books, and a number of Phil Bolger's. But, I got all mine from my favorite used bookstore and think the most I paid for any was about $8 US, low was about $4. Saw one out-of-print book for sale at a site on-line for $85. And, I've got a copy. Wheeee. Other Payson and Bolger out-of-print books were list at around $45 each. I've got several of those too.

Not sure how well a new builder would fare, just working from the book, but I would say the Tortise shouldn't give any real problem, and would be a good learning experience. I've been thinking about making one of those myself. My favorite tho is probably Madeline, would love to put a small steam engine in one of those.

I love Bolger's designs.

JOAT Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind dont matter, and those who matter dont mind.

- Dr Seuss