# Osprey 18 started



## oysterbreath

This post started off as a long, drawn-out dissertation about why I had so many delays with my plan to build a boat. I scraped that essay! Who the heck wants to read that mess! Anyway, I started building 4th of July weekend and I've been slowly working away. I decided to build Timm Smith's Osprey 18. 



> Specifications:
> LOA:17'-7 3/4"
> LWL:15'-10"
> Beam:66"
> Draft (Keel):6"
> Displacement:1,300 Lbs
> Fuel Capacity:12 Gals
> Deadrise:6 Degrees
> Freeboard (Fwd):18 1/2"
> Freeboard (Aft):13 1/2"
> Power:40hp Outboard
> Construction:Cold molded
> Capacity:4 Persons or 645 lbs



So far I have built frames A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and my stern. 











I have frame H on the table right now being glued up. 









After that I will start the transom. 
Here are a few more construction pics:





































I've been flirting with the idea of building the transom from Celtec or another PVC based material but my emails to the manufactures about epoxy compatibility have been unanswered for 2 weeks now. I know it works well with polyester resins but what about epoxy. Ohwell, I guess I will have to just stick with a marine ply transom and simply pre-drill and create my epoxy plugs for all of my through-bolt attachments. I'm not going to explain what my final vision is for this skiff is aesthetically because that might change. I will say that I'm hopeful that my craftsmanship is good enough to do some bright-work on the interior though.
Back to the transom...I'm trying to keep this build as spartan as possible but the design calls for a jackplate. At this point I'm planning for a manual jackplate even-though I'll be stocking my coin away for a 25hp (Etec or Merc). Either a Bob's mini jack plate or a mini-jacker if my motor selection is less than 150lbs. If the funds are there, I might upgrade to a CMC PT-35. I know TSG has some great stuff too but I think they are out of my price range. Although I will buy my jackplate much later I will be predrilling for whichever one I pick. Another option is to redesign the back end a bit so that I won't need a jack plate at all. I'll have it figured by the months end.

Anyway, as far as construction goes. All the the frames are built from Douglas fir. I will tell you, Lowes DOES NOT CARRY fir. The cheapest place in town was Home Depo but I quickly discovered that not all HD stores are equal. By far, the best HD store for fir was the one near millinia mall. They had the best stock. Some HD stores don't even carry fir. The ones that do, only carry up to 1x6. For 1x8 I had to go to Thomas Lumber. Frames E, F, G, H, and the transom require 1x8 for the bottom pieces. I will start the transom next weekend but I will need to buy some 3/4" marine ply. That stuff is hard to come by locally at a decent price. If anyone knows a good local Orlando source PM me.


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## Gramps

'bout damn time you got started! ;D Those frames look really good; I'm impressed & a little jealous so far. Keep us updated.


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## Brett

Thanks oyster, glad to see you decided to get off the fence.
This ought to make for a great summer plus long thread.
Whaddaya figure...Christmas completion? 



> a marine ply transom and simply pre-drill and create my epoxy plugs for all of my through-bolt attachments.


Hunh? :-?

I can understand the plugs if dealing with manmade materials, but not marine ply.
I'd be overdrilling the holes a 16th and coating the insides with a few coats of low viscosity epoxy.
Low-vis epoxy mixed with slow hardener will soak into the grain and make for a solid surface.
Q-tips work great as applicators for that part of the job.


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## Andrewp

Will be watching this thread closely, as anything Ol' Oyster has worked on has come out first-class (you should see his custom fly-rod work!!). This boat will be a gold-plater, for sure .....

CPES epoxy is recommended for those situations where you really want a "penatrating" epoxy. Some builders feel regular epoxy does not get drawn into the wood enough and that the CPES stuff does a better job. Maybe some of that, OB, for the transom and other areas .....


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## oysterbreath

AP, well I hope it turns out as well as the rods! lol
I have a lot of ideas and I've been running them past the designer. Timm has been REALLY good at replying to me and commenting on my thoughts. In the end i'm not deviating much from his original design. I'll be makeing to subtile preferencial changes though. I've been spending a lot of time looking at the "wooden boat people" website at some of their awesome work they've done on their drift boats. I hope to draw a lot of inspiration from them in my Osprey build.


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## WhiteDog70810

I am curious to see how a cold-molded hull comes together. I guess Roscoe's is cold-molded also. From the looks of it, the designer might be able to sell a CNC cut frame kit to builders. Your work looks great, but I would have some trouble cutting frames like that without hacking them up. 

Is yours the first of this design? I haven't seen another at any stage of construction. A 16' hull is more practical to me, but I prefer the performance of an 18' hull. The hull has good lines and I'll enjoy seeing it come together. 

Enjoy the build.

Nate


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## Andrewp

Nate, he (the designer) has a 16' in process.

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1305763913

Not finished yet (I happened to check with him yesterday to see if there was any new development) ......


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## oysterbreath

Hey Nate, the designer has a CNC kit for this design that includes the strongback and frames. I couldn't justify the cost though. I have more time than money so cutting them myself was the way to go. As far as I know this is the first build of the Osprey. It'll be a slow build because progress is hampered by the lack of depth in my pocketbook! lol
For me, a 16footer would have been much more practical but hey...if a 18footer can fit in the garage why not? Speaking of which...I REALLY need to figure out what EXTRA things are needed for registration of an over 16foot boat in Florida. I've been told that the CG regulations are different but from what I can tell it's nothing serious. Its the inspection that's got me wondering. I need to find out more about this "inspection." This link had the best info I found so far but still...how detailed is this inspection. I mean, are they gonna ask my how many Cubic feet of floation I have them make me provide calcs?

http://messing-about.com/registering-your-home-built-boat/


I have also been thinking more and more about electrical too.

I am currently working on the transom. I'm trying to decide if I want to go with a jackplate, as the designer intended, or if I wanna mount the motor directly to the tramsom. I'm also trying to sequince/phase my material needs. I have "X" amount of money I can put into this project for the next month so I'm trying to figureout what items are on my critical path to my next milestone. I hope to have my finished frames, stringers, keel, and transom on the strongback by Mid August. I've been doing some materials take-offs and I think I will end up using about 10 sheets of 4mm for my planking. the 10 sheets also account for 20% waist factor. Another thing I've been thinking about is a scarf jig. I will be using 1:12 scarf joints on my stringers and keel. I think I'll make a jig for use with my miter saw. So I might make that tommorow (Saturday July 22nd).


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## WhiteDog70810

Plan on a jackplate. It is still a long way away and you might as well plan big. By the time you finish, another $250-350 for a manual jackplate might not be such a big deal. A power jackplate is another story, but I don't think it'd be necessary with a tiller motor. 

Nate


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## Taterides

Looking forward to this one.... Good luck.


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## oysterbreath

Did some more work on the project. Cut out the plywood for the transom and glued it up. Cut out hairpen but didn't glue it up yet. I also played with the parts a bit

The two pictures below is the frame that gets laminated to the transom. The transom is (2) layers of 3/4" marine ply. She will be sturdy!


















Next is the hairpin. I'm waiting to glue this thing up so I can make sure I've got the curve right. After gluing it up I will sand it down and stuff...
You can also see the two pieces of ply that make up the transom.


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## Brett

strongback/construction base?   :-?


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## oysterbreath

> strongback/construction base?   :-?


Ehhhhhhh, who needs a stinger strongback? Just kidding, I was just playing around with the parts and laid a few of them together. That's all. I am currently thinking up my strong back! I MIGHT build one like yours Brett. I'm not sure yet...


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## cwalden

Great looking build. I love the lines of the Ospreys.

Hate to hijack, but have a quick relevant question.
Why would you use a jackplate if you could build the transom they way it is needed? What would be the advantage. Other than being able to adjust the motor to run real shallow. For me, that is what poling is for. Please explain...


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## oysterbreath

> Great looking build.  I love the lines of the Ospreys.
> 
> Hate to hijack, but have a quick relevant question.
> Why would you use a jackplate if you could build the transom they way it is needed?  What would be the advantage.  Other than being able to adjust the motor to run real shallow.  For me, that is what poling is for.  Please explain...


No problem, Well. The design calls for the use of a jackplate. The transom, where one might mount the motor if no jackplate is in use, has some structural members that stand in the way of conventional motor mounting. So if I were to opt for NOT using a jackplate I would have to do a little bit of redesigning on the fly. So, might as well stick with the plans first time around.

(NOTE, THE IMAGES BELOW ARE NOT MINE)-for you folk that don't like to read!​
Back to the strongback. Brett the design in the photo below is closest to the design that would work best for me so far:



















See, the real issue I would have with a "base" like yours (even though that's what I would prefer to build due to it's versatility) is that I would still have to build vertical arms on it. You see, the Osprey's shape doesn't allow for the mounting of the hairpin/ frame tops at the same elevation/height like many other geometrically simpler designs. The simplest way for me to describe this is that the bottom of the boat at the keel is level but the deck curves upward. If I were to build it with the hairpen/deck line flush to the top of a base I would have to slightly angle all the frames and transom. BUMP THAT! LOL


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## Brett

The reasons I used a construction base were that a garage floor is never straight or level,
and I was building the hull upright so as to be able to see how it looked as it was assembled.
The construction base provided a squared, flat, level surface from which all measurements could be made.
Snap a chalk line down the center, station marks along the sides,
made it like working off a big sheet of graph paper.
Very easy to check symmetry and square as the build proceeded.
I think that's the reason Rosco used one for his build.
With the variable height sheer, you can see how he dealt with the framing in the pic below.


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## oysterbreath

Brett, his frames, unlike mine are temporary. Mine are permanent. I'm thinking it would be more efficient and practical for me to use a strong back rather than a base. We'll see though....off to work I go!


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## oysterbreath

So the last week has been slow for boat construction. I've just been prep'ing some of my frames, cutting out those dreaded douglas fir sap spots in some of my wood and filling them with thickened epoxy. Some might say that's over kill but frack-it! At some point of time that sap could start oozing out so I had to nip that in the bud! I now have my keel laminated and my hairpin is assembled into 4 major parts. I was gonna glue up the hairpin into port and starboard pieces but fortune shined upon me and I opted not to. So Why do I say "fortune shined on me", well I will tell you. One night, I had the urge to play round with sketchup. See, I use Revit and Microstation at work and sometimes sketchup when I want to illustrate a complex piece of geometry quickly. So that night I decided to draft up The Osprey to play around with a strongback design and a few other things. Well, doing that allowed me to discover that I forgot to cut the very last part of an angle into my hairpin. If I had glued it all up I would have had to do some extra-extra modifications. Since I didn't join those pieces I can do the modifications more simply. Having the model will also allow me to play around with some other ideas without wasting tree...well, not directly anyway.



















I have decided to alter the bulkheads at the front and back of the cockpit a little bit. I will still have an OPEN framed bulkhead up front but I might put a vertical hatch into the rear bulkhead. The great thing about a cold molded skiff like this is that I can do those things right now. If I don't like it, toss it!


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## oysterbreath

I put some thought into my strongback, I decided that going with a 16 foot long strongback was ideal. I will have to add a bit of bracing for some of the frames and the stern but it will work. Here is the BASIC layout of the strongback. I decided to go with 4 legs. Once everything is leveled and put into place I will put it up on casters. I might change the height of the strongback also.



















[media]http://s1126.photobucket.com/albums/l607/dajuane/?action=view&current=OspreyframesV8-1.mp4[/media]

Sad thing is...this is on hold for the next week-na'-half till I get back in town.


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## Gramps

22 days and no update... All work and no play makes D a worthless boat builder... ;D


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## oysterbreath

> 22 days and no update... All work and no play makes D a worthless boat builder...  ;D


Yeah bro. I've been in-and-out of town for nearly a month. I'm back now though. I got a little more work done.


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## oysterbreath

Man, I really hate following up my own post! Well, here are a few more pictures. I had finished the keel early in the month but never posted pictures. The flat portion of keel is made up of 4 peices. two sets of (2) 8'-0" long members. Scarfed (2) peices end-to-end. Repeat but stagger the scarfs, and laminate them together. 1:8 and 1:12 scarfs are typical for boat construction, Timm calls for 1:12. Turns out, 1:12 is hard as frack to do with a 10" miter and jig so I cheated. My scarfs are actually 1:10. Here is my jig and the end result:



















Lamination:


















This past weekend I thought a bit more about the finished boat. I KNOW the openings on the cockpit bulkheads are going to take a beating. The design calls for 1/4" plywood bulkheads laminated to the frames at the front and rear of the cockpit. I decided to over build these. I wanted to beef-up the openings so I added some extra fir to the frames where the bulkhead openings will be once I laminate the 1/4" ply to the frames:


















I have a few more things to do before I can consider the frames ready to be mounted onto the strongback.

1.) Laminate 1/4" ply (bulkheads) to the cockpit frames and router out the openings. I will also round off the outside edge of the openings too. I think this will give the final panel a nice finished look. I will be painting my bulkheads.

2.) Add 1/4" ply to the top of my hairpin.

Currently, I consider any marine ply a long-lead item (takes a long time to acquire) and I want to get all of it at one time instead of piece mill. Sooooo, I'm thinking about using Luan at these locations. there's no bending involved and I'll also be using 4oz glass on the finished side of the bulkhead so I'm thinking...why not. So do you guys think I'll be fine with the luan?

Also, I stopped by Homedepo, not my usual store but a different one. They had 3/4" millwork grade ply on sale for $26. So I bought some for my strong back and had them cut it. I also picked up some caster wheels. I'm on a role now. My first milestone is getting closer. *Milestone 1* :_frames on strongback_!


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## Gramps

There are still two things I can't get through my head. 1. It looks like you're building furniture. and 2. Those cuts look too good, like they have been cnc cut.

As for the luan, fully encapsulated and attached securely to the frame, I can't see any reason not to use it. Heck Brett's entire boat is luan!


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## oysterbreath

> There are still two things I can't get through my head. 1. It looks like you're building furniture. and 2. Those cuts look too good, like they have been cnc cut.
> 
> As for the luan, fully encapsulated and attached securely to the frame, I can't see any reason not to use it. Heck Brett's entire boat is luan!


Thanks for the compliment. I just hope the end result floats well! lol

Well, today I finished my strongback...but it sucks. I need to half-way disassemble it because it's not square. Oh well, Try try again!

As for the Luan, How did I miss that Brett used Luan? Dang! Well I guess I just need to find a halfway decent Luan supplier in Orlando then. Home Depo's supply looks like pure junk!


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## Brett

I used luan because there was no local dealer for marine ply.
The cost of shipping was egregious. In order to make sure of hull strength
due to using luan, I overdid the fiberglass layups on all seams
and 'glassed both the inside and outside of the hull.
I'd recommend okuome over luan for this hull, as you aren't building a disposable marsh skiff.
With the time and effort needed for this hull, do it right, use marine plywood, not luan.


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## oysterbreath

OK, so got a little more work done. I built the strongback. Well, actually I over built the snot out of it. Home depo had a really good price on some good ply so I got it. I ended up spending about 60 bucks on it.















































I had a chip in one of my gussets so I "fixed" it with thickened epoxy. Although I plan a bright interior I do plain to paint my gussets and bulkheads.










I still have to make some small adjustments to my frames. I started measuring them and two of them are a lil out of wack. It's about 3/4" of side to side difference in the two frames so that means they are a few degrees out of wack.


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## Andrewp

You tracking your time on this? I figure your tracking costs, but I want to know how much time this whole project ends up taking ..... 

Like Gramps said, damn, quit making furniture - your embarassing any of my prior work that I posted here ... 

(this thing is georgeous, and I'm not surprised -- keep it up!)


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## oysterbreath

Thanks AP, I apreciate the kind words bro!


Well...NO, I'm not tracking time at all!
My time is so weird because for every one hour in the garage actually working I spend about 30min doing other things. Heck, much of the "work" time I spend just sitting in my garage chair looking at the frames plotting my next move! I think tracking time for the use of others is a waiste of time because I waiste a lot of time that I spend in the garage. Heck, I was in the garge listening to NPR for 30 min and didn't even touch the boat.


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## hillcharl

It's coming along great. Keep up the good work!


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## WhiteDog70810

I thought about tracking my time and ran into the same problem. It is scary how calming it is to just look at a boat coming together while you drink your coffee or rootbeer or adult beverage of choice. It should be prescribed for people with anxiety disorders. A downside is that you don't get quite as much work done over a weekend as you predict on Friday.

Nate


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## oysterbreath

> A downside is that you don't get quite as much work done over a weekend as you predict on Friday.
> 
> Nate


Sooooooo true!
I just spent an hour in the garage and did nothing but check my dimensions. I've got a lil bit of belt sander work ahead of me. Well, I guess it is far to say that I did one other thing too. I laid "pretend stringers across all of my frames. I'm trying to get a grasp of just how much I'm gonna have to torture my stringers into place. Steam bending is gonna be some hard work! Time mentioned that I could also split some of the stringers lengthwise and re glue them into place. That MIGHT ease some of the pain. Part of my issue is the length of the stringers. I'll have to laminate two full 8ft pieces and another shorty just to get the right total length. I can't steam the whole length. I don't want the steam getting to any of my scarfed joints. So I'll have to figure out away to steam the first 6-8 foot section by itself. So I have to basically come up with a mini steamer of sorts. Something I can slide over the wood, steam, and quickly slide it back off. Man, that makes me wanna just try laminating strips instead of trying to steam long thick solid stringers and chin logs....

Anyone ever steamed long pieces of wood?


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## Brett

Back when I was researching strip built hulls, I ran across a nifty device,
it's called a pvc steam box. It can be built as long as you need it to be.

found it again...

http://www.bayareawoodworkers.org/steambox/steambox.html


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## oysterbreath

Brett, thanks a ton bro!
That's the best one I've seen so far. I've looked at a few other PVC box designs and they all were lacking. I had invisioned one similar to that one but I think THAT one is better than the one I thought up. As far as length goes. My main issue is do I scarf my wood up to the length that I actually need and risk weakening my joints by putting the whole assembled peice into the steam box...or do I steam the 8 foot sections separate, put in place, clamp, then try to match up my scarfs up and put epoxy on the joints after they've cooled?

I know that solid wood will create the strogest stringers but I'm seriously considering ripping my fir down to 1/2" strips and building my stringers from laminated strips. I duno yet but thanks.


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## Brett

Steaming epoxy joints...never tried it...sounds like an experiment is needed.
Make a test scarf and boil it, bend it, see if it holds up, report the results.

                                                :-?


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## riptide

the best way is to epoxy your 12 to 1 scarf joints with epoxy first 

then soak the peice in water over night 

pull it out of the steam box (the pvc one is great) and clamp it on the boat 

when its dry it will have the curve built into the memory of the wood 

then glue and fasten it to the boat , it will have some spring back, but it will work


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## riptide

if you bend them indivudally then scarf it will be hard to make the joint perfectly strait

so if your finished width is 2'' i would cut the peices @2 1/4 scarf them toghther then rip them down on the saw to take up for the smallest missalighment of the scarf in glueing


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## oysterbreath

So the steam had little to no effect on the epoxied scarfs? Hmmm, that's good! Now it just comes down to process logistics and $...

Thanks!


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## jladdsmith

Oyster- build a steam box. You will enjoy the process and the results, just do not do what I did. 

I started out with a 6" PVC rig. It melted, and could not get the wood up to temp. Then, I built one out of pine boards as I wanted a permanent box that could be used for multiple projects. Since building this, I realized that this is NOT the way to go. Don't waste your time or money on PVC or a wood box. The best thing you can do is to build one out of foam and duct tape. 

See this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPYIRThOeI


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## riptide

http://www.bayareawoodworkers.org/steambox/steambox.html you can use rags  to  close off the ends 

my peices were 20' long and needed to sream only 8 ft of that 

so one end i enclosed with rags and let the wood hang out 
no need for a 20' steam box if you dont need it


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## oysterbreath

There is some 6" or 8" PVC in my attic from the previous owner of my house. I think it is C-pvc which is much better at high heat tolerance than the standard stuff. I might use that. If not I will look into using the foam. I also thought about using aluminum downspout. I can get it cheaper than PVC or even an 8x4 sheet of foilback polyiso. Thanks for all the feedback!


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## Boatdesigner

Laminate the stringers. Stagger the joints as much as possible and you will be fine. Laminated wood is stronger than solid as it doesn't check or split. Looks good so far!


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## oysterbreath

> Laminate the stringers. Stagger the joints as much as possible and you will be fine. Laminated wood is stronger than solid as it doesn't check or split. Looks good so far!


Thanks, I have to currently wait a little while to progress more. I think I will end up laminating my chin logs, side stringers, and 2 of my bottom stringers. I have to wait a little while until I buy a table saw. I don't currently have the tools needed to rip my laminated strips from boards. I'm gonna end up having some that are 3/4" wide and some that are 2" wide. Thickness will probably be 1/4" or 1/2". I have not decided yet.
In all honesty, It's still a toss up between laminating and steaming. TODAY...just happens to be the day that laminating sounds better!


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## oysterbreath

It's been a wee bit since I've updated. At this point of time I've got the harpin on and shaped. The keel/stem is on and shaped. Also, I have laminated the chin logs. I am currently shaping the chin logs. It's a lot of work. I first tried my cheap hand planer. It got tiring real quick but I kept with it. I still have a bit more to do. I also finally got to use the sureform. that's a great tool! It takes off material real nice. Anyway, here are some pics.

Harpin prior to gluing









I did the harpin in four parts for ease, two each side.









The harpin is made up of 3/4" douglas fir with 1/4" marin ply laminated to it. This made it easier to glue the two sides. I simply left off a good width of the ply to add later to make the harpin whole has it was intended.


















Once the harpin was done I moved on to the keel/stem




























Picture of the harpin once it was trimmed up


















Chin logs going on









I'm REALLY glad that I DIDN'T try to steam my wood. Laminating was much easier I think. I have a co-working with more tools than I can count. He allowed me to stop by and rip all the wood I needed for my chin logs and stringers. I don't have a table saw and I've never used one before. So he schooled me on it's proper use of the tool and we got-ta ripping. Fun stuff! So next are the stringers!


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## Andrewp

Awesome work as usual, my friend!!

Jumping ahead a bit ....... any final ideas on color scheme?


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## oysterbreath

> Awesome work as usual, my friend!!
> 
> Jumping ahead a bit ....... any final ideas on color scheme?


Thanks, I have a few ideas but I haven't made up my mind yet. Here are a few

SCHEME ONE:
-Oyster white hull, front and rear bulkheads and deck.
-Bright work interior. 
-Seadek on removable sole.
-Deck paint in key areas to receive non-slip additive.

SCHEME TWO:
- Hull, front and rear bulkheads and deck color to be close to sea foam green but a few shades lighter.
-Bright work interior. 
-Seadek on removable sole.
-Deck paint in key areas to receive non-slip additive.

SCHEME THREE:
-Bright hull sides and transom (mahogany veneer from Thomas Lumber co.)
- Oyster white hull bottom and deck
-Seadek on removable sole.
- Oyster white fully painted interior
-Deck paint in key areas to receive non-slip additive.


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## Brett

I don't think you have enough clamps, I know I didn't!   

Am I optically deluded or is there a slight kink in the keel line at frame 6?


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## oysterbreath

> I don't think you have enough clamps, I know I didn't!
> 
> Am I optically deluded or is there a slight kink in the keel line at frame 6?


Man OH man do I EVER! I sure do need more F clamps! At a minimum I need about 6 more and that's if I only want to continue doing just 2 stringers at a time.

I picture makes the "hog" look a bit more pronounced. It's just a thin sliver of wood that I didn't take off. Some of it I decided not to shave off till I have more stringers on...


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## WhiteDog70810

Dude, you gotta learn to bald faced lie, i.e. "That "kink" actually a very cutting edge design feature.  It allows the hull to track straight in a cross wind.  Notice how it is far enough forward to clear the water while on plane.  It is just another feature that makes my boat so cool."  This is best said with a very smug and satisfied look that a forum comment just can't convey.  Option #2 is to own it, i.e. "Yep, my boat is kinky."

Don't worry, if you hang around here, we'll learn ya' right.

Nate


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## Rosco

Just read the entire thread from start to finish and the boat is looking great. How much time do you spend just staring at what you've accomplished so far?


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## oysterbreath

> Don't worry, if you hang around here, we'll learn ya' right.
> Nate


LOL I will keep that in mind!



> Just read the entire thread from start to finish and the boat is looking great.   How much time do you spend just staring at what you've accomplished so far?


Thanks, Well...it's really hard to say. I started on the weekend of the 4th of July. I worked every weekend that month. I was out of town most of August but did manage to work that last weekend. I hit it pretty hard in September. That month I think I worked every Saturday and Sunday on the boat plus about an hour or two each day after work.  October was the same except for the first week or two. I've put more hours into the boat than I care to figure out. It'll tell you what though, if I had done this from a kit I'd be waaaaay ahead of where I am. But there is something special about making a boat the same my my grandma made her biscuits...from scratch! lol

BTW currently I have all but two stringers on. The picture in my last post is already outdated...


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## out-cast

Bump this mutha


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## oysterbreath

What's up outcast?
Well, I realize it has been a while since I added pictures. So here are a few more. I'm still fairing the frame system, sanding it, and adding little details that will be difficult if done later on.

At the last transverse frame I'm about to add limber holes so I have to beef it up a bit:









At the bow, I'm beefing up the keel so that later when I add my eyebolt it's not severing the keel.









Here an overall of where I am:









My next move...finish fairing and taking off clumps of thickened epoxy. After that, I need to decide if I wanna epoxy coat all of my exposed wood-everything except the surface that the planks will be attached too. I think it will be easier to do it now than later. 
I will soon be ordering my plywood. I'm going to use 4mm 1088 meranti. The best price I could find is from Noah's. When I started this I bought 3 gallons of epoxy. So far I have 1/2gal of resin and 1/4 gallon of hardener left over. Not bad!

Also, I finally got around to checking my mailbox today and guess what I got...the Alexseal catalog. Man I gotta tell ya' they have some EXCELLENT paint colors. I need to find out more about there stuff for sure!


----------



## WhiteDog70810

Oysterbreath,

I didn't realize there was that much framing.  That last pic is impressive.  You've made good progress.

Nate


----------



## Brett

> I wanna epoxy coat all of my exposed wood-everything except the surface that the planks will be attached to


When making wood to wood bonds,
is it better to prime both surfaces with epoxy and let it cure before making the final glue up,
or to coat the raw wood with epoxy and fasten while the epoxy is still liquid?
I think all the joints on the Slipper were primed and cured before bonding.
I remember all the filleted joints were primed first. Priming before bonding
keeps the bonding epoxy in the joint, prevents it from being soaked into the wood
and starving the joint.

:-?


----------



## oysterbreath

Well, What I've read (geugon bros) is that when bonding two pieces of wood. First coat each with unthickened epoxy (more for end-grain conditions.) Wait a while so that the wood will soak up the unthickend stuff. Then apply the thickened epoxy and clamp. 

If it's a situation where one of the surfaces has cured epoxy, then sand it down a bit.

So I'm with you: Prime, make sure it's saturated. Then lather on the thick stuff.

Yeah, there is a lot of framing but you know what. It's really light! This will receive two layers of 4mm ply and 8oz fiberglass. Per the design the glass is not needed for structure. since that's the case I've been flirting with the idea of using something lighter and with more puncture resistance than 8oz glass.


----------



## hooked-up

Thats making good headway in a short period of time. I'm almost a year into building a 15'6" cold molded skiff. I am using the Alexseal paint and like it a lot. You will really like planking--it really starts to take shape. I'm no expert but will answer any questions you got. Here's a shot of the bottom after final coat just before flipping the hull. 
tom


----------



## oysterbreath

Tabasco, that looks great. I'm gonna have to ask you some questions indeed!
Thanks!


----------



## oysterbreath

It's been a while since my last update. I THINK I'm making decent progress. Currently I have the first layer of plywood on and I've begun semi-fairing it. The second layer, I hope, goes one smoothly! Here she is:

Rosco, THANKS for the screw tip!
TEK Metal Lathe screws are the way to go! NONE of them broke off! I bought 3 cases of these. 2 boxes of #8 1/2" screws and 1 box of #8 3/4" screws. I screwed and unscrewed ALL three boxes! Not ONE of them broke. There were a few times that I had to break out the impact screw driver but they came right out. Using the impact, they came out even when the heads were striped. I Indeed love my cordless dewalt impact drill driver! Without it, I might have had to cut a few screws out.



























Below, things getting permanently glued










You can see a shinny spot of dried/ thickened epoxy here. I had a bit of fish scaling because the ply did that saddle back thing where is sags. I applied a trimmed piece of ply there and epoxied over it. I'll be removing much of what you see.



























I've been keeping tabs on my plywood. So far, for the first layer I cut into 6 peices of ply. However, I had a lot of usable left over from it. Actually I had enough left over to do atleast the front end of the second layer. I bought 12 sheets for the hull. I think I will end up cutting into all of them but will have a LOT of usable leftover.


----------



## oysterbreath

Looking back, these pictures simply do not show the "flair" well. This design has some sweet but simple "carolina type" flair to it.


----------



## WhiteDog70810

I understand the theory, but seeing cold molding in action is cool. It continues to amaze me how this technique creates those compound curves out of ply. I'll never try it myself, but I can respect it in others' projects. You, Rosco and Tabasco are turning out some incredibly builds.

Nate


----------



## Rosco

Looking good. I think you'll find that the second layer takes care of fish scaling. If you have any bad spots on the second layer, you can use a screw with a large fender washer where the planks meet to make sure that pull in and match up nicely. I would recommend using fender washers on the entire second layer to make sure you get more clamping pressure between the two layers. Keep up the good work.


----------



## hooked-up

Looking great!! Rosco is right about second layer pulling first layer flat. And the fender washers. I used those, wood blocks, and raptor staples. I'll try to find a pic to show it. 
Now its really looking good you're doing great.
tom


----------



## oysterbreath

Rosco, yeah...I think I will use fender washers throughout. I also plan to use the staple gun too. My plan is to only use the Tek screws where the frames are. Everywhere else I will use staples. That way I will not have to fill "through" screw holes. My hull doesn't have as much flair as yours so the staples should be fine. I did a test piece using 3/8" crown staples that are 5/16" long. That's long enough that it doesn't penetrate fully the first layer too. But it does hold the second layer.
Tobasco, I have never heard of raptor staples before. I peeked at the web site and those things are really interesting. Did you leave them in? I only have a manual staple gun. I might try to borrow a pneumatic though. I hear most of the electric staple guns suck!

Also, Tobasco I found your thread on sportsfisherman. Dude, there are a ton of big time builders commenting on your build. WOW, one of them, billschwabe is using a kevlar/fiberglass blend fiber. Do you know where he gets it? My glass schedule is still up in the air! I might call a few local boat builders that I THINK might be using aramid fibers.


----------



## hooked-up

Yeah the composite staples stay in. They sand easy, take epoxy/paint/etc. You're going good already but if you wanted to try it i'm close by and would loan u the gun for them. Remember to pull all those metal staples out! Had a friend use kevlar on the bottom of a 17' flats boat--said it was tough and tough to work with --can't cut with regular scissors and if you hit it sanding it fuzzes up like crazy and check the $$ !! Your build is looking great, keep it up.
tom


----------



## Andrewp

Lookin' good there, pard'ner ...... don't spend too much time agonizing over staple choices and your 'glass schedule. I'm already seeing myself up there on the bow, with you polling me around, when Tarpon season gets here ...... ;D


AP


----------



## oysterbreath

> Lookin' good there, pard'ner ...... don't spend too much time agonizing over staple choices and your 'glass schedule.  I'm already seeing myself up there on the bow, with you polling me around, when Tarpon season gets here ......  ;D
> 
> 
> AP



lol, yeah...well when it's MY turn to take the bow you'd better figure out how to pole for a left handed caster! lol

On that note. I'm amazed at how many people who call themselves GUIDES don't know that there IS a huge difference! Friends who don't know...that fine....but guides...you get NO TIP and NO word of mouth promotion!


----------



## oysterbreath

Well, I am finish planking the second layer. It went together pretty well. I'm fairing it a bit now. I will post pictures soon...I hope.
Currently I'm debating; fiberglass or Xynole. I'm aware of the epoxy hungry appetite of Xynole but the up shot is how much more abrasion resistant it is!
So I did some quick math to figure out if using Xynole was really as heavy as they say it is. This is what I have found based on my first source of information n xynole and epoxy:


Osprey 18 hull area= 130SF (14.4 SY)

8oz Fiberglass: .5 lbs/SY (14.4SY) =  7.2 lbs total weight of raw material

4oz Xynole: .25 lbs/SY (14.4SY) = 3.6 lbs  total weight of raw material

Fiberglass absorption based on information found at:

http://www.fiberglasssite.com/servlet/the-68/Fiberglass-Information,-and-How/Detail

Calculations below do not account for epoxy absorbed by wood. I Assume that it would be the same for both cases. The site shows that 10oz fiberglass uses 1 gallon per 6.5 square yards and that 6oz used 1 gallon per 10 square yards. No info for 8oz. Simple mathematical extrapolation indicates that 8oz would use 1 gallon per 8.25 SY. Rumor has it that Xynole consumes as much epoxy as 10 oz fiberglass. Thus I use the numbers for 10oz F-glass.



4oz Xynole: 14.4 SY / 6.5 gal per SY = 2.21 gal

8oz Fiberglass: 14.4 SY / 8.25 gal per SY = 1.75 gal

Information I have found online indicates that mixed Epoxy is generally 9.2 lbs per gallon

4oz Xynole:  3.6lbs +( 2.21 gal(9.21 lbs per gal)) = 23.95 lbs

8oz Fiberglass: 7.2lbs +( 1.75 gal(9.21 lbs per gal)) = 23.31 lbs

I think this shows that Xynole is a good alternative to 8oz for non-structural sheathing. Unfortunatly, AFTER is did all of this I found another source claiming that Xynole uses MUCH more epoxy than 10oz glass. infact, this feller named Top Lathrop makes this claim:



> Xynole takes approximately 0.32# of epoxy per sq ft to fill the weave sufficiently for finishing.  Epoxy weighs 8.8#/gal.  So one gallon of epoxy will fill about 8.8/0.32 = 27 sq ft of Xynole.  These numbers are from my own work so there may be other numbers that are slightly different.
> 
> Fairing will add some weight also.
> http://messing-about.com/forums/topic/6456-sheathing-brs-17-with-xynole-how-much-epoxy/


 Now I'm like ohhhhhhhh snap! Sooooooo, I'm not sure what to do again.
Raka is my connection for my glassing needs. They tend to have a better selection and pricing for glass. They have a 9oz. If I can't fully confirm my numbers I might just go with that. Their 9oz is actually stronger than the 10oz.


Interesting data:


----------



## Andrewp

Damn!!! Nice finds on that research. That's info I know a lot of builders think about when making choices (after factoring in costs, etc.) for their builds.

Need to show off the photos of the completed hull, please ....... 

What's next -- do you final-finish the bottom then flip? Or do you have something else planned?

AP


----------



## oysterbreath

Soon! I'll post some pics soon. I'm still fairing the final layer of ply. I should have been a little more ceremonious about my final plank (wisky plank) but I was kinda arse-backward in my planking so my final plank was at the transom instead of at the bow. Anyway, being that this weekend is the first weekend of the month I will have plenty of time to work (wife will be on base)...unless I try to make a pilgrimage down to Ankona to see some REAL boats being made! lol

Anyway, I also put some solid wood on the keel. That's been shaped up too.

Next step, FIBERGLASSING!

This is my Glassing routine:
1.) Glass outside of transom with woven 9oz S-glass
It will actually be S-2 glass. It's much stiffer than woven or biax E-glass.

2.) tape the seams (6" E-glass woven tape) I MIGHT go with biax, I don't know yet

3.) For the general lamination, I'm still up in the air. It will either be Xynole or 9oz plain weave, woven E-glass Style 7725. This stuff is said to be stronger than 10oz. The design doesn't call for glass this heavy but I'm gonna beach this boat from time to time and might even bump a few oysterbeds so the extra abrasion resistance will be nice.


----------



## jshdang

wow you guys do some awesome work, i wish i had seen this last year when i had the time i would have started one you have me itching to do one now, great stuff guys


----------



## oysterbreath

Been a while since i updated. I got the final layer on and my next step is to start glassing. I will be using 10oz fiberglass. Here are some pics that the designer, Timm Smith took when he stopped by to see the boat. Timm's a really cool dude!


----------



## Rosco

Looking great!


----------



## Brett

I'm sitting here at my monitor looking at the hull with my head upside down. 

That's going to have some really classic lines Oyster! [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]


----------



## oysterbreath

> I'm sitting here at my monitor looking at the hull with my head upside down.
> 
> That's going to have some really classic lines Oyster!  [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]


Thanks, I just hope I can do a decent job glassing it. AP is going to stop by and help out. I gave up on the idea of using xynole. If you can see the grain direction...you'll see WHY I'm going to go with traditional glass! lol! I've started back thinking about ONEpart paint instead of the two part stuff. touch-up and repairs will be much easier with one part from what I hear. I know the two part stuff is a harder finish but eventually it will need touch up. I THINK that's when the single component paint will be more advantageous...I think...


----------



## hooked-up

nice work. The glassing seems like a lot but goes quick with help. Only advice i can give on that is buy a pack of new spreaders/squeegees for the job and have help mixing and spreading. Enjoy.
tom


----------



## BARRY_LARRY

My Hat is off to you. Looks great so far.Call this guy for great prices on lumber, he's a good ole' boy and he delivers to you. you'll just have to see what he has in stock . He has great juniper planks ,much lighter than fir. Juniper loves epoxy. Sorry,I don't remember his name but the company is Redwood Bay Lumber 85O-674-8464. Keep posting as you go .....can't wait to see more pix


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## Andrewp

Looking forward to seeing this bad boy in person and breathing some epoxy fumes with ya!! 

AP


----------



## oysterbreath

> My Hat is off to you. Looks great so far.Call this guy for great prices on lumber, he's a good ole' boy and he delivers to you. you'll just have to see what he has in stock . He has great juniper planks ,much lighter than fir. Juniper loves epoxy. Sorry,I don't remember his name but the company is Redwood Bay Lumber  85O-674-8464. Keep posting as you go .....can't wait to see more pix


THANKS, I keep flirting with the idea of a wood deck.
One of the fellas (flyonthewall)over at Bataue did a beautiful mahogany deck








The only thing keeping me from doing one is price! My goodness it's expensive!!!!!!!
This is a fishing boat afterall....Don't let me find some cheap suitable wood though!!!


----------



## ethan.weber

wow that boat looks great. a cheaper alternative might be teak. im not sure how well that would work though.


----------



## mudd_minnow

Nice shot of this wood deck on this boat. Even at the high expence, I bet in 5 years you had wished you made the deck out of wood. How about a 1/4 sheet of Mahogany ply. 
I'm looking at doing this same thing but out of 1/8 birch ply.


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## oysterbreath

> wow that boat looks great. a cheaper alternative might be teak. im not sure how well that would work though.


Teak is a much more expensive wood. Infact Teak is the pinnacle of marine woods! For me, it's far to dense and too expensive! A true Teak deck would run me about $2800 JUST in wood! They make a Teak ST deck that still runs about $900 a sheet! 
http://www.worldpanel.com/stdecking.htm

I would need three sheets. No sir, Teak is out of the question!



> Nice shot of this wood deck on this boat. Even at the high expence, I bet in 5 years you had wished you made the deck out of wood. How about a 1/4 sheet of Mahogany ply.
> I'm looking at doing this same thing but out of 1/8 birch ply.


I looked into mahogany ply AND veneer. They wern't bad options. Best price I found on it was from world panel. contact a fella named Chase.


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## mudd_minnow

Thanks for the info.
World Panel
Chase

I'm looking for the birch to have the lines cut into it like paneling. White birch with a darker (not to dark) hull and white birch deck. Maybe have a gold stripe down the hull
(The rich look).


----------



## oysterbreath

> Thanks for the info.
> World Panel
> Chase
> 
> I'm looking for the birch to have the lines cut into it like paneling.  White birch with a darker (not to dark) hull and white birch deck. Maybe have a gold stripe down the hull
> (The rich look).


When you contact them:
http://www.worldpanel.com/
Tell them if you are a member of the woodenboat forum. They have special pricing for members.


----------



## DuckNut

If teak is out of the equation - let me muddy up your thoughts - IPE

It is cheap and is way beyond durable. Downside is your tool MUST be very sharp to work with it and predrilling is necessary.


----------



## mudd_minnow

What is IPE?


----------



## Brett

http://www.woodsthebest.com/ipe_decking/ipe-wood.htm


----------



## oysterbreath

> http://www.woodsthebest.com/ipe_decking/ipe-wood.htm


Yeah, I thought about Ipe (brazilian walnut) too. Garapa, Tigerwood, and Cumaru came up too. I don't recall what the price point was on any of them though. My issue with Teak that I want to still put a layer of fiberglass over it but Teak doen't work well that way so I would have had to use a more traditional teak decking system with thicker planks. Ipe, you hit the nail on the head. VERY hard and VERY heavy. Not little boat friendly in the weight department. It seemed to me that mahogany was the best. Cypress, then ceder. Cedar would have needed a lot of glass to compensate for it's relative weakness.


----------



## DuckNut

Have it milled to 1/8" and you won't know that it is there. Also you won't need a topcoat dressing. Install it and leave it alone - no work needed. Since you would be buying by the board foot you will get lots of pieces from a single board and would only be paying for a couple boards. If memory is correct cost is around $8-9 bdft vs 23-25 for teak.

My deck in MI is made from the stuff - 15+ years old and never touched it except for shoveling snow off it once in a while.


----------



## oysterbreath

> Have it milled to 1/8" and you won't know that it is there.  Also you won't need a topcoat dressing.  Install it and leave it alone - no work needed.  Since you would be buying by the board foot you will get lots of pieces from a single board and would only be paying for a couple boards.  If memory is correct cost is around $8-9 bdft vs 23-25 for teak.
> 
> My deck in MI is made from the stuff - 15+ years old and never touched it except for shoveling snow off it once in a while.


Hard to find 2x stock of Ipe, mohagany, or even clear cedar. I figure with 2x (8/4) stock I could rip it down to 1 5/8" x 3/8" for use as planks. Oh well!

Well, this past weekend AP stopped by and we glassed the hull. Thanks AP. After you left I did a second layer. knocked down the highs, reinforced the keel, chines, and transom edges. At the waterline entry on the stern/keel I now effectively have 4 layers of 10oz. Most of the keel is only three layers. 10oz ain't as difficult to lay as they say. It also conforms to edges really well too.


----------



## Andrewp

Yes, the glass laid down really nice. I took some pics and sent them to Oyster; hopefully he'll get them up here shortly ...

Gotta say that in person this boat, especially the bow, is dead-sexy ...... 

AP


----------



## Rosco

Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Rob


----------



## WhiteDog70810

I'd used basswood to strip build a deck because I like working with it, but the grain ain't anything special. I'd probably stain it before I glassed it if that was possible so it would have a little more "pop". The Ipe I've seen in person was pretty spectacular. I'd never want to cover it with glass myself, but then again that could just be because the idea of fairing using neat epoxy gives me chills. I'd go to your local exotic hardwoods vendor and look around. Heaven only knows what might catch your eye. I wonder if you could strip build a deck using that bamboo composite that Capt Sonnen used for the rod holders on his FS18? I think it is too floppy to cut into strips, but the pattern is really different.

Regardless, enjoy the process. This is the fun stuff.

Nate


----------



## Brett

Blah-blah-blah! Enough with the wood discussion already!
There was a whiff of epoxy in the air, but no pictures posted!

                  C'mon Oyster...times a wastin'!   

                         Need  pics now....withdrawal is kickin' in...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZrgxHvNNUc[/media]


----------



## DuckNut

Not hard at all-

http://buyhardwood.advantagelumber.com/c-129-ipe.aspx Call for custom job

http://www.everlastinghardwoods.com/2-x-6-ipe-decking-board-joist.html Cut yourself

Lots of places to buy the stuff

http://ipedeckingflorida.com/prices/decking-prices.php Right in Orlando

Enough with the excuses


----------



## oysterbreath

Gee wiz! I'm getting my butt kicked in here! lol
OK, Pictures...

Here are the progress pics from AP and I working on the fiberglass:























































Unlike S&G lamination I decided to put the chine and keel tape on TOP of my hull glassing. That way, I could feather sand the selvage edge of the tape into the hull glassing without damaging the hull glassing. In S&G the tape would have been under the hull glassing and one would have to using fairing compound filler to smooth it out. I don't like that process and since I can avoid it with my construction method I DID! I tried to make the bare wood as fair as possible so that I could avoid having to do patchwork fillings ONTOP of the fiberglass layer. I want to fully utilized the streingth of the glassed layer of epoxy. I think that having patches of filler creates areas that will be more prone to delamination. So I wanna minimize that. I still have some fill areas but not that much. Not a whole lot of fairing left. You'll notice that my second thin layer of epoxy I added a grey tint. that's why the hull looks a little cloudy. There are two layers of tape on the keel upfront.

One more thing I've been thinking about are my poling strates. I'm going to use a method I saw SOMEWHERE. I'll coat a 1/2" x 1/2" aluminum angle with mold release, fill it with thickened epoxy and tow. The angle will essentually be a mold. I'll pop the mold and bingo, I have my strates!


----------



## oysterbreath

Oh, and whoever said 10oz doesn't conform well to tight corners forgot to tell that to the fiberglass that we used cause it was pretty easy. We also ended up using less than a gallon of mixed epoxy for lamination. All-in-all it was actually pretty enjoyable and not too hard since I had great help. I COULD have been foolish enough to try it by myself but I'm soooooo glade that I didn't!


----------



## Andrewp

Awesome work, amigo. You'll have to make up your mind pretty soon now on final paint type and color ....... 

AP


----------



## oysterbreath

> Not hard at all-
> 
> http://buyhardwood.advantagelumber.com/c-129-ipe.aspx  Call for custom job
> 
> http://www.everlastinghardwoods.com/2-x-6-ipe-decking-board-joist.html Cut yourself
> 
> Lots of places to buy the stuff
> 
> http://ipedeckingflorida.com/prices/decking-prices.php  Right in Orlando
> 
> Enough with the excuses



Read-um and I'll do the weeping! lol









My estimate, which includes 15% waste is that I would need (14) 5/4x6"x10'-0" board to self mill down to 1/2" to 3/8" thick. Still not a great price. I'd rather get a Jack plate. lol


----------



## oysterbreath

Strakes...yeah, that's how you spell it. I'm also thinking about using polyester resin to make my strakes.


----------



## oysterbreath

OK, last night I tried to make some strakes using the aluminium angle method. I first coated the angle and plate with mold release. I then mixed up some polyester resin, chopped strand, and glass powder. Then I filled the angle and clamped the plate to it. I woke up this morning and separated the cured resin from the angle. Major failure. I think I put TOO MUCH material into the mix. Some parts were thin and it broke when I separated it from the angle. The mold release worked fine but the mixture was just too thin and brittle in some areas. I think next time I need to cut strips of fiberglass into the angle to give the strake more strength. I also need to cut back on filler. I will try again later this week.

Also, The polyester resin I bought only cost me $25 per gallon so I bought one gallon to play around with. Man, the scent of that stuff reminds me of my many trips to Mel's shop all those many moons ago! lol Anyway, I bought the resin from the shop that makes mosquito lagoon boats. They are located not far from my house. The owner was really cool and very courteous. It's really hard to find boat builders that are A-holes. I guess this business just attracts cool people. I WISH architecture was that way! lol

Another reason I got the polyester resin is because I wanna also play around with making micarta grips. That'll be much later though...


----------



## Boatdesigner

The boat is looking good! I don't spend much time on the forums any more as it seems I spend half my life at the oncologist these days. When I am not there I am either too tired or trying to get work done before I conk out again! 

Polyester probably isn't the best for making a putty. It will be brittle and it doesn't have the glue properties of epoxy. I would either cut some wood wedges and glue them to the bottom with epoxy or mold thickened epoxy.

Keep up the good work!


----------



## oysterbreath

> The boat is looking good! I don't spend much time on the forums any more as it seems I spend half my life at the oncologist these days. When I am not there I am either too tired or trying to get work done before I conk out again!
> 
> Polyester probably isn't the best for making a putty. It will be brittle and it doesn't have the glue properties of epoxy. I would either cut some wood wedges and glue them to the bottom with epoxy or mold thickened epoxy.
> 
> Keep up the good work!


Man, I hope ya' start feeling better soon!
Thanks, yeah...after casting my first polyester resin strake I realized how inferior it and redid them in epoxy! Much better! But after visiting Ankona...I think I'm gonna STEAL and idea from Mel! You hear me MEL...I'm stealing your idea! lol I felt like a Japanese engineer in a 1960's GM plant while I was there! lol These days...more like a Chinese spy in a Apple store! lol


----------



## Rosco

Boat is looking great. Any more progress?


----------



## oysterbreath

> Boat is looking great.   Any more progress?


Lol, man...im trying to figure out when to stop fairing. Or if i should paint befor flip.


----------



## WhiteDog70810

If you have to think about it, keep fairing. Hang in there. It is looking great.

Nate


----------



## Boatdesigner

[/quote]

Man, I hope ya' start feeling better soon!
Thanks, yeah...after casting my first polyester resin strake I realized how inferior it and redid them in epoxy! Much better! But after visiting Ankona...I think I'm gonna STEAL and idea from Mel! You hear me MEL...I'm stealing your idea! lol I felt like a Japanese engineer in a 1960's GM plant while I was there! lol These days...more like a Chinese spy in a Apple store! lol[/quote]

I have good days and bad days. Today was a good one as I actually felt well enough to ride my bike 17 miles. The day after chemo is generally good as they pump me full of steroids! That is why I am still up after midnight when I got up at 4 in the morning.  Good thing I am self employed!

Take your time with the fairing. If you miss a spot, it will haunt you forever. I tiled a tub once and there was one corner I didn't get lined up right, drove me nuts every morning in the shower! 

By the way, the Chinese don't have to spy on Apple, they build all the stuff anyway!


----------



## oysterbreath

> I have good days and bad days. Today was a good one as I actually felt well enough to ride my bike 17 miles. The day after chemo is generally good as they pump me full of steroids! That is why I am still up after midnight when I got up at 4 in the morning.  Good thing I am self employed!
> 
> Take your time with the fairing. If you miss a spot, it will haunt you forever. I tiled a tub once and there was one corner I didn't get lined up right, drove me nuts every morning in the shower!
> 
> By the way, the Chinese don't have to spy on Apple, they build all the stuff anyway!


It's been almost 20 years since I road my bike more than 8 miles! Waite, has it REALLY been that long? Dang, almost!Sad thing is that it's not cause I'm old...It's cause I got lazy real quick real young! lol

Anyway...yeah, I hear ya! Everyday I walk out to the garage and find a new spot that needs to be faired. Last night I filled in some pin holes and a couple low spots. Tonight I will break out the fairing boards. I'll spend a good amount of time fairing. Not because I want a mirror finish though. See, I have to save up some cash for the next major task. I need SOMETHING to do in the mean time and I have enough quick fair to fair till it hurts....soooooo! Fairing I will do untill I get the cash together! lol
One thing I've learned is that taking pictures while fair is a waste of time. You simple can't see the improvements. Heck, My wife can't even see the improvements. All she sees are the off-color spots where I've been fairing! lol The hull is ugly now but she sure does feel smooth!


----------



## Boatdesigner

I don't know what you are fairing with, but we used to fair plugs with a product called Duratec that was a sandable primer. It is used on hulls before paintng as well. It was very soft and was dark gray/black. While we were sanding it we would mount flourescent light tubes so that they shined down the length of the part. With the dark surface and the lights, every bump showed up, especially after the part was buffed a little. You did have to be careful not to heat the part up too much while buffing though as it would cause the flaws beneath the surface to rise to the top. We used cheap Chinese bufffer that didn't turn fast as they seemed to work best. They were also light, which was important because the lady who did the buffing only weighed about 90lbs soaking wet!

You may find that you see some things you don't want to after you spray the first coat of paint. Then you have to decide if it really bothers you or would you rather go fishing! I am a big proponent of enamel boat paint, rolled on with a foam roller work boat style. Easy to fix, cheap and not enough gloss to show your amateur fairing abilities!  I think they call it a ten foot finish, looks good if you are ten feet away!


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## oysterbreath

My first round of fairing I mixed my own using epoxy, wood flour, silica, and westsystem fairing compound. That was to get a few areas that needed some fill. After that the hull was pretty fair. There were just small regions so I then switched over to quick fair. I did 2-3 rounds of fairing with that. I didn't really use much though. I used about 1.5 cups of fairing compound each round. I'm just about ready for high build primer. I have a lil bit of sanding to do first...


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## Boatdesigner

Pictures! More pictures!


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## oysterbreath

> Pictures! More pictures!


Ahhhh fairing pics look the worst! I planed on taking some more once I get the high build primer on. I just placed an order from some system 3 primer so it should be showing up within the next few days. I have bigger issues though. I can't seem to make up my mind on the poling strakes. The ones I made were molded from 1/2"x1/2"x8'-0" aluminium angle. So without doing the math that Mr. Pythagoras tough me, I think that means the strakes are only about 3/8" tall. I'm starting to think that I would be much better off with 3/5" strakes. So I'm now thinking about carving my strakes from fir. I'll either use those directly or use the fir strakes as a plug to make a mold. I just have a bit of reserch to do. I want this skiff to pole like a dream!


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## oysterbreath

I wanted to share some of my ideas on the custom grab bar while I'm on my lunch break. My sole is going to be field removable unlike most other home built flats boats that have graced the threads of microskiff so nothing can be perminately attached to it. In order for me to have a grab bar, it will have to be mounted to the structure below the sole and the sole will have to be slotted to allow the grab bar to not interfer with sole removal. With that said, here are a few cheap rendering of the grab bar structural attachment. These images only show the primary structure of the boat without the "skin":

Here you can see the unit from the drivers side view









Here from the front of the cockpit looking back









Closeup from the driverside









closeup from the front









As you can see it's pretty basic. The grab bar is welded to a 4"x1'-0" aluminum plate that is surface mounted to the vertical face of the wood member. I will beef up the frame with two peices of douglas fir on each side and put a 4"x1'-0" aluminum plate on the other side too. The two plates will be through bolted together THROUGH the frame and two fir members. I think this should work. I haven't done any calculations yet. So, any comments or suggestions? Thanks


----------



## Brett

Torque loading is going to stress that frame loose from the skin of the hull.
I'd want some form of brace/gussets along the stringers to counter the rotational forces.
Imagine the jackhammer impacts caused by running a chop added to the load
created by your body weight changing vectors depending on your balance and hull motion.
What you have roughed out is a tubular reinforced prybar....but that's just my opinion.


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## oysterbreath

I did think about that but was uncertain if i was overreacting to the worse case senerio. I have an alternative that i will share later. Thanks for the observation brett. Feel free to make suggestions...


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## cutrunner

I agree with Brett on that one. From experience


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## Brett

Make your grab bar fit your passenger seating and cooler/storage box.
Spread the load out over more frames/stringers to prevent fracturing.
I don't know how you planned your interior layout...may be time to start
doing a garage floor setup to see where things will fit best.
I still like the original single or twin seat lodge hull layout.


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## oysterbreath

> Make your grab bar fit your passenger seating and cooler/storage box.
> Spread the load out over more frames/stringers to prevent fracturing.
> I don't know how you planned your interior layout...may be time to start
> doing a garage floor setup to see where things will fit best.
> I still like the original single or twin seat lodge hull layout.


Yeah, every time I try to get away from built in seating or a coffin it seems to creep right back into the picture. I agree though, a light weight duel seat would be nice. Some thing a little more stylish but just as practical as this:














EDIT:


















Modification to the design I showed before. This one has a section of alum. angle welded to each side of the vertical mounting plate. Althought I show a bolt at the keel, I would use screws instead. Very l ittle tension is exerting on the screws thought because since there is angle on each side, the face of the angles will be in conpression. blah blah blah...


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## oysterbreath

Here I am, following up my own post again. If there is ever a reason to ban me from this site, THIS IS IT! I proclaim myself KING of the double post!
Here's the box as Brett was suggesting:



























My thought is that IF I use a center box it will be dedicated to my electronics. It will house my battery system, battery switch, and distribution panel (not shown). I'm also flirting with the idea of mounting nav lights on the grab bar using these:

















I'm not sure yet though...


By the way, how much space I ideal between the lean bar and the rear bulkhead? My thought is about 30"...


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## Boatdesigner

Sorry not to respond sooner. Some days I get more done than others. I'm high on Dexamethasone (a heavy duty steroid) that they give me with the chemo, so if I don't make sense, blame the drugs! If you need to add that grab rail, please remember the forces involved. Your body weight falling against it creates quite a lever arm and will damage the frame, which was not designed for a twisting side load. Your best bet is to reinforce the frames by running a solid fir stiffener on top of the stringers, filling in the space between the frames and tying them together. This will help stop the twisting, although I can't say if it will meet the ABYC requirements for a grab bar. Brett's suggestion for spreading out the loads is a good one!

Off the top of my head, I think it needs to withstand a couple hundred pounds of load for a set time without breaking. If you want me to look it up, send me an email to remind me and I''ll get back to you. I won't remember on my own due to the fog of chemo brain!


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## DuckNut

I think you need to rethink the lights but I think the new design is much better.


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## WhiteDog70810

Do not put lights on the grab bar. They will destroy your night vision. Red and green do not mess up your night vision as badly as white light, but there is still significant impact. Keep nav lights below the flare of the bow so you do not have direct line of sight.

Nate


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## oysterbreath

> Do not put lights on the grab bar.  They will destroy your night vision.  Red and green do not mess up your night vision as badly as white light, but there is still significant impact.  Keep nav lights below the flare of the bow so you do not have direct line of sight.
> 
> Nate


Point taken. Thanks Nate.
Well I realized that I have not updated my progress in a while. Currently I am 90% done with primer on my hull.
Here's the rundown
I debated over and over about my poling strakes. I made some out of polyester resin and didn't like them, tried epoxy, then wood, and went back to epoxy. Before going through THAT song and dance, I did atleast build my hard chines...from epoxy ofcourse.
I used aluminum angles for the shape and thickened epoxy. The angles were coated with a release agent prior to work. I basically gooped the epoxy into the angle, squeezed the angle onto the edge, and taped it there. It wasn't as simple as that but that basically what I did. The technical part was that I used 3 different epoxy mixtures. The first coating of the angles was a bit more runny. Then I used a very thick coatingat the ends and a medium coating for the bulk of the mixture.


















The system worked out fine. The thin stuff worked it's way into the nooks and crannies of the medium mix. The thick stuff at the end kinda kept it all together by allowing the runny stuff to pass but slowed the meduim stuff down. I did the same for the transome



















Now for the poling strakes. I cut some 2x4s down and put "Vee" grooves into them to hold my angles while the epoxy curred. I made sure that the angles were level and had no sags.



















This time I made ONE mistake. I only used two thickness of epoxy. Super thick at the ends and light medium in the middle. I should have added less material to the middle. I used woodflour, silica, fiberglass. It needed to be a bit more runny. I ended up having a few places where it didn't funny take on the shape of the angle. This only ment I had a bit more filling to do afterward though.

Here's ONE fairing picture. Fairing sucks...I don't wanna remind myself of it by posting a bunch of fairing pictures either.









A bit closer to being done...


















You can see in the transome pic that I wore through one area of glass by mistake. A neighbor snuck up on me and scared me. lol I had to patch it with glass. and fair it real good. It was actually much smaller than it looks in that picture. I will add a few better pictures later. That's all for now


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## Rosco

LOL - I would buy a "fairing sucks" t-shirt! Looking good man, keep up the good work.


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## oysterbreath

Thanks Rosco!
Here's more.





































If you look closely at the pics above you can see a flaw. It actually looks more extreme than it actually is. There is a slight wave in my chine. You can only really notice it from ODD angles. I think the its about a 2mm difference. It's so slight that I'm afraid that if I try to fix it. I will just make it worse. You can't see it very well in person but in pictures it shows up very well. I'm gonna leave it alone. It's the weirdest thing!
Another weird thing...or maybe it's my horrible camera skills. I CAN NOT capture the hull flair without creating a photo that makes the hull look lop-sided! I swear, both sides of the boat have an even amount of flair! lol


Check out the transom



















poling strakes need a lil bit more work










bow eye hole is fully epoxied










Bigest flaw that I need to fix....dang pin holes in the bow!










So in reality...I prolly have a bit less than 90% of the fairing done. More like 75%...but don't tell that to the first mate!


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## Rosco

I really thought I would be done fairing by Christmas, I didn't flip it over until April 21st. As she became more fair, I noticed more and more little things. Things that bugged that crap out of me. It got so bad that all of a sudden I was upset with my home builder as I noticed all kinds of flaws in the drywall  Couldn't take a dump without noticing every nail head in the bathroom, stuff my wife never noticed. 

I had a couple of knowledgeable boat builders stop by the house last weekend and they told me me that no one would ever notice the flaws I was seeing in my own work. Camera's and lights will make you crazy. It's like making sausage until you are done, not all parts are pretty. Are you rolling or spraying your primer?


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## Rosco

Quick question... how did you decide on where to put your bow eye?


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## oysterbreath

> Quick question... how did you decide on where to put your bow eye?


I read some discussion on another forum. Sorry, don't have a link to it anymore. I think it was either woodenboat or amateur boat builder....It Said something about 8-10" above design water line but low enough when connected to the wench, force is directed upward not downward. Mine is 9" above if I recall correctly. Looking at it, it looks LOW to me. I debated with myself about raising it and just making sure that the wench is higher too. I take comfort that I beefed up the keel BIGTIME in that entire area just in case I need to redrill it. If you think I goofed up...don't hold back. lol Shout me out!


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## Brett

I'm going to add my 2 cents regarding bow eye placement.
Needs to be in a location with both vertical and horizontal reinforcement
to distribute the point load evenly to the structure and skin of the hull.
Should be in line with and slightly above the center of gravity of the finished, rigged hull.
When loaded on the trailer, a line drawn from the center of the eye
to the last lay on the winch, should be parallel to the line of the keel.
No up angle, no down angle, as the stresses caused by trailering and the
long term winch tension can cause the hull to change shape by twisting or hogging.


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## Rosco

I don't think you goofed up at all. I was asking for my own purposes and I think Brett provided great information. I really didn't want to purchase a trailer until the boat was just about done and I was wondering if there was a reliable way to position the bow-eye before selecting the trailer.


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## Brett

Fit the final winch/post height to the location of the bow eye.
Plenty of height options when it comes to trailer parts.

http://www.easternmarine.com/Boat-Trailer-Winch-Posts-Mounts/


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## oysterbreath

Brett, my keel at the bow has 3/4" fir doublers on each side since the 3/4" wide keel is perferated by the bow eye itself. I also added laminated strips to the inside and outside. There are also 4 layers of 10oz glass on it also but that's more-so for abrasion.


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## oysterbreath

Rosco, I've been rolling. I'm debating if I should sand before my next layer. I KNOW I will need to sand the pin holes after I fill them but the whole hull is still up for debate. I plan todo a final sanding of the primer with 100-120 grit. I'm thinking about paint again. Paint is such a touchy topic for me. One reason is cause I keep flirting with wood or synthetic wood decks. If I do a wood deck then I want a white hull. If not, I'll do a color. I'm re-investigating Nuteak and flexiteak. My deck is only 60-65 Square feet. You'd think I could get enough Teak or synthetic stuff to cover it and not break the bank!Ohwell! I hear you're saying about looking at the flaws. I See each and everyone! My wife just sees a gray up-side-down boat taking up space in the garage! lol


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## cutrunner

You sound just like me bro.. I sit there and stare at whatever im doing till im blue in the face, and im my worst critic. Imo, (and i just did my hull, so its fresh in my mind), i would paint the hull with awlcraft 2000. And if you cant do it, i would call up Glasser16 or something because i see and know how much time you got into fairing, and to not finish it off "properly" would be a shame..
Not to mention, if your like me, its will just eat away at your mind everytime you look at the boat and wish you woulda just dont it the right way. And all the people saying"if you actually fish your going to ruin the paint and bla bla" BS! They just wish the did it the right way as well. You may scratch the bottom, but so what? You dont see that anyways.. And if your bangin up the hull sides, you need to learn to drive, and buy 2 bumpers

Just my thoughts


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## Boatdesigner

She looks great! I would blend the front of the strakes in a little better though. The way they are in the pic, they are liable to throw water around and create an air pocket along the strakes, reducing their effectiveness.

By the way, I am almost finished with the baby brother to the Osprey, the Crystal 16. A couple more small detail drawings are all that is left. If the drugs let me get some work done over the next few days, it'll be ready! 

Keep up the good work Dajuane, I may come down to see it again once you flip it over.


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## oysterbreath

> She looks great! I would blend the front of the strakes in a little better though. The way they are in the pic, they are liable to throw water around and create an air pocket along the strakes, reducing their effectiveness.
> 
> By the way, I am almost finished with the baby brother to the Osprey, the Crystal 16. A couple more small detail drawings are all that is left. If the drugs let me get some work done over the next few days, it'll be ready!
> 
> Keep up the good work Dajuane, I may come down to see it again once you flip it over.


That's a good point, thanks. I think I WILL blend it in a bit better. It's a bit too blunt.
That Crystal is going to be a sweet boat! I mean SWEEEEEEET! I think it is the boat I should have built but I'm gonna love my Osprey 18 anyway and never tell it anything different! lol I'm thinking about the transome now. I think I should have drilled the drain hole before primer. Uggg...we live and learn. Good thing I have a quart of primer left.


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## oysterbreath

Well, today marks the ONE YEAR mark for working on my boat! I started on the 4th of July of last year. I was hoping to have her flipped by today but the whole paint issue has me set back. I have slowed down quite a bit in the last 3 months too. I've been working on the boat only 2-3 hours a week for the last month. Hopefully I will be able to pick up the pace soon. My main hold up is cash flow. looking back, If I had financed a boat last 4th when I started this thing. I would have actually spent MORE financing that boat than I have building this one. Good thing I don't add a value to the time spent building. Truth is, if I had bought a boat instead. I would still need a workshop project to bide my time. I need to make shyt! lol Don't tell the wife, but I already know what I'm building next. I recently bought the book "gladesmen;" in the back of the book is a simple plan for Glen's skiff. That's my next project!!!! 

Happy Fourth fellas!!!


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## Rosco

LOL - I thought my boat would only take about 6 months to build - I am 19 months in! I'm only putting a few hours in the boat each week as well. These dog days of summer make it hard to put a lot of hours into the boat. My new splash date is now April 1st. I saw your other thread on paint, but never got around to commenting. In my opinion, paint is where you get to show off all of your hard work from the fairing process. I'm sure you can close your eyes and you have a vision of what your boat will look like when it's complete. If you think you can do it with a single part paint - go for it. Don't let it eat you up.


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## cutrunner

Ha! I'm just restoring a boat, not building from scratch and im about 19 months in as well. Granted my ocd is so severe i should have doctors orders to stay away from projects..

I had the same results. I went at it pretty hard for about 70% of the build then slacked hard till about 90%. When you get to that 90%, and can feel how close you are , you get one hell of a 2nd wind!!


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## oysterbreath

I'm a project whore! I always HAVE to have something to do. Lately I've been looking into knife making and it's hard to keep focused on the boat. I flip-flop way too much on the boat. I've got a few critical path items that I have to resolve before I move forward. I think the paint issue is a done deal now though. two-part it is....
I don't have a splash date set because that requires me to buy a motor and trailer. The trailer I can do at the end of the year but the motor....uggggg, that might have to waite a bit more. Rosco you've been making good time though. Your design is a bit more complex than mine in the hull geometry. I might catch up to you soon though cause my interior is WAAAAYYYYY simpler than yours. In the end, yours will be a better product though. My interior will be very "chris craft" like with it's exposed ribs and stuff. Cutrunner...you have more than one boat project dont you?


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## cutrunner

Yea lol every day at work :-/


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## oysterbreath

Just a side note. I just got back from Panama and got the chance to see some old boats. One of them was a sweet but over used Panga. 18 feet long and about 52-58" wide. Perfect size! If it were closer to home, I would have made an offer and brought her back to life!
It has some very interesting bottom lines to it.


























Another HARD used panga:









And then there was this thing! It was just too sweet. I thought it was a dug-out canoe when I first saw it but the hull is indeed fiberglass. The only thing wood on itit was that heavy towing yoke ( I think that's what it was). It's about 18-19 foot long and about 38" wide.




































I'd love to build something like that!


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## WhiteDog70810

I bet they used an old dugout as a male mold to make that last hull. Neat pics. Thanks for posting them.

Nate


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## oysterbreath

> I bet they used an old dugout as a male mold to make that last hull.  Neat pics.  Thanks for posting them.
> 
> Nate


That's a great observation. I'm sure you are correct as the texture of the inside of the hull was unusually patterned but rough. I don't know why...but I got a thing for old beater boats. Especially pangas and one-offs.


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## oysterbreath

Let the FUN begin!


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## Rosco

I see you went cheap ;D just kidding. Time for some photo updates don't you think?


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## oysterbreath

> I see you went cheap  ;D  just kidding.  Time for some photo updates don't you think?


HA! Well, as I am typing this my FINAL coat of paint has been drying for the last 3 hours. I have to say, I'm a bit disapointed. Not in the paint but the environment (my garage). I tried to get most of the dust and dirt out and let the rest settle before painting but there were still enough free particals to specale my paint and put a frown on my fat face! We'll see how it looks tomorrow. I'll try to get some pics soon. I MIGHT try to flip it next weekend. It'll be tough though cause the wife has a few things she wants me to do that might take priority.
Anyway, the paint levels REALLY good. It's sooooo easy to work with. I'm a fan of Alexseal now. Just need to find a CLEANER space to paint in!!!!


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## hooked-up

did you try wet mopping the floors and i also used a spray bottle with water to wet down stuff. The little small specks can buff down/out once it cures. Cant' wait to see pics. 
tom


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## oysterbreath

> did you try wet mopping the floors and i also used a spray bottle with water to wet down stuff. The little small specks can buff down/out once it cures. Cant' wait to see pics.
> tom


I checked again this morning. Looks better but in bright light i can see the dust specks. I hope you are right about the buffing. It's not that it's bad. To be honest i just wanted it to be as good as a good spray job. I think its those little things that separate the pros from people like me. Lol pictures comming soon. Not much to look at. Just a big white up-side-down hull. Lol


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## oysterbreath

Keeping tradition and following up my own post!

Pictures were taken at night so the colors are a bit off but here we go:

I cupped my hand over the flash and I guess the red lighting comes from the flash shinning through my hand. Oh, and the reflection from the red kayak on the right side wall.































































HA! I just realized that in this last picture I can see the reflection of the Alexseal can off in the distance. It ain't mirror...but I don't think I would want mirror anyway...


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## oysterbreath

It's also time for me to start "firming up" my plans for the interior. This is what we have so far:

Some what of a side view from right in front of the rear bulkhead looking forward. I have already removed most of the strongback supports. I just have the bare min. inplace currently.









view looking portside, you can see the opening to the rear bulkhead on the right. I THINK I'm going to keep this open and not put a cover on it. I don't want to start making hatches. Vertical hatches suck! Too much work...and in the end, what good are they really?









You can see the main structural componet of the walkable gunnel here in this picture. There is still more structure to add but I tell you, this will be pretty dang strong!









OK, so my first plan was to leave the interior BRIGHT. I don't think I will be able to pull that off. I have a lot of sanding to do and I will PROBABLY end up sanding through the first veneer layer on my ply in a few spots anyway. I'm going to TRY to be careful but my hopes aren't too high at the moment. Sooooo I might just end up priming and painting the interior. It's kind of a bummer but it's a reality I must face. Not everyone can have a homebuilt boat with pretty brightwork like Brett! Also, this skiff was designed to NOT have a sealed sole. It is designed to have a removable sole plate that is mounted on top of the lateral frames. This arrangement allows the entire hull bottom to be inspected if the hull takes some damage from impact. It will make repairs easier too. Downside is that I loose out on all the added bouyancy that a sealed sole provides. I flirted with the idea of sealing the sole a few times but in the end I think I will stick to the designers intent. Besides, if I were to seal the sole I would also have to figure out how to extend sealed sole all the way up to the bow inorder to avoid some other drainage issues. Stick to the original design I say......


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## Rosco

Nice. Do you have a flip date planned yet?


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## oysterbreath

> Nice.   Do you have a flip date planned yet?


October 20th at the earliest. I would like to do it this upcomming weekend but I have too many other things to do, like fix the electric lawnmower. It needs more amps. I might break down and go back to gas. Anyway, before I flip, I will also need to put some pads on the bunks of my up-right cradle too. I think I will use my insulation foam. Cut the foam to the size of the bunk and glue it down. Then wrap it in old bath towels to keep the hull from touching the foam directly. I got this crazy idea that the foams gonna get a bit warm and with the compression will stick to the hull a bit. It's not high density foam, just those 1/2" thick insulation sheets.


----------



## oysterbreath

>


AP, you can see the new cradle in the corner of this picture. The rest of the pics are back on page 10 of this thread. Anyway, I have carpet on the bunks now. I can flip it at any time but I'm waiting a lil bit to have everyone come over. I need to get my "boat flip" bribe together. I'm not going to buff the bottom. I will however buff the sides but will do that after the deck in finished. For the deck, I'm thinking long and hard about sandwiching 1/4" okume with multiple layers of 12oz S glass. My deck frames are only 9" apart so it's not like I have far spans to deal with like you typically would with S&G construction. I might even top it off with a layer of Xynole. More specifically my schedule from top to bottom might end up being:

---------Xynole----------
-----12 oz S-glass-----
------1/4" Okume------
-----12 oz S-glass-----

OK, So let me take a step back. I never posted the "cradle" construction pictures so here they are:


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## WhiteDog70810

I've seen guys sculpt big blocks of styrofoam to support the keel and bottom once they flip hulls. That greatly simplifies making the construction base because the foam doesn't require precision machining.

Nate


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## oysterbreath

> I've seen guys sculpt big blocks of styrofoam to support the keel and bottom once they flip hulls.  That greatly simplifies making the construction base because the foam doesn't require precision machining.
> 
> Nate


Yeah, I've seen that too. If you've seen pics of Mel's shop, he does that too. I would have loved to do that but I need to be able to move the boat around. Although I have a two car garage, there is a lot of other crap in there. I need to be able to move the boat around while working solo. So far, I've only needed to ask for help ONE time. That was when I fiberglassed. Next time will be durring the actual hull flip. I don't want to have to ask again until it's time to put the boat on a real trailer.


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## Andrewp

Slick, my friend. Looking forward to helping with the flip.


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## oysterbreath

> Slick, my friend.   Looking forward to helping with the flip.


I might try to flip october 27th.


----------



## Brett

I've seen some pretty tricky flips over the years.
The carpet scrap covered driveway and beaucoup friends being a right popular method.
Watched a circular wood framework built around the hull, that rolled the hull over, then back.
Another hung a block and tackle from a big oak limb, then lifted the entire hull up,
from the transom eyes, then lowered it back down to the upright position.
The biggest was a custom 52' ketch, full length keel, used a crane and straps to lift and rotate.
However you go about it, congrats on getting this far. Still watchin' and enjoyin' in the peanut gallery.


----------



## oysterbreath

Today, October 28th 2012 marks the passing of another milestone in this boat building adventure.
*The hull has been fliped!*

I had a few friends over to help out. It took 4 of us to get the job done since there were a few minor snags. No pictures of flipping process though, just the final results. 

Here she is sitting on her new cradle:














































The pictures below shows the hull with the deck supports in place but not glued in. I will be doing alot of other work before these things get put in place for good.






































As you can see, the deck supports are about 1/5" taller than the notches. So I will ether have to notch the supports a bit or deepend the notches in the frames. I think I will notch the supports. We'll see...


----------



## Rosco

Congrats! I remember my flip, was excited and relieved all at once. Then you get that "aw crap" moment when you realize how much is left to do. Keep up the good work.


----------



## jonathanglasser71

Looks great !!


----------



## Andrewp

Happy to help out with the flip!! Things did go pretty smooth once Oyster got ALL of the screws out of the braces attaching to the strongback! Oyster, my Doctor will be sending you the bill for my hernia ........ 

The boat did look good in person. Once flipped you really get a sense of how stout the construction is. Just solid. 


AP


----------



## Gramps

Looks great D! How's the hull weight compared to what you were expecting?


----------



## oysterbreath

> Congrats!   I remember my flip, was excited and relieved all at once.   Then you get that "aw crap" moment when you realize how much is left to do.   Keep up the good work.


 Yeah, that's it exactly! Once it got flipped I felt like I took 2 steps back after seeing all those epoxy runs on precoated ply! Uggg



> Looks great D! How's the hull weight compared to what you were expecting?


 The hull, well, I THINK it's somewhere between 250 and 300. It took 4 people to lift and flip the hull. AP and I were lifting it from the transome. Now that I think about it. There was one point of time when AP was holding the whole rear end by himself at chest level. Stupid me had to move some crap out from under the boat. I couldn't get it so one of the guys had to come to the back of the boat and move it. While that was being done, their were only three people holding the hull up. One guy up front and AP and I in the back. So yeah, I'd put the hull close to, but under 300.


----------



## Net 30

She's gonna be gorgeous!


----------



## oysterbreath

> She's gonna be gorgeous!


Thanks!

Well, I've been spending a lot of time sitting in the skiff and not doing a dang thing except THINKING! Lately a lot of good friends have been telling me that I should do a steering system instead of tiller. Slowly, I've been taking heed! So I priced out a steering system, $370 for the NFB steering system and stainless steering wheel. Then I started thinking about the motor. If I get remote steering, I'm going to want electric start and T&T. I priced a Tohatsu and got a strange light headed feeling! Ohhhhh, NOW I remember why I originally decided to go with tiller! Seriously, is it REALLY worth it? Folks talk it up like it's the best thing since Corn dogs and funnel cakes at the State Fair!


----------



## Andrewp

You know my thoughts ... remote, electric and T&T.

You ain't gettin' any younger ...... 


AP


----------



## cutrunner

1 vote for remote, electric start, t&t.

Its not that i dislike tiller steers, its that leaning back to tilt it up and fighting with it everytime you come to shallow water is a pita. The pull start depends on what size motor, but obviously elec start is nice, and a steering wheel is nice cuz it gives you something to hold onto. And if your wife ever wants to drive, its easier on her too. For some reason my could bever figure out how to run a tiller... I think the combination of throttle and turning confused her lol


----------



## Creek Runner

Yep my vote is for Remote, elec. start, and PTT is a must no matter what.

What size motor are you going to be running?


----------



## disporks

I just realized you had a build thread going, I must say I'm very impressed!


----------



## Gramps

Tiller! Tiller! Tiller! ;D

Less fuss, less muss, and cheaper!


----------



## oysterbreath

CreekRunner, for ecconomic reasons I think I'll end up going with a 25-30hp new or slightly used Tohatsu. but it's still up in the air. I can't make up my mind. I still drool at the thought and sight of older 2 stroke 40hp mercs though. The hull is designed for up to a 40hp motor provided it is under 240lbs. 



> ....steering wheel is nice cuz it gives you something to hold onto. And if your wife ever wants to drive, its easier on her too. ...


 You mean to tell me that all I have to do is build a tiller to keep the wife from running off with MY TOY? That sir sounds like a case FOR a tiller! lol Just kidding
Well, I still have a bunch of stuff to do before I get so far that I MUST decide. Soooooo, I'll keep my ear to the ground here. I greatly apreciate all the comments pro and con. It give me more to think about. I was just out in the garage and I came up with a really cool side steering console design for the skiff...in case I go with the steering. I have a pretty decent concept for a side tiller console too. I'll share it later.

Actually, I have a bigger issue. I haven't told the wife yet but it's gonna piss her off. If I don't find a swing tounge trailer that doen't extend beyond the nose of the boat I will have to park the boat in the garage at an angle. That means when I'm done, she's not going to have room in the garge to park her car next to my boat!  
[smiley=1-doh.gif]

Gramps, Those are my thoughts exactly but I'm known for flip flopping at the last minute for a little extra plushness! As you know, I'm all about keeping my cash in pocket but AP has a good point. I ain't no spring chicken no mo' Comfort is appealing. I'm lost!


----------



## cutrunner

Whatever you decide, REMEMBER TO PUT A LARGE RIG TUBE in it!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## JaxLaxFish

> CreekRunner, for ecconomic reasons I think I'll end up going with a 25-30hp new or slightly used Tohatsu. but it's still up in the air. I can't make up my mind. I still drool at the thought and sight of older 2 stroke 40hp mercs though. The hull is designed for up to a 40hp motor provided it is under 240lbs.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ....steering wheel is nice cuz it gives you something to hold onto. And if your wife ever wants to drive, its easier on her too. ...
> 
> 
> 
> You mean to tell me that all I have to do is build a tiller to keep the wife from running off with MY TOY? That sir sounds like a case FOR a tiller! lol Just kidding
> Well, I still have a bunch of stuff to do before I get so far that I MUST decide. Soooooo, I'll keep my ear to the ground here. I greatly apreciate all the comments pro and con. It give me more to think about. I was just out in the garage and I came up with a really cool side steering console design for the skiff...in case I go with the steering. I have a pretty decent concept for a side tiller console too. I'll share it later.
> 
> Actually, I have a bigger issue. I haven't told the wife yet but it's gonna piss her off. If I don't find a swing tounge trailer that doen't extend beyond the nose of the boat I will have to park the boat in the garage at an angle. That means when I'm done, she's not going to have room in the garge to park her car next to my boat!
> [smiley=1-doh.gif]
> 
> Gramps, Those are my thoughts exactly but I'm known for flip flopping at the last minute for a little extra plushness! As you know, I'm all about keeping my cash in pocket but AP has a good point. I ain't no spring chicken no mo' Comfort is appealing. I'm lost!
Click to expand...

I would shoot for the 40 hp two stroke that's a pretty big boat to run a 25 on. I agree with the other guys about power tnt, remote, and electric start. I will say that I personally hate a side console unless it's a stand up side console. When it gets rough I just feel much more in control of the boat if i'm standing. Anybody else feel this way? Oh yeah and beautiful build


----------



## oysterbreath

I'm still gonna shoot for the tiller. I can always alter it later. I gotta stay economical for the time being. I will however consider a larger motor.
Sadly, I'm gonna push pause on this build till I make up my dang mind on how I'm going to finish out the interior. I started going one direction and cut out a couple sheets of ply and tapered some of the stringers only to realize that I DIDN'T want to do what I was doing! Ugggg, I hate that because some things can't be undone. And I dislike waisting material. I'm starting to think that I want the interior to kinda be a bit rough but like I said; I can't make up my mind. I don't want to add too much crap either cause that's just WEIGHT! Soooooo, I'm pressing pause!


----------



## Swamp

Don't blame you. I'm sort of going to do the same on my rebuilt. Once I get the transom and stringers in I'm going to screw down a cheap floor and run it for a while. I'll then screw cheap decks and gunnels in place so I can adjust things till I like them before replacing the cheap stuff with the right materials. $100 bucks of exterior ply and screws is a lot better than having to redo $500 and lots of labor.


----------



## oysterbreath

> $100 bucks of exterior ply and screws is a lot better than having to redo $500 and lots of labor.


I hear ya' man!

Well, I was looking deeper into the remote option and ended up looking at side consoles and found this web site: 
http://bertram31.com/parts/console/zc.htm

Oh MY!
The wheels are turning! Y'all gotta take a look at that site! The final result wasn't as glassy as I would like but they hooked it up. I wonder why they didn't miter the vertical edges. I bet that would have looked a bit higher end.

A teak bubble console would be soooooo sweet but dang it's major coinage! I wonder if mahogany would look as good!


----------



## oysterbreath

Then again, Even with a tiller I could still do a side console like the one on those momentum boats:



















Just imagine that little puppy done in Teak, Mahogany, Cedar, or Ipe. Using the technique illustrated on that blog.


----------



## oysterbreath

Uggg, I'm starting to think about doing a different color on the interior, Ice blue.


----------



## oysterbreath

Uggg man, 4th self-post in a row! lol
Well, anyway, here are some progress pictures:

You can see in this pic, although not well, that I have the inwale/gunnel pretty much shaped out. I took some inspiration of the earlier glades skiff.










The gunnel structure is really strong. I walked across the individual members more than a few time.



















I got started on the rod tubes. I decided to at least start off with 6. Three each side. I'm temped to add three more on each side. Or maybe just 2 more each side. I honestly don't carry a lot of rods so I THINK six will be fine. I made these little backing plates since the bulkheads at the tubes are only 1/4" thick. None of it is glued in yet. This is all test fitting



















I'm going with "shotgun" rod holders. I might also add another tube for a stakeout pole. I'm curious, will it be better to epoxy the tubes into place or use 5200?


----------



## Brett

Console...mahogany...epoxy clear coat, then varnish or polyurethane.  :-? 

What? No flare on the tip tubes? You're going to end up regretting that.  :-[

My test piece of epoxy to pvc popped loose when flexed, so I used 5200.

As to 4 replies to yourself, that ain't the number that counts. Check the view count.  

Although about a quarter of 'em might be me.


----------



## oysterbreath

> Console...mahogany...epoxy clear coat, then varnish or polyurethane.  :-?
> 
> What? No flare on the tip tubes? You're going to end up regretting that.  :-[
> 
> My test piece of epoxy to pvc popped loose when flexed, so I used 5200.
> 
> As to 4 replies to yourself, that ain't the number that counts. Check the view count.
> 
> Although about a quarter of 'em might be me.



I've been thinking about that tube flair. I might go back and flair it out a wee bit, not full trumpet horn but enough...


----------



## Brett

The reason for the flare is to prevent guide destruction.
I tried feeding a rod into a unflared tube and the guides each hung up on the way in.
Test with a flared tube showed a much smoother feed.
Especially when on the water with the boat moving.
Flare is a good thing, easy to do also


----------



## Swamp

You got something against trumpets buddy?!    .... J/K  ;D

Really, why not a full flare on the tubes? I'm asking because I will probably/hopefully be tackling rod storage on mine faster than I think.


----------



## Rosco

Looking good! They really start feeling like a boat again when you start working on the deck structure. What diameter PVC are you using? I saw an awesome method around here somewhere about using a small fryer, oil and wine bottle to flare those tubes.


----------



## Brett

https://picasaweb.google.com/bdefalco/TipTubeFlare


----------



## hillcharl

Brett that's awesome! So much easier than the hairbrained ideas I was coming up with.


----------



## oysterbreath

I'm using 1 1/4" PVC. If my cockpit were any shorter I would have used 1 1/2" since a shorter cockpit would mean more rod and larger guides in the tube. I might flair the tubes out to 1 1/2"


Ohhhhhhhhhh, I see!
The whole flair is OUTSIDE the bulkhead hole.....So I will not have to increase the dia. of the hole. NICE! Maybe I will flair it out more!


----------



## Brett

Flare makes for an easy install

5200 applied around the base of the flare










Then pull the tube back, rotate slowly and the 5200 fills and bonds


----------



## fishy82

You can also use a wine bottle and a small torch. Use the thinner walled PVC.works like a champ


----------



## oysterbreath

> You can also use a wine bottle and a small torch.  Use the thinner walled PVC.works like a champ


Foolish me got the thicker stuff ofcourse....


----------



## fishy82

Thicker works fine, it just takes more heat. You will end up with burn marks on the outside of the PVC. 

Here's the trick for thicker PVC. Rotate the bottle while heating evenly. When it's hot, insert bottle in the PVC. Use a small amount of oil, vaseline, or reel lube. Rotate the bottle and start heating around the tube exterior. The outer tube will start to discolor and almost burn. This is ok, you will sand it off later. Keep pushing and rotating bottle while heating. Once you reach desired flare, immediately cool with a wet rag. Then sand off burn marks. You should sand anyway to increase the mechanical bond of the 5200 between the PVC and bulkhead.

Ps. The oil or lube will want to catch fire, so you will have to find the happy medium between to little and too much heat. if you are uncomfortable with lube, just dont use. It is not 100% necessary. Use some scrap PVC and make yourself a surf rod holder with it. It will be good practice.

Safety: please use thick gloves, like welding gloves and eye protection. I haven't had a bottle pop, but I am prepared if one does.


----------



## fishy82

Btw, Brett.  Thats a really clean job!


----------



## [email protected]

Been thinking about the pvc flare and thought up an alternative. You can buy chrome plated plastic kitchen sink drains from the box stores for about $6-8 a pop. Punch out the center thingy that secures the strainer and tighten it up from behind the bulkhead. Would mount flush and easily attach to pvc rod tubes.


----------



## oysterbreath

I still haven't tried to flair the tubes yet. I've been fussing with tube locations as of late. On another tip, I've been thinking more about seating. I really like this setup I saw on a tiller Fury but I need to figure out How to show off some wood instead of a bunch of manufactured stuff.
http://eastcapeskiffs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG_6266.jpg


----------



## Brett

Sounds like your heading retro with your seating, oyster.
Years back, in the dark ages, had an original 17 Whaler Nausett.
Mahogany center console and bench seat. Always loved the look
and with a little fine bronze wool and a sable brush, once a year,
kept the bright-work at it's glossy best. Spar varnish was easy to apply.


----------



## East_Cape

> I still haven't tried to flair the tubes yet. I've been fussing with tube locations as of late. On another tip, I've been thinking more about seating. I really like this setup I saw on a tiller Fury but I need to figure out How to show off some wood instead of a bunch of manufactured stuff.
> http://eastcapeskiffs.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/IMG_6266.jpg





You got good taste 
If you need any help/ideas you know our door is open for ya.
Kev


----------



## disporks

Here are some tubes I made for my boat I have yet to install...They arent so much flared as these in other pics, but more of a rolled lip that seats flush to the panel you are mounting them in...If you are interested in doing them like this I can post a how to thread, I documented the process to eventually make a thread but never got around to making it. 

Cost me less than 10$ to make a bunch of these.


----------



## Rosco

I'll go ahead and speak on his behalf. Yes! we should like to see a "how to" thread. I'll be dry fitting those tubes soon on my rig as well. 

Rob


----------



## Swamp

^ x2


----------



## oysterbreath

> I'll go ahead and speak on his behalf.   Yes!  we should like to see a "how to" thread.   I'll be dry fitting those tubes soon on my rig as well.
> 
> Rob


...And I approve this message!





> You got good taste
> If you need any help/ideas you know our door is open for ya.
> Kev


Thanks Kev, I may need to stop by there to do some drooling! That seating you guys did on that skiff I linked to was incredible!


----------



## oysterbreath

Well yesterday I gave it a try. This is what I came up with and how.
I went out and bought one of those Harbor Freight Heat guns. Works like a charm. The tubes I used were Schedule 40 1 1/4" tubes. I also had one of those flimsy 1 1/2" tube and it came in handy too.
So what I did was to slip a short section of 1 1/2" over my 1 1/4" sch40 tube. It's a perfect fit. I sat the rod tube on the work horse with the  tip that I planed to heat cantilevered out so that I could evenly heat it. I left the 1 1/2" slip tube well away from the heat. Once I got the 1 1/4" to the needed level of flexibility I quick removed it from the horse and pressed the heated side down against my "shaper." My shaper was nothing more than a red harbor freight oil squirt can with the threaded end cut off. Once I got the tube to spread and curl I slipped the 1 1/2" tube down to hold the shape of the none curled but heated section of the 1 1/4" tube and to keep it from collapsing or becoming oblong. I then shook a can of compressed air and sprayed the curled tube. As you know, when you shake a half emply can-o-air....you get some cold stuff to come out!  
I then dipped the tube into some water to further chill it and bingo! I'm in the PVC tube bending club!




























I like dispo's better though. Looking forward to a tutorial!!!!!!


----------



## disporks

Hey Guys I can probably get around to that tutorial this evening...where should I post it? Boat building?


----------



## oysterbreath

> Hey Guys I can probably get around to that tutorial this evening...where should I post it? Boat building?


In boat yard basics.


----------



## disporks

http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1355017149/0#0


----------



## oysterbreath

Minor update and disappointment.

Scheduling requires that I install a few pieces of hardware before the deck goes on.
1.) Bow eye bolt



















Eye bolt went in well and looks decent despite low quality images. On the other hand...

2.) Bilge outlet, I picked a bad spot! Looks out of place and fuggy. I at first I didn't want it in the transom because that would require it to be placed into my buoyancy chamber making it a demolition job if I ever need to get to it again. So I decided to move it forward of that. Well, I just don't like it there NOW THAT I'VE ALREADY CUT THE DANG HOLE! 



















Ignore the rough cut of the deck support area. It will get fixed later....I hope! lol










I wonder if I can go back, plug the hole and redo it elsewhere...might look tacky! Ugg!!!


----------



## cutrunner

I dont see anything wrong with it...

You think too much


----------



## Brett

Needs to be side thru-hull.
Not because it'll look better...but because if it rains, and the automatic switch kicks in
while y'er trailering home, it'll throw a stream to the left or right several feet.
Funny as heck in traffic and the car next to the trailer has a window partially rolled down.

                                                 ;D


----------



## oysterbreath

> Needs to be side thru-hull.
> Not because it'll look better...but because if it rains, and the automatic switch kicks in
> while your trailering home, it'll throw a stream to the left or right several feet.
> Funny as heck in traffic and the car next to the trailer has a window partially rolled down.
> 
> ;D




HA ha ha ha ha!
Too funny!


----------



## Brett

You think it's funny now, it was hysterical in person. [smiley=happy.gif]


----------



## disporks

I think it would definitely be worth the extra work to go ahead and do the side fitting for the reactions


----------



## Boatdesigner

Oyster, my vote is as always to keep it simple, but I do like the idea of a mini teak/mahogany bubble finished bright to hold your gauges and electronics. Now if you really want to show off, you could build it in Purpleheart! ;D

I am glad the side deck structures appear strong enough. It is always reassuring to see the math work! Time to go to bed. I took a sleeping pill to counteract the effects of the 20mg of Dexamethasone (steroids) that I took this morning. Sometimes the sleeping pills win and sometimes the steroids win and keep me up all night. Then tomorrow I get to spend the morning getting more Christmas shopping finished. By afternoon, I will be at home sound a sleep in my recliner!


----------



## oysterbreath

> ...
> I am glad the side deck structures appear strong enough. It is always reassuring to see the math work!


 YEah, it's easy to tell that you used to very generous factor of safety which is good. I have a few pieces of lumber that ain't as strong as the rest. I spotted those pieces and excluded them from the construction but if I hadn't. I would have appreciated the FS even more!
So, I've been lolly-gagging on the build lately. Kinda tippy-toing forward. THEN...like many others I fell victom to "They want our guns"-itis. Snuck out and picked up a riffle. There goes the boat money for a month or two!!!!! In the mean time I decided to start building my 10wt. I already have all of the parts. Plus got a lil left over from the mudhole credit I got from the calendar competition. So here's what I have so far. Nothing is glued to the blank yet. This is all dry fitting:
I cut up two blocks of cork on the miter using 10 degree joints.









Glued it all up









The dry fitted it. I like 10wts with a switch rod grip. I don't know if too many people like this type of set up but It's growing on me. I'm almost ready to just move up to switch rods altogether...










Close up of the fighting butt. Once I get this glued up the transition from EVA to cork will not be as noticeable...I hope:


----------



## oysterbreath

OK, I decided that the bilge WILL be exiting from the transom. So I rerouted it through my flotation chamber. My boat's 1/2" thick transom knees form the sides of the motor well. So I drilled a 1 1/4" hole and inset a block with a nylon hose barb in it. This way, the 3/4" barb only sticks out into the motor well 1/4" and there is enough room around the barb to place a twist screw clamp without even that being too exposed. Here are some pics. Mind-you, I do not have the hose on the "thru-hull" for-good yet.





























Also, I finally have all of my deck supports on for-good! Well, almost. I still have the ones at the rear for the poling platform support area. Almost time to epoxy the interior. 











ALSO....
I put a transom riser on the back. No pictures of the process but I have a couple SS steel rods epoxied in it that are drilled 6" down into the transom itself. I've got a couple layers of 10oz bonding it to the transom too. Although the riser was an after thought I'm sure this thing ain't going no where!!! 








I already planned to repaint the transom...now I'm bonded to having to repaint it...


----------



## jfboothe

It looks really good.


----------



## Rosco

Nice work Oyster.


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks, my next step involves buying the trim tabs. Best deals I've seen so far are these:

http://www.wholesalemarine.com/pc/LEN-15001-101/99990072/Lenco+Trim+Tabs/Lenco+Marine+Trim+Tab+Kit+without+Switch+9x12+%28For+16%27+to+25%27+Boats%29.html


I don't know WHY "air boat" tabs are soooo much cheaper. Someone please explain?
http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_11151_10001_180440_-1?ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=180440&cid=sc_googlepla&gclid=CO3x-Mqh7rQCFYKK4AodTAcA1g

and these...but I don't know the manufac:
http://www.imarineusa.com/boatleveler12x9trimtabsetinstatrimpnn129000.aspx?gclid=CK6Cpc-h7rQCFQqe4Aod90wAlw

If you know of better...let me know!


----------



## Mally380

Airboat tabs are actually more expensive per unit as that is the pricing for only one tab and one actuator. Only one is used and is mounted in the center.


----------



## oysterbreath

> Airboat tabs are actually more expensive per unit as that is the pricing for only one tab and one actuator. Only one is used and is mounted in the center.


Ohhhhhhh! See, I OBVIOUSLY didn't know that! Thanks for the info!


----------



## Mally380

You are quite welcome. That is a great looking boat you got going there. Keep up the good work.


----------



## oysterbreath

Hmmmmm,
http://www.wholesalemarine.com/p/BEN-M-80/


----------



## oysterbreath

Well, I finally epoxied the inside and to tell you the truth I am even more conflicted than before. I didn't do a great job but then it's not a terrible job either. So the question remains, to paint the inside or not. If I leave it bright, I still plan to paint both bulkheads and the removable sole (cockpit floor). Thus, the only place that you would actually see bright wood would be on the sides, the area under the fore and aft deck through the bulkhead opening, and a bit of the hull bottom since the sole will not extend all the way to the sides of the hull. I've got a few run, fortunately the sole would hide them. 













































As you can see from the last picture, I did a crappy job with the edges of the 10oz fiberglass that I put up in the front of the bulkhead for added strength. Ohwell, we live and learn! I can live with it if I got brightwork. So, I guess part of this post is a question. Should I leave it bright...or paint it?


----------



## el9surf

Looks awesome! I would paint it just to give everything a uniform look but that's just me.


----------



## Boatdesigner

I would paint the inside of the storage areas white to make it brighter and easier to find things. The cockpit can go either way, just make sure the epoxy you are using is suitable for being in the sun. You need to use special epoxy in the sun or coat it with a UV inhibiting varnish. Personally, I'd probably paint it just to make sure I don't have any UV problems down the road. How many coats of epoxy did you put on?

As for the tabs, I always recommend Bennett. Their customer service is the best and they are very reliable. I have had a bad experience with the major electric brand and they did not fill me with confidence that they are very professional. I have never had that feeling with Bennett. Boat Leveler tabs are made by Boat Leveler. They have been around for many years, but I don't have much experience with them so can't comment.

Are you sure you will need to use tabs? Would it make sense to finish the boat first and see if they are needed after you run it around a bit? I know some people think every boat can benefit from tabs, the question is whether they benefit enough to make them worth the investment and complication. If you do decide to install tabs, make sure you get the size right. The Lenco tabs you linked to are way to big for a boat this small and light. Even the Bennett tabs may be too big. Also, hydraulic tabs will respond slower and may be a better fit for such a small, lightweight hull. Big tabs dropping fast could be bad for handling!

Keep up the good work, the boat is really coming along! We were in Orlando over the weekend and I commented to my wife that we should have arranged to stop by and see the boat! I always think of these things when it is too late. Then again, you may have put me to work!


----------



## oysterbreath

Ahhhh man Timm, you should have given me a call. The skiff would have enjoyed seeing it's designer! Well so far there is only ONE layer of epoxy. If I go bright I'll have to put a coat of varnish on it for sure but to be honest, I'm leaning slightly more toward paint. What I've learned from applying epoxy is that it's gonna be a lot of work. It might be worth spraying it. I missed a great opportunity a couple weeks ago to pick up a pancake compressor on sale for $30 from Harbor freight. Ohwell, brushing the interior is just time consuming on the inside with all of the ribs, keel, and what-not. I've got high quality paint on the exterior (Alexseal) but on the inside I'd want a decent durable flat paint. Any suggestions? Anyone used Interlux bildgecoat? Or should I stick with alexseal and just use a flattener?


----------



## oysterbreath

Oh yeah, back to the tabs. I did find a good price on a complete bennet set. My thought on the tabs is that if I do them now it is easier to route the cable or hydrolic line through the buoyancy chamber while it's empty. If I do it later it's gonna be REAL difficult.


----------



## samay

"As you can see from the last picture, I did a crappy job with the edges of the 10oz fiberglass..."

Speak for yourself, it looks like a damn nice job to me!


----------



## Gramps

Looks fantastic D! You're doing one hell of a job.


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks for the compliments fellas!
Well, staying true to form I am flip-flopping worse than a presidential candidate! I won't go into that though. Instead, I'll share some progress pictures.
Naw, I show you what I've been flip-flopping over. Livorsi bow lights! I'm thinking about them again and even printed out the template to help me envision them in place. My issue is that I have a LOT of flair and it's hard to find a good flat spot for them to reside. Here's where I think they could go.
If you look closely just under the blue tap at the shear line you will see 4 little peices of tape holding the livorsi bow light template on:




























Also, I'm sorry Brett but I'm gonna have to disappoint you bro! I moved the location of my bilge outlet thingy. I but them on the transom:



















I also got started on the rear deck stiffeners. I only did 2 of the 4 that go in because I have to let the 5200 that's on the chrome bilge outflow thingy to set up. Then I will connect the tube and glass in the last two stiffeners.
Also, with this cardboard on the hull bottom it gives you an idea of just how much bright wood will be exposed once the removable sole is down. I'm flirting with bright again.....just paint the deck, vertical bulkheads, deck trim at the cockpit.


----------



## Brett

> I moved the location of my bilge outlet thingy. I put them on the transom


That's ok, oyster.
Just means y'er gonna forget that they're there,
and when y'er washing the boat/outboard down,
y'er gonna ketch a lap full of bilge water.


----------



## oysterbreath

> I moved the location of my bilge outlet thingy. I put them on the transom
> 
> 
> 
> That's ok, oyster.
> Just means y'er gonna forget that they're there,
> and when y'er washing the boat/outboard down,
> y'er gonna ketch a lap full of bilge water.
Click to expand...

Or maybe when someone pulls up too closely behind me I can squirt them dead straight into the face or at least in the windshield. lol


----------



## Brett

Hoser! Eh?


----------



## oysterbreath

Bingo, found my rub rails
http://piersupply.com/S11-4500P12


----------



## Boatdesigner

Be careful with these. Usually the hollow back rub rails mount over a backing piece with a similar curve. They make a SS rail that is flat on the back for mounting directly without the matching part. The Osprey probably isn't heavy enough to have a problem, but on larger boats these can dent when you bump into things if they don't have the correct part behind them.


----------



## jfboothe

Ok Oyster, its been a while. What's the update?


----------



## cutrunner

Oysters preoccupie ;Dd with hog hunting, mountain biking, semi automatic weapons, and god knows what else


----------



## Andrewp

He "says" he's been working on it, but I too want picture-proof!! 

Think he told me he was working on gunnels and front deck, ready to epoxy them down (waiting on a new epoxy order to come in).


----------



## oysterbreath

Ahhhhhhh man, I got called out onto the carpet for sure this time. OK, folk...Ol Oyster will admit to having a  bit of a distracting spell of A.D.D. coupled with some long work hours. Anyway, Boat work has been slow and most of the pictures dang near look the same. Since my last post, I added wire chases, filled my boyancy chambers, sanded and added a new coat of epoxy to the cockpit, trimmed out my rod tubes, and now I'm working on my rod holders. After I finish my electrical I will be putting the deck on. Here are a few current pics of the rod holders being fabricated.




























The rod holders are designed to mount by being slipped over the sides of hull frames. You can kinda see where it goes in the background of the picture.


----------



## Rosco

Great idea.


----------



## blittle

[quoteThe rod holders are designed to mount by being slipped over the sides of hull frames. You can kinda see where it goes in the background of the picture.[/quote]

That's using your head. Great job.


----------



## oysterbreath

Well, I put the deck on. I should have waited for my nav lights to get in but it's taking sooooo long that I'm going to call them a try to cancel the order. Nothing worse than ordering something and having to call a two weeks later to see what the sam-hell is going on!
Anyway here are some pics. It looks better in person but still is only a few notches up from a steaming pile of poo!




























I've been trying to figure out where to mount my switches too. Came up with this....but...I'm not liking it. I might try another shape for a switch console.



















viewed mounted straight









angled


----------



## cutrunner

Looks great so far!
I like that switchpod


----------



## Boatdesigner

Looks good! Can you mount the switches and any gauges below the inwale on the port side? That is where they mount them on the backtroller style boats in the Midwest.


----------



## oysterbreath

> Looks good! Can you mount the switches and any gauges below the inwale on the port side? That is where they mount them on the backtroller style boats in the Midwest.


I can, I thought about that too. Issue is I have to add a "drop down plate" to increase the depth of the inwale so that I have clearance from the structural member that the two layers of ply are laminated too. I might end up doing that but you know me...I don't want the thinggy I made to go to waste. I'm now building up the rubrail. I'm trying to figure out how "tall" it should be.


----------



## Boatdesigner

Did you overhang the deck the way you thought about earlier? I like the idea of adding a toe rail around the deck and having the rub rail go to the top. For people as clutsy as me, having something out there on the edge that says "don't go any further . . ." sounds good. This is especially important if your feet are numb like mine!


----------



## oysterbreath

> Did you overhang the deck the way you thought about earlier? I like the idea of adding a toe rail around the deck and having the rub rail go to the top. For people as clutsy as me, having something out there on the edge that says "don't go any further . . ." sounds good. This is especially important if your feet are numb like mine!


rub rail/ toe rail thingy is still up in the air. I have to spend some time just looking at the thing with one side clamped and the other without so that I can make up my mind. Part of me want to do a thin 3/4" rail with 1/2" aluminum rubrail. This version will no overhang. The other part of my wants to emulate the overhang that you see on commercial boats. We'll see....


----------



## oysterbreath

OK, I've given it more thought and made up my mind. My rub rail will follow the design of the yellowfin hybrid. Timm, it's basically what we talked about before. It'll take a bit more time for me to figure it out. Here are some pictures of the yellow fin:


















This means that I'll be trimming off the ply overhang that I currently have. I will also have to build up the deck "rim" and do some compound curves. I still like this because as Timm said, it also acts like a toe rail. More importantly...it acts like a fly line rail! Issue is, should I build this up from Fir or something a bit more easy to sand and shape. I'm thinking wood (Fir) since it will get abused but I'll also entertain other options. I still have my hairpin drawings so I can use those as a template. One second thought. Id be better off using the actual edge of boat as a template. We'll see. Suggestions are very much welcome.

Here's another good shot...too big to post though:
http://www.yellowfinyachts.com/is21_13.html

I'm not too worried about this "shape" taking up too much room on my walk-around gunnels either. Those bad boy gunnels I have are currently 13" wide.


----------



## Boatdesigner

I'd use a softwood like cedar that is easy to shape and sand. Then I would glass over it once I got it shaped. Maybe just glass right over when you do the deck. That rail is similar to what I was thinking, just a bit larger. Looks good to me!

By the way, one day we'll get you to spell HARPIN correctly! ;D Use the deck edge as it will then match the boat exactly.


----------



## anytide

switches under gunnel / dont interrupt that smooth gunnel cap look


----------



## oysterbreath

> switches under gunnel / dont interrupt that smooth gunnel cap look


I built a little "drop plate" that my switches will be mounted into. It will look much better once I get it glassed and painted:



















I'm a bit fustrated because I have the whole weekend off and can't finish the sheer band/ gunnel because I'm all out of fasco 110 epoxy and my current order in on back order at Illstreet composites. They are nice people but I think this is my last order from them.

I'l also back to thinking that I want to go ahead and build a tiller console/ storage box with lean bar. I might do it. If I do...then the switches will get moved there.


----------



## oysterbreath

Well, my order of the elusive Fasco epoxy finally got it. Sad to say, I don't think I will be ordering from Illstreet composites anymore. I hate to bash a place but I haven't had a "snag-free" order from them yet. I think I will stick to my top three places, Boat builder central, US composites, and Raka from now on and for all future projects. Anyway, so I now have both sides of the rub rail on. I'm stoked about it. I'm flirting with the idea of adding a bit more overhange though. maybe about 3/4" more. I've also started filling in the screw holes in the deck. Hopefully, I will be ready the glass the deck and  rub rails soon. Staying true to my flip-flopping nature, I'm going back and forth about what type of glass to use. I already have some 12oz biax but I'm thinking about just going with 10oz woven since it will be much easier to fair. We will see. In the mean time, more pics:





































I've been considering two different rub rail options.
http://boatbuildercentral.com/proddetail.php?prod=BP_1235_blk#.UbVfB_n4n44

or

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/rub-rail-uniflex-white-use-713tube-f-insert*ups*-144269/4,15606.html

http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/pvc-with-insert-black-*ups*-*ns*-109222/4,3198.html


I'm kinda partial to the second or third one because I think I want to use a rope insert. What do y'all think?

Oh and check this out:
http://www.geoindustries.net/navigationlights.htm

Now I'm not sure I'd use these with a rope rub rail, it would spoil the look but I think they are really cool none-the-less!


----------



## grovesnatcher

Use the rope rub rail, it looks classic. I'm late to the thread but when I had a tiller I would stand and drive the boat leaning on the poling platform. So I always wished my switches were on the platform so I could trim tab, or control what I needed right at my finger tips. Anyway awesome hull I love the lines.


----------



## Gramps

Looking fantastic Oyster! I like the rope insert idea, would add a touch of class from days gone by. Can you get 1 foot samples from anywhere? The different insert diameters may looks vastly different in person.


----------



## firecat1981

Looks great! I agree on the rub rails, I wish I extended mine another 1/2-1" I think it would have helped a bit to control spray in a chop. 

I have the rub rails from BBC on my skiff, and while I'm not disappointed with them, I would have rather gone with a flexible style one like a taco kit, which I think is similar to the other one you posted. They just look nicer.


----------



## oysterbreath

> Looks great! I agree on the rub rails, I wish I extended mine another 1/2-1" I think it would have helped a bit to control spray in a chop.
> 
> I have the rub rails from BBC on my skiff, and while I'm not disappointed with them, I would have rather gone with a flexible style one like a taco kit, which I think is similar to the other one you posted. They just look nicer.


Where did you get your BBC rubrails? How much?


----------



## Boatdesigner

What thickness ply did you finally decide to use on the deck? If it was the ply I spec'd, all you need to use is 10oz. cloth, which should be fairly easy to wet out.

I always liked the rope rub rail. We had it on our 1980ish Hydra-Sport when I was a kid. It came with polypropylene rope from the factory and when it was a few seasons old, it started to fray. Poly splinters are really nasty! My dad went down to the local hardware store and had them cut off the correct length/size of 3 strand nylon and we replaced the poly in no time at all. For next to nothing it was new again and no more splinters! That is what I always loved about it, simple to replace! Try that with dented up stainless with a million screws!


----------



## firecat1981

Got them from Boat builder central, but I think a flexible kit would look much nicer.

http://boatbuildercentral.com/products.php?cat=65#.Ub2kwfnCaSo


----------



## oysterbreath

Timm, I did a baaaaaaaaad thing!
I only used 1/4" Okume! But hear me out, with structure at 9" as designed it turns out that there is still no deflection as I walk around. Part of me still thinks that I should laminate another layer of 1/4" ply to get the design thickness but that will require ordering more ply. I've already got a roll 12oz biax so I'm thinking....why not just bump up to the 12oz instead and be done with it. I'm a bit intimidated by the EXTRA fairing that using 12oz biax rather than 10 woven will require but oh well.


----------



## Marshfly

> What thickness ply did you finally decide to use on the deck? If it was the ply I spec'd, all you need to use is 10oz. cloth, which should be fairly easy to wet out.
> 
> I always liked the rope rub rail. We had it on our 1980ish Hydra-Sport when I was a kid. It came with polypropylene rope from the factory and when it was a few seasons old, it started to fray. Poly splinters are really nasty! My dad went down to the local hardware store and had them cut off the correct length/size of 3 strand nylon and we replaced the poly in no time at all. For next to nothing it was new again and no more splinters! That is what I always loved about it, simple to replace! Try that with dented up stainless with a million screws!


If you're denting up a stainless rub rail you need to give up driving a boat. It's a "rub" rail, not a bumper! You should barely kiss the dock when docking and when docked correctly, you shouldn't be bashing into it to cause dents.
I love the look of the stainless rail on my boat. It just looks so much classier than anything else and I don't hesitate to dock my boat overnight when needed.


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks for the comment Marshhen, You're the dude with the ...Marshhen skiff right? As I recall it was a really nice boat. My Sole issue with a metal rubrail is price. Yeap! _Them thangs_ are way too expensive! Pretty as heck but too rich for my pockets. I'm finding that anyway you cut it, rub rails are pricey anyway. However, this talk of metal rub rails brings up another potential issue. Have your stainless rub rails ever scratched another skiff while daisy chained?


----------



## Boatdesigner

Marshfly, I agree you are not supposed to come into the dock at ramming speed! But have you ever tied your boat to a dock and had someone fly by in a large boat putting out a big wake that slams your boat against a dock? I have seen it plenty of times. The other issue with the SS rails to me is rust. Not the rails as they are generally pretty good, but the screws. Many a time I have seen supposedly 316L SS screws weeping rust down the side of a boat. How do I know they were _supposed_ to be 316L? Because I was the engineer in the boat plant who spec'd them in. There is probably a lot of mislabeled/identified hardware being brought in from Asia these days. I agree the SS looks classy, especially if it is backed up by a nice piece of varnished wood. I just like the rope for its cheap and sturdy nature. 

As for you Oyster, how dare you deviate from the plans! ;D I am actually surprised the deck doesn't flex with such thin plywood on 9" centers! If you were a 90 lb woman I could understand it, but . . .  If you hadn't already put the wood down, I would have suggested you put one layer of glass on the bottom and a second on top. Use the wood like a core, although in this case the wood would actually provide some strength. Did you put doublers in where the cleats and trolling motor would mount? How about back aft where the poling platform will mount?

Leaving Saturday for North Carolina to see Hoosier's skiff. Can't wait!


----------



## Boatdesigner

One more thing. If you are installing SS rub rail, be careful about the driver bits you are using. That was another source of rust we found, the driver bits would leave a steel residue in the SS screw heads that would then rust. Sometimes before the boats left the plant! I can't remember what we did to combat it though, the docs have pumped too many drugs through my brain over the last couple of years!


----------



## oysterbreath

Yes sir I did put the doublers in. I had the feeling that I would be deviating with the deck so I added more than your design called for. I added it in a few other places too. Port and starboard sides got more where I might add side mounted grab rails (Optional), I added more up front in case I ever move the trolling motor around. AND I added more to the transome in case I ever mount the troller back there. I'm covered. I know it sounds like I'm working hap-hazardly but there is a bit of logic to it...


----------



## oysterbreath

No pictures but I had a great weekend. I got the deck glassed! One layer of 12oz biax over the whole deck with a strip of 50" wide doubled at the casting deck for abrasion and impact. This thing is rock solid. I think for this design 1/4" Okume decking with be just fine since the deck supports are only 9" apart.
Now I just need one final sanding, faring, priming, and painting. At that point in time I have reached another grand milestone. It will be time to build the sole and buy deck hardware.

For my deck cleat, I kinda want to use the same deck cleat that Mel uses on his Ankona boats as seen here:







Anyone know the manufacture?


----------



## Gramps

Dang got me all excited at first glance! But alas, that's not your boat...  

How's that weave going to be to fill? Planning a non-skid kiwi grip type on the decks? Should help with the fairing requirements, or so I've read.  Did I miss the color selection for topside?

Can't wait to see this in person D! Not long now and you'll be knee deep in poon.


----------



## oysterbreath

> Dang got me all excited at first glance! But alas, that's not your boat...
> 
> How's that weave going to be to fill? Planning a non-skid kiwi grip type on the decks? Should help with the fairing requirements, or so I've read.  Did I miss the color selection for topside?
> 
> Can't wait to see this in person D! Not long now and you'll be knee deep in poon.



Off white deck. Man, the weave is not that much more than woven. I've heard people say how much harder it is to deal with biax and I just don't get it. Maybe I am some sort of IDIOT savant but the 12oz biax was really easy to work with. I did the deck by myself. As you may recall, AP helped me with the hull. He was my mix-master. This time I was mix master and cloth king! I'm going to use quick fair to fill what little weave is left for me to fill. It took a little less than 1.5 gal to cover the 69sf deck and the extra strips that I added.


----------



## oysterbreath

I've been seeing a lot of 40 & 50 hp Mercs from the 80's for sale lately. Were the mid size mercs from 80-90 pretty decent? Is it hard to find tiller arms for those years?


----------



## cutrunner

Basically if its got a wrap around style hood I wouldnt buy it.
Pm creekrunner, hes a good merc tech


----------



## oysterbreath

I'm a happy camper! Well, I bought myself a motor! A Mercury Classic 40hp with oil injection. It's an older 2 smoke 4 cylinder that needs some TLC but should serve me just fine. I may attempt some of the TLC myself but will probably end up sending it to a shop for some professional love'n! It didn't come with controls but I don't mind. I hope to find a tiller arm for it anyway. I got it for a killer sweet deal from a soon-to-be forum member so I don't mind the fact it's gonna need some attention. It's got trim & tilt and a newer starter. It needs the hydrolic units wires replaced but it's all good! I'm gonna need a good prop though. I can use the existing one....but a new one will be in my future!

Here are some pics:


----------



## cutrunner

Thatll do!
Creekrunners gunna be your best friend soon.
Nice coat of new black high gloss paint on that baby...


----------



## Gramps

Congrat's D! You'll soon learn to love the smell and sound of a two stroke at dawn. Ah the memories that will be made.


----------



## oysterbreath

> Congrat's D!  You'll soon learn to love the smell and sound of a two stroke at dawn. Ah the memories that will be made.


Thanks! My next BIG purchase is the trailer. I think I need to break down and start looking for something new. Something with a swing tongue of course. This thing has GOTTA fit into the garage! I'm still thinking about a continental. It's probably the cheapest decent trailer I will be able to find that will be able to have a tongue that when folded will not extend beyond the bow...or atleast not by much. I might check out Caribbean also. I'm open to suggestions provided they are economy trailers.


----------



## Gramps

Don't forget I've got that (2"x3"?) swing tongue kit you're welcome to. Buying a used trailer like this one http://orlando.craigslist.org/boa/3872305976.html and upgrading/rebuilding/fitting to your boat with the swing tongue is my advice. It's pretty easy to do and I'm more than willing to help!


----------



## Andrewp

Congrats on motor pick-up, D! Hell of a deal!!!

Agree with Gramps on the trailer -- find something used you can fix up as well. You've got the room to store the trailer on the side of the house so you'll have room to work on it and not have to move the boat!

AP


----------



## Dillusion

> Congrat's D!  You'll soon learn to love the smell and sound of a two stroke at dawn. Ah the memories that will be made.
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks! My next BIG purchase is the trailer. I think I need to break down and start looking for something new. Something with a swing tongue of course. This thing has GOTTA fit into the garage! I'm still thinking about a continental. It's probably the cheapest decent trailer I will be able to find that will be able to have a tongue that when folded will not extend beyond the bow...or atleast not by much. I might check out Caribbean also. I'm open to suggestions provided they are economy trailers.
Click to expand...

This is the exact specification I needed on my trailer. Continental was the only company with a trailer below $1100 that fit the bill. Look at my SUV thread and look at the trailer swing tongue placement. Plus the trailer is all aluminum and top notch.


----------



## oysterbreath

> This is the exact specification I needed on my trailer. Continental was the only company with a trailer below $1100 that fit the bill. Look at my SUV thread and look at the trailer swing tongue placement. Plus the trailer is all aluminum and top notch.


I've seen a couple galvanized continental trailers for around 900-1000. If you found an aluminum for a hundred more then I need to go where you got yours!!!!!


Anyway, I worked a little more on the boat after work today. I'm getting worried that I will not find a tiller arm for the motor. Since I have left over wood I decided to start building a couple side consoles just-in-case. I figure I need to do this now because I also need to start cleaning out the garage and tossing out the scraps. I figure that if I even remotely need something made I better build it now. Other than the console, I have also started sanding off my second coat of glass. The next coat will be quickfair.














































I'm going to keep tinkering with side console size and style for a little while. The one in the pictures is based on Timm's design except I took off the support leg. I Figured out how to reinforce it pretty good, not shown in pictures though. I want to try a smaller version too. Something much less obtrusive.


----------



## jfboothe

Oyster,

For comparison, mine is as small as I could make it and still fit the steering box, gauges, etc. It measures about 18x12 with about 5" overhang on the side deck for attaching. I reinforced the crap underneath with a few layers of 1208 cloth and I intended to epoxy it to the side deck. But for now it is thru bolted with 1/4 stainless bolts so that I can remove it and make sure I am happy with the position. Even thru bolted it is plenty stout. I just didn't want anyone or myself to fall or sit on it and crack/break something.

Hope that helps and if you want anymore info/pictures on it just ask.

Jim


----------



## AfterHours2

You can always give Ramlin a shot since there located in Orlando also. Ive dealt with them many times and they always have been great with customer support. You are going to pay a little more than the competition but its a small margin when comparing quality. I have never owned a more maintenance free and overbuilt trailer in my life. They are worth a look..


----------



## Andrewp

ooooohhhh .... I kinda like the look of that side-console. If it were me, I'd be taking a long look at heading things that way ....



AP


----------



## Dillusion

> This is the exact specification I needed on my trailer. Continental was the only company with a trailer below $1100 that fit the bill. Look at my SUV thread and look at the trailer swing tongue placement. Plus the trailer is all aluminum and top notch.
> 
> 
> 
> I've seen a couple galvanized continental trailers for around 900-1000. If you found an aluminum for a hundred more then I need to go where you got yours!!!!!
> 
> SNIP
Click to expand...


Carribean trailers - $1800
Float On - $1350 + $150 for swing tongue install
Ramlin - $1600+

Continental standard galvanized (gheenoe/jonboat)- $850
Continental AS1616 Aluminum Skiff trailer - $1060 + $120 for swing tongue install

Continental doesn't sell direct, so you need to find a dealer in your area. I ordered mine with the boat, so there was no mark up. If you are buying just a trailer by itself from a dealer they may mark it up. YMMV


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks for the info Matt.

Gramps, I'm gonna hold you to that offer!


----------



## oysterbreath

> ooooohhhh .... I kinda like the look of that side-console.  If it were me, I'd be taking a long look at heading things that way ....
> 
> 
> 
> AP


Dude, i've got issues! I'm at a stand still ONCE AGAIN because I can't make up my mind. Hear me out, So I priced out both option, tiller and remote steering. Turns out that unless I find a donor motor tiller is gonna cost me $437! The catch is, setting the boat up for remote will cost $598 IF I stick to an economical wheel i.e. none stainless steel. So for me, tiller is only slightly cheaper. Sure, I will have some trouble routing the cables through the closed chambers in the boat but...steering MIGHT be a better option for me at this point. I'm going to take the week to think it over and do more research because I know very little about steering systems. Int the mean time I did work a bit more on the console:










I cut down the height a bit, added corner stiffeners and stiffeners at the top and bottom. I've got the top cut out but will wait a while before gluing it down. All of my corners are now rounded too. The top will be rounded also. I will also add a layer or two of 10oz woven over this too. Comments are welcome.





























It's not perminately installed yet but this is the distance that feels best for me so far


----------



## Andrewp

Looks nice all rounded off like that .....

Are you thinking about mounting controls on the topside along with the steering wheel, or are you going to do something more along the lines of what Rosco did with his side console?

AP


----------



## Gramps

I'm a sucker for side consoles and will bug the 'it out of you to do one! 

This is clean and seems like it will fit your console:









Check Flounder Pounder Marine http://www.searay-parts.com/product-p/150107gem-steeringwheel.htm for parts. They normally have good stuff cheaper than retail. And a large selection of hinges, latches, and general rigging components. I LOVE their store.


----------



## browndogrods

I'm curious, is it possible and feasible (cost wise) to build this boat using 100% synthetic materials (no wood)?


----------



## oysterbreath

> I'm curious, is it possible and feasible (cost wise) to build this boat using 100% synthetic materials (no wood)?


I think so. I would use Diviycell H80 and one of the high density PVC boards for the transom. Your glass schedule would need to be increased BUT on the bright side you could use polyester resin instead of epoxy. In the end I will have used nearly 8 gallons of epoxy on my boat. That's about $480. 8 gal of polyester can be had for about $240. I've used....11 sheets of 4mm and 3 sheets of 6mm ply and 1 sheet of 3/4". I think I spent about $500 on that. I don't exactly recall. I think for the hull you'd use about 6 sheets of 4'x8' H80 with plenty of left overs since you'd be building it single layer. I'd use plasticore or nidacore on the deck. You'll need 3 sheets for the deck. Once again, you will have about half a sheet left over. I know I do! I think you are getting the point. You'll have to do the rough math cause I don't recall what H80 is going for these days.
I think Timm's jig would be the best bet for none wood construction. He'd have to chime in on that one.
Me, I think two layers of 1708 would be the glass schedule I'd be betting on but once again....Timm will need to chime in. I also spent about $200-$300 in misc wood too. Point being, you MIGHT spend a bit more but nothing crazy. I went with wood because I wanted to learn some wood working. I will admit, I have no clue how much I spent on sandpaper. I also have no clue how much you'll save on that expense with a fully synthetic boat. I'd love to see one built though.

My wife may kill me for this but I also plan to build a no wood boat next. A small creek boat something like a pelican ambush/ soloskiff.


----------



## oysterbreath

Ken, check this little thing out.

http://www.yrvind.com/present_project/?m=200806


----------



## oysterbreath

Oh oh oh!
I forgot to mark the date!
The 4th of July was the official 2 year mark! I hoped to have the wood working completely done but oh well....


----------



## Andrewp

> Oh oh oh!
> I forgot to mark the date!
> The 4th of July was the official 2 year mark! I hoped to have the wood working completely done but oh well....



I'd hoped we'd be fishing for tarpon off this guy by now .....


----------



## browndogrods

> I'm curious, is it possible and feasible (cost wise) to build this boat using 100% synthetic materials (no wood)?
> 
> 
> 
> I think so. I would use Diviycell H80 and one of the high density PVC boards for the transom. Your glass schedule would need to be increased BUT on the bright side you could use polyester resin instead of epoxy. In the end I will have used nearly 8 gallons of epoxy on my boat. That's about $480. 8 gal of polyester can be had for about $240. I've used....11 sheets of 4mm and 3 sheets of 6mm ply and 1 sheet of 3/4". I think I spent about $500 on that. I don't exactly recall. I think for the hull you'd use about 6 sheets of 4'x8' H80 with plenty of left overs since you'd be building it single layer. I'd use plasticore or nidacore on the deck. You'll need 3 sheets for the deck. Once again, you will have about half a sheet left over. I know I do! I think you are getting the point. You'll have to do the rough math cause I don't recall what H80 is going for these days.
> I think Timm's jig would be the best bet for none wood construction. He'd have to chime in on that one.
> Me, I think two layers of 1708 would be the glass schedule I'd be betting on but once again....Timm will need to chime in. I also spent about $200-$300 in misc wood too. Point being, you MIGHT spend a bit more but nothing crazy. I went with wood because I wanted to learn some wood working. I will admit, I have no clue how much I spent on sandpaper. I also have no clue how much you'll save on that expense with a fully synthetic boat. I'd love to see one built though.
> 
> My wife may kill me for this but I also plan to build a no wood boat next. A small creek boat something like a pelican ambush/ soloskiff.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your thoughts, I did not say it before, but great looking build so far. I wish you the best. 

What kind of wood working skills did you have prior to starting this build? I'm seriously considering studying up on what it would take to do something like this, but out of synthetic materials. My current skiff has all the bells and whistles, the more I think about it and the more maintenance I do, I see greater value in a "plain jane" skiff that I know every inch of and I could design/build to have better access to areas of the bilge, fuel tank, etc than most production boats. Not sure I could pull of not having a boat to fish from for that long of an extended time!


----------



## oysterbreath

Ken, other than building a few balsa r/c planes and building architectural models..none. i spent a lot of time learning as much as i could though. I planed for 3 years before building and onlybuild a work bench and shelves in preparation. After that i pompusly decided that i was ready for prime time boat building.


----------



## oysterbreath

I need to stop...or at least slow down. I'm double posting back-to-back way too many times!  

So I just got back into the house from the garage. I've been toying with this side console and of course, I have more pics. The odd thing is, i'm still not sure I want to built the boat out as a tiller or remote yet. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about rigging  for remote. I mean, I've driven remote but NEVER really gave a thought about the mechanics in regards to the self-rigging of one. This issue is going to be up in the air for a couple weeks I think. It will only be resolved by finding a sweet deal for either a tiller arm or a compatible merc binnacle. I've found good deals on a bunch of other remote accessories already:
http://www.boatersland.com/tel-ss14710.html
this was an acceptable wheel:
http://www.boatersland.com/ufxv70b.html


anyway, here are some new pictures:

I put the top on. It was built from (2) laminated peices of 1/4" Okume and the edges were all rounded off. All other facets were built from 1/4" okume. Once I got the top glued down I laminated the interior with scrap peices of 12oz biax that I had left over from the deck. It weights about 10-12 pounds but it is really strong. I built it with the intent that it would be glued and bolted in place but I might just allow it to only be mechanically fastened. Get this...this was a stupid move on my part but I bolted it down...and then sat on it. One the tip of the cantilever edge. Things could have gone really wrong. I never intended this thing to EVER carry my full weight but it does. I mean I had my feet up and everything. It took my full 220 pounds like an Amsterdam....well you get the point! While I will NEVER do that again it is good to know that it is that strong. 





































So my next step is the laminate the outside. I think I will use 2-4oz woven.  I will also start building my button recess. It will look something like this one:


----------



## DuckNut

> I think I will use 2-4oz woven


Don't put any glass on the outside. It will dull the grain a bit. The true use of glass in this case would be to protect against abrasion. You have the strength already there from the underside..

It looks like your mind has been made up. Side console since you already have a beautiful pod made and the hole drilled.


----------



## Andrewp

Looks good. Nice to know everything is built sturdy!

Any rough ideas about how much your hull weighs at this point? Just curious.

What else can you be working on while you scour the internet for motor parts? Not sure what's next ......


AP


----------



## cwalden

What a great thread and a beautiful boat.  I've spent several days going over this and the Crystal 16 thread.

I'm contemplating building one of these myself.  It's not whether this is the boat (because it IS), it's whether to build at all.  I'm bad about starting a project and getting mostly done, then never finishing.  Ask my wife!  That and we are wanting to move in the next year or two.  It would be interesting to move a half finished boat.  Especially if it was before I got it to the trailering stage...


----------



## oysterbreath

> I think I will use 2-4oz woven
> 
> 
> 
> Don't put any glass on the outside.  It will dull the grain a bit.  The true use of glass in this case would be to protect against abrasion.  You have the strength already there from the underside..
> 
> It looks like your mind has been made up.   Side console since you already have a beautiful pod made and the hole drilled.
Click to expand...

Dull the grain?
Ohhhhhh, you think I am going to bright finish this!
Nope, It's gonna get painted. This is not brightwork worthy IMHO. I never intended it to be. If I were going to do bright work I wouldn't be using plywood. I'd be using solid boards.



> What a great thread and a beautiful boat.  I've spent several days going over this and the Crystal 16 thread.
> 
> I'm contemplating building one of these myself.  It's not whether this is the boat (because it IS), it's whether to build at all.  I'm bad about starting a project and getting mostly done, then never finishing.  Ask my wife!  That and we are wanting to move in the next year or two.  It would be interesting to move a half finished boat.  Especially if it was before I got it to the trailering stage...


Thanks for the compliments. Well, If I were to do it all over again I think I would build the Crystal 16 instead of the Osprey. I don't regret the Osprey but I feel that the crystal is a much better fit....for my garage. Once my boat is on the trailer the garage is gonna be real tight! Plus...and this is a BIG plus...I believe I could build a boat using the strip method much faster than cold molding. The hull was a lot of work. Now I will also admit that I sometimes start things that I don't finish but building a boat will posses your soul! You might get frustrated and take long breaks but it will beckon you back!


----------



## cwalden

I've been talking with the designer about what my best fit would be. I do MUCH prefer the strip method, but I need the size of the Osprey. I also like the lines on the Osprey a lot better. I'm not much concerned with the garage space, as I don't have one. That is another major concern with starting the build. I have a covered area big enough for the build, but it has no sides... This thread REALLY makes me want to start it though.


----------



## tarponio

If you have the resources and time JUST DO IT! Everyone here at Microskiff will help along the way. Time ain't slowing down so get to it brotha.


----------



## tarponio

Btw Nice job Oyster shes looking sharp. Subscribed.


----------



## Boatdesigner

> I'm curious, is it possible and feasible (cost wise) to build this boat using 100% synthetic materials (no wood)?


Sorry to take so long to respond. Between my 77 year old mom fracturing a vertebrae and my finding out my remission from cancer has ended after only three months (both causing lots of doctor visits), I haven't had much time lately. 

Yes, you could build the Osprey from composites. I would recommend using 1/2" (12mm) Core-Cell or Airex foam core as both are flexible and can be heat formed to fit the shape. Divinycell is more brittle, so has to be scored to be able to fit to the curves of the hull, thus leaving all those little cuts to fill with resin. Divinycell also has less impact resistance. For laminate, you may be able to get away with 2 layers of 1208 on the outside and 1 on the inside. That's just a semi-educated guess though. I would need to crunch the numbers to say for sure. 

Not sure if you could build it with a single stringer on each side, might want two just to keep the height down. Maybe a 1 1/2" wide piece of foam with a single 1808 over it for a stringer. Framing similar to the Crystal 16, though 1/2" foam with a 1208 on each side. Transom would be a heavier material, such as urethane foam with a few layers of 1208 on each side. I would use Vinylester resin for the hull and polyester for the rest of the boat.

I think a composite Osprey would be a cool boat and have thought about drawing it up someday. Unfortunately, my list of cool projects is starting to outstretch my likely life span!


----------



## browndogrods

> I'm curious, is it possible and feasible (cost wise) to build this boat using 100% synthetic materials (no wood)?
> 
> 
> 
> Sorry to take so long to respond. Between my 77 year old mom fracturing a vertebrae and my finding out my remission from cancer has ended after only three months (both causing lots of doctor visits), I haven't had much time lately.
> 
> Yes, you could build the Osprey from composites. I would recommend using 1/2" (12mm) Core-Cell or Airex foam core as both are flexible and can be heat formed to fit the shape. Divinycell is more brittle, so has to be scored to be able to fit to the curves of the hull, thus leaving all those little cuts to fill with resin. Divinycell also has less impact resistance. For laminate, you may be able to get away with 2 layers of 1208 on the outside and 1 on the inside. That's just a semi-educated guess though. I would need to crunch the numbers to say for sure.
> 
> Not sure if you could build it with a single stringer on each side, might want two just to keep the height down. Maybe a 1 1/2" wide piece of foam with a single 1808 over it for a stringer. Framing similar to the Crystal 16, though 1/2" foam with a 1208 on each side. Transom would be a heavier material, such as urethane foam with a few layers of 1208 on each side. I would use Vinylester resin for the hull and polyester for the rest of the boat.
> 
> I think a composite Osprey would be a cool boat and have thought about drawing it up someday. Unfortunately, my list of cool projects is starting to outstretch my likely life span!
Click to expand...

Timm, thanks for taking the time to reply to my curiosity. I am very interested in building a skiff to my specs, the Osyprey looks to have the right layout/specs. My challenge would be my limited wood working experience and patience! It does seem a bit risky.


----------



## oysterbreath

Timm, that's all really sad news! Our prayers will be with you and your family!


----------



## oysterbreath

Today I came home from work, ate dinner, threw on some "garage clothes" and went out to the boat. I put the 33% done floor boards/sole into the boat and walked around. I then decided to place the rod holders in just to see how they fit when the sole is in. Since I was on a role I also put the console in to see how it all comes together. All these things drop into place in my boat. The console, If I use it will be glued and bolted, the rod holders will be glued in. The sole is different. It will be dropped into place and held down with retainer clips. I built it in two pieces so that it is easy to remove for inspection on or off the water. I know a lot of wooden flats boat builders love to enclose the sole and foam fill it but I personally think it is a mistake. I think much like wooden drift boat builders do. This area needs to be accessible for repairs and inspection. The only area I want sealed in a wooden boat are the mandatory buoyancy bulkheads. Even without a sealed sole I have far more flotation than most other wooden boats this size. But that's neither hear-nor-there! With all of these pieces in the boat is starting to feel...like a boat. Steering is still an issue thought. I'm still researching and searching for parts. As far as remote steering is concerned I am rethinking the top binnacle due to the extra expense of all of the other pieces that need to be bought separately. The top mount configuration ends up being over $300 more than side mount. Side mount units are cheaper and have everything built in apparently. I don't have longitudinal space for side mount but I did see another boat that used the very same side mount controls that I need but as a top mount.
check it out:

















I'm a little concerned that it looks a bit tacky though.
Tiller is still an option. I've got a lead on parts but in the end, I will not know what I end up with until I place the order. 

Back to my rod holders, I WAS going to bright finish then but now I want to paint them. So I will sand down the corners and round them off really good. I'm thinking about using EVA inserts at the area contacting my rods. Anyway, here are some pictures.

The first one is me with a mock up of the side control mounted on top like the HB in the pictures. Ahhhhhh just use your imagination. Everything is to scale ironically!




































Removable sole. I'll be painting this and adding kiwi grip. I will also ad lift points and tie down points.









You can see that their is a raise rail along the outside edge to prevent things from rolling off of it. between the boards I will have a thin rubber gasket.




































Don't worry. It will look a lot better once I spend another $20 in sand paper on it!


----------



## Flyline

I'm watching the whole build thread and it's coming along very nice! I know it's take a long time to build this nice skiff for a nice finish but can u speed it up a little bit so We can sre your skiff on the water! ;D


----------



## cutrunner

Put the hammer down!
Hammer time!!
Lmao

Does your motor have power trim?
You can get the oldschool style chrome top mount binnacles with the wooden knob for $100 new.
What steering do you plan on doing? Cable or hydraulic?
A standard cable helm will mount just fine, or for an extra $100 or so you can get a tilt helm, which will raise the wheel up nicely and tilt for while your sitting and driving


----------



## firecat1981

Do you have any other pics of that hells bay side control setup? It doesn't look bad at all to me and I might use that idea.


----------



## oysterbreath

*Whitesnooky:* I'm trying, I'm trying! lol I always catch myself trying to take short cuts. My biggest hindrance to getting done is money...then time. I'm building on a budget with limited available. Only thing worse than that is having all the time in the world and no money to actually buy what's needed!

*Cut runner:* Yeah, it has power trim. I'm already flip-flopping again. I just sourced an even cheaper complete tiller arm. After some thought, I've also come to the realization that I will probably repower in 4-5 years. So I'm thinking that might be reason enough to stick to tiller for now, save up for hydraulic steering and a brand new motor for later. Stuff for my current motor might not go well with the new motor or might even have to be replaced for warranty reasons soooooooo......more decisions. I can always hold onto my console until then. All I need to do is fill the mounting holes with 4200 sealant and paint right over them. O can pop them out later. However, what controls are you talking about? I ain't ever seen $100 controls! Do they look like this:









*Firecat:* Those are the only two pictures that I have.

Edit: I just found this one. It's the same control









and this one








I guess HB used to do it a lot!


----------



## WhiteDog70810

For goodness sake, just duct tape a damn oak limb to the motor cowling as a tiller and get this thing floating! You can be wishy-washy about the merits of tiller vs remote while you fish! Figure out world peace while you are at it.

As always, it is looking great. Ignore my rants.

I've actually seen the suggested oak limb tiller modification on a boat on Toledo Bend as a kid. I guess the steering cable broke when the owner was scheduled to fish. He wasn't letting the minor inconvenience of operating an improvised tiller with his left hand and the throttle with his right get in the way.

Nate


----------



## oysterbreath

> For goodness sake, just duct tape a damn oak limb to the motor cowling as a tiller and get this thing floating!  You can be wishy-washy about the merits of tiller vs remote while you fish!  Figure out world peace while you are at it.
> 
> As always, it is looking great.  Ignore my rants.
> 
> I've actually seen the suggested oak limb tiller modification on a boat on Toledo Bend as a kid.  I guess the steering cable broke when the owner was scheduled to fish.  He wasn't letting the minor inconvenience of operating an improvised tiller with his left hand and the throttle with his right get in the way.
> 
> Nate


LOL!
Well, the wife put her foot down and told me that It's going to have a steering wheel! I've been sourcing parts for the last two weeks. I'm about to order some stuff from Miami Marine Specialist tomorrow. I still don't know how I'm going to rout of of these wires and cables. I THINK I might co-op one of my rod tubes for the job. That way I can minimize new holes. I will have to locate the end of the tube, drill straight down to it and modify a new piece of PVC to connect to it to keep my bulkhead water free. I regret not planning for remote earlier. Oh well, flip-flop king out!


----------



## Gramps

> Well, the wife put her foot down and told me that It's going to have a steering wheel!



Whaaaaaaaaaat?  I guess that made the decision easier but daggum D the decision is made!  ;D


----------



## DuckNut

Should have asked for her opinion sooner

[smiley=1-laugh.gif]


----------



## oysterbreath

Yeah, I guess the boss spoke!
So today I ordered my control and the accompanying wire. I've still got some research to do concerning the steering system. So far I'm stuck on a teleflex no-feed back system but it's hard to find one in my preferred length. Can you cut the steering cable shorter on those things?

More pictures:


















You can see in this what I plan to do. I plan to co-op the top outside rod rube and use it to route my control and steering cables. It's going to require jumping through some hoops back at the transom but I think I can pull it off.


----------



## Boatdesigner

Yeah! A decision made, even if it was from the lady who just wants her garage back! The boat looks really good. Mike who is building the Kitty Hawk 18 on my site told me tonight that he may want you to come up to Virginia to help finish his boat. He really likes how smooth your bottom came out! Had to be careful how I wrote that, could have been taken the wrong way! 

Can you use a traditional chrome binnacle and then have a separate button for the trim and tilt? How about something really trick and use a foot pedal from TH Marine? I am not sure how much they cost, probably quite a bit more than a binnacle.

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. Spending my free time studying up on stem cell transplants and trying to come to terms with losing all my hair, not to mention my entire immune system! :-/


----------



## oysterbreath

Timm, good to hear from you. It always pains me to know that a great fella such as yourself has to go through all of these medical issues. Hang in there bro!

Well, I took a look at Ben's boat. It looks really good! He's using solid wood planks, festool RO sanders, access to CNC machines...that guy operates on a level far above my station for sure! I'm drooling! lol


----------



## cutrunner

Got the inside painted yet?
Your slackin man I gotta bump you!!


----------



## oysterbreath

> Got the inside painted yet?
> Your slackin man I gotta bump you!!


I'm still cutting up the rear deck trying to get all the cables and controls together. I kinda feel like I'm performing surgery on the ol girl.









I've got the little "on top of the deck" thinggy made too. I've got to fair it though.



















I've some of the hardware too.









buuuuuuuuuuuut, I have to admit that I DID take some time out to do something for my lil lady! I was inspired by another forum member to build her a bed.


----------



## DuckNut

HELLO...anybody working in this garage???


----------



## oysterbreath

> HELLO...anybody working in this garage???


HA HAAAAA! very funny!
Working sometimes takes place between the naps. It hard for me to update too because our internet sucks big time. We recently switched to brighthouse and it sucks big time! 

Anyway, here's where I stand with the boat. I finally closed up the cable routing wound. It went from this:









to this:









I have everything dry fitted to check the wiring and mechanical. I have the planetary unit temp installed
and the throttle temp installed with cables:




























The cable housing thiggy is perm installed now too


----------



## Rosco

Looking good!


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks Rosco! I figured out one more thing too...my freaking steering cable is like 16" too long.


----------



## Gramps

Looking good bubba! How long is your cable? I need to order one soon - we may be able to swap them out?

When does paint start??


----------



## oysterbreath

> Looking good bubba! How long is your cable? I need to order one soon - we may be able to swap them out?
> 
> When does paint start??


Mine is 11 foot. I worked on it a bit. I think I could use a 9 footer actually. So you gonna get a Uflex? Maybe we can work something out?

As for paint... I should be able to start this up-coming weekend if things go well.


----------



## Boatdesigner

Holy cow! You have more plumbing in that thing than I have in my house! ;D I like what you did with the control box, that looks really slick. The console looks nice too. I like varnished wood . . . especially when I don't have to maintain it!

Where do I place my order for German Shepherd and Flat Coated Retriever size dog beds? I want my sofa back!







Yes that is a 65lb. Retriever sitting in the window. And that Shepherd is much more fierce than she looks, so don't think you can come in and steal my vintage 1972 Dynaco speakers!


----------



## formerWAflyfisher

Updates? Love this thread. Keeps me inspired to start my own some day. Had to rescue it from page three.


----------



## Gramps

;D


----------



## cutrunner

Hahahahahaha


----------



## Shalla Wata Rider

Incredible build ...great fairing pre glass ...I feel like a hack  ... I'd love to know where you learned your skills 'cause you are a craftsman like all the others who post here ...even the simple customizations by novice' are better than you will find in most boatyards!   Must be the passion.   Gotta' love it ! Keep up the great work!


----------



## DuckNut

Hello........


> ;D


----------



## BayStYat

Absolutely incredible


----------



## jonathanglasser71

Looking good !


----------



## oysterbreath

Ohhhhhhhhh, Gramps got JOKES! LOL

Well, I found some time to actually work on the boat. I've got the second coat of primer on the deck.


----------



## Shalla Wata Rider

Looks Sweet ! That foredeck is all business ....nice layout!


----------



## TidewateR

very close to my ideal skiff


looks great! ..now hurry up & finish


----------



## makin moves

Very nice!!!!


----------



## firecat1981

Oyster she is looking great! I hope you don't mind if I borrow an idea or 2 for my next build?


----------



## Net 30

Must give you great satisfaction to be able to build your own skiff [smiley=1-thumbsup3.gif]


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks fellas. I'm trying to work my way through to the finish before the new year. Well, I want to be atleast done with painting, non-slip, and most of the hardware. I still have to get a trailer, poling platform, and get some motor work done because there is no way I'm going to figure out how to work on the blasted thing.Some friend of mine told me about an older guy that does some great work on props. He's located out on east 50 between Cupid and Blitzen. Anyone know anything about that place?



> Oyster she is looking great! I hope you don't mind if I borrow an idea or 2 for my next build?


I'm sure that any idea you think I've come up with is infact borrowed from someone else.


----------



## DuckNut

> He's located out on east 50 between Cupid and Blitzen. Anyone know anything about that place?


I read on another forum that he is fat and lazy, makes his employees do all of the work. BUT, he has some magic stuff that will make you fly like an eagle.


----------



## oysterbreath

> He's located out on east 50 between Cupid and Blitzen. Anyone know anything about that place?
> 
> 
> 
> I read on another forum that he is fat and lazy, makes his employees do all of the work.  BUT, he has some magic stuff that will make you fly like an eagle.
Click to expand...

lol the area is call Christmas...


----------



## oysterbreath

I just got the first coat of paint on the deck. No pics...the only think worse than watching paint dry....is snapping pics of it! ;-)


----------



## Boatdesigner

OK Oyster, the boat is lookin' good, but this no pics thing is making for a grumpy Boatdesigner! Don't make me get off my fat a*# and come down there myself to take them. 

Keep up the great work, maybe you'll be fishing in the spring!


----------



## oysterbreath

> OK Oyster, the boat is lookin' good, but this no pics thing is making for a grumpy Boatdesigner! Don't make me get off my fat a*# and come down there myself to take them.
> 
> Keep up the great work, maybe you'll be fishing in the spring!


Yes SIR! Here are some pics. This is just the first coat of paint. I painted the whole deck on the first coat. I figure that will add a good measure of water resistance beneath the areas that will get kiwigrip later. I also went ahead and temp mounted some of the hardware just to see how it will look.

Here's an overall with the removable sole in place.









Here I pulled the plastic down from the innards on the boat so that I could see the contrast between the brightwork and the white paint. The wood is really dusty but I think it's comprehensible. The console is not secured so that's why the gap between it and the deck is so noticeable.









Pics showing the throttle mount and console. I'm not all that happy with it but hopefully it will grow on me. It  seems it will be very comfortable eventhough it doesn't look right to me.







































Kiwigrip will go on after the second or third coat of paint. I'll be sanding between the coats with 400 grit. My biggest issue is that before my final coat goes on, I seriously need to resolve my dust issue. The paint looks good but the thing keeping it from looking great is dang dust. Little stringy dust particles! Uggggggg!







My other delima is how I want to layout the kiwi. Typically folks just layout a simple pattern,  no grip at 2" from openings or edges and maybe a void strip along the center.However, I've seen some kiwi videos of someone putting patterns in the kiwi. I kinda like that and might do something on a grand scale. Maybe a whole scene or something. Heres a video from the kiwi folk. Check it out (production quality is awful on this video though. I can't stand poor audio discipline on company videos!!!!!!) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_GsZQXdico

Also, looking at the boat now...I kinda want to build a wooden rubrail instead of buying the black rubber one. I've been looking for wood and it seems that I will need to gain access to a table saw once again


----------



## Boatdesigner

WOW, oyster it looks great! Now I really do need to come down and see it. Hopefully after my cancer treatments start again next week I'll still feel up to traveling a bit. I feel fine now, but once they start filling me full of chemo and steroids, who knows.

What may be catching your eye wrong on the control box is the curves. They look great to me, but then the helm is a bit squared off, so they don't flow together well. It still looks great, but that might be what you are seeing, the incongruity between the two. I wouldn't spend a minute trying to "fix" it as the only ones who might notice it are people like you and me who draw things for a living. 

I thought with my console design that the control would be a top mount on the helm next to the wheel. If memory serves, you bought your engine used, so the control came with it. If you had a few hundred dollars burning a hole in your pocket, would you rather have a top mount, eliminating the mounting pad next to the skipper? Keep up the great work, the boat really does look good! You'll be fishing in no time now!


----------



## makin moves

[smiley=bravo.gif] looking great!!!


----------



## LWalker

> My other delima is how I want to layout the kiwi. Typically folks just layout a simple pattern,  no grip at 2" from openings or edges and maybe a void strip along the center.However, I've seen some kiwi videos of someone putting patterns in the kiwi. I kinda like that and might do something on a grand scale. Maybe a whole scene or something. Heres a video from the kiwi folk. Check it out (production quality is awful on this video though. I can't stand poor audio discipline on company videos!!!!!!)  :
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_GsZQXdico


The boat is looking great! I can't wait to get started on mine...I have been staring at the plans for the last week.

On the patterns in the non-skid, I did a law stick on my current boat. I have a small vinyl business and can help you out with that part if you don't already have someone. You have my email if interested.

Take a look here at what I did:
http://www.microskiff.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1377801547/165


----------



## cutrunner

I'm 100% not exaggerating when I say this. When that boat hits the lagoon every hellsbay and chittum withing 50 miles is going to flinch for a second or two. Beautiful.
A rubrail made of ipe or purple heart with a stainless insert would just POP.


----------



## Rosco

very nice


----------



## Andrewp

It looks great, D! Interested in what you may have in mind for a design in the Kiwigrip ....


----------



## DuckNut

Beautiful job oyster.

I was going to suggest LWalkers decals but he beat me to it.


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks again fellas, Going back to AP's question about about the "deck design" I think something similar to the attached image would be as complex as I would want to try to pull off. I know CAD really well or could do it in illustrator. I think something about 2.5 foot wide and 5 foot long would fit the deck nicely. More than likely I would have to draw it so that It could be pieced together from smaller pieces of overlapping vynle so that it's easier to pull it off before the kiwigrip cures. I'd modify the pic to make the fish a redfish though:


----------



## Recidivists

Will it be replete with lotus flowers? Wow.


----------



## oysterbreath

> Will it be replete with lotus flowers?  Wow.


I'm not sure. That's just my basis of design. I didn't draw it. Found it online. I'm open to alternatives though. I think one option instead of the lotus is to draw some mangrove flowers and sprouts.

Ok, on to another topic, the rub rail. I need some advice. I've been thinking. At first I wanted to do a larger rubrail but after thinking about it, I might do something smaller. I cut down some Douglas fir to *mock-up* a small section. I wanted to get a feel of how it would look and how much protection it would be giving up. So take a look at these pictures. use your imagination and IMAGINE that this mock-up is a continuous rubrail around both sides of the boat, and a small section of the transom. Also imagine that it is a better looking wood too, Something like Iroko. Ipe, while a great hardwood doesn't take epoxy too well from what I hear and tends to crack when bending. I need a wood that can be laminated, doesn't check too much and doesn't rot too badly. Well, check out the mock-up and tell me if this rub rail idea just isn't going to cut it. I plan to build it to be 3/4" tall and about 1/2" thick laminated from three strips of 3/16" Iroko. OK, I know 3*(3/16) in more than 1/2"....you get the point though! ;-) .


----------



## PG350

This is way below your skill level but I did a wood rub rail and loved it on my old boat.  What I loved was how when it got scuffed I could just sand it and good as new.


----------



## DLBjaxbeach

I like the idea of the wood rub rail. I am wrestling with the same question on mine. I am going with a much lower cost/quality on the whole project though, so mine will be made of something cheap if I go that route. A buddy of mine hooked me up with some 1" thick starboard. I may actually use that for the rubrail as described below.

If I go with the wood, it will be done in 3 foot sections so that if one part gets busted up I can just replace that section. Was thinking of using a half lap at the joints and then putting a screw through both pieces. I am not sure how that would look overall. Just a thought... If the rail is something that can be damaged, it might be better to have it easily fixable vs laminating an 18'+ length.


----------



## LWalker

> I think one option instead of the lotus is to draw some mangrove flowers and sprouts.
> 
> I plan to build it to be 3/4" tall and about 1/2" thick laminated from three strips of 3/16" Iroko. OK, I know 3*(3/16) in more than 1/2"....you get the point though! ;-) .


I like the mangrove flowers and sprouts idea the best. Also, draw it in AI. Most vinyl shops can cut from AI, but I have seen some conversions from CAD that were a little choppy.

Assuming your mock up 3/4" x 1/2", I say it needs to be 1" tall with say a 3/8" radius on the corners


----------



## WhiteDog70810

Go to your local place that sells fine hardwoods and talk to the guys there. Most of them know the characteristics of the woods and will set you straight although they may not know how well it takes epoxy. You don't have to worry about them up-selling you because it is all expensive

I'd buy something cheap with a clean, tight grain, stain it as dark as mahogony and apply tooling cloth on top so snobs would have to look hard to tell it wasn't mahogony... ...but you won't do that.

Regardless, it looks great.

Nate


----------



## WhiteDog70810

While I like the deck design idea, sometimes too much complexity doesn't "pop" like you'd hope. I like big bold patterns and was going to do a repeating fish scale camo on the sides of my hull until I decided that amount of work was foolish given the intended use and my rapidly waning patience. However, a simple, repeated motif like said fish scale pattern would be super sexy in the nonskid of the deck... with the steam bent and spar varnished ipe rubrail and the stainless insert... simple and clean, yet elegant.


----------



## DuckNut

> While I like the deck design idea, sometimes too much complexity doesn't "pop" like you'd hope.  I like big bold patterns and was going to do a repeating fish scale camo on the sides of my hull until I decided that amount of work was foolish given the intended use and my rapidly waning patience.  However, a simple, repeated motif like said fish scale pattern would be super sexy in the nonskid of the deck... with the steam bent and spar varnished ipe rubrail and the stainless insert... simple and clean, yet elegant.


Agree with this.

But I disagree with this: I'd buy something cheap with a clean, tight grain, stain it as dark as mahogony.

Buy Ipe and make it wider, attach with polished stainless screws and be done. Ipe will keep its color and it is extremely durable.


----------



## Recidivists

Second the Ipe if going with wood. Dense and hard.


----------



## Boatdesigner

Ipe might be expensive. How about some good old US of A grown ash or oak? I think in thin enough layers it will bend around and epoxy should hold it well enough for this application. We used to bend red oak into some pretty tight bends at Bertram for our interior pieces. We glued it with some kind of colored glue that blended in well. I seem to remember it was a powder that we mixed water to or something. It may have been resorcenol. I would use bronze screws and recess them down just below the surface, but not plug over them. Oil the wood rather than varnish so it is easy to take care of and won't peel. Though if you do that, you may have to build some more parts out of bright finished wood to go with the rub rail! ;D


----------



## spartina

I've use ipa as a rubrail and loved it. First, I could get lengths that prevented the need for scarf joints, it's at my local lumber yard for decking, after some tech support with West Epoxy I knew how to glue the laminations together (clean surfaces with solvent prior to glueing) and it's very dense and tough. Downsides? Like any fruit wood you have to wear a respirator when sawing or sanding, it realeases spores and you'll get sick, happend twice. It doesn't like to bend in two dimensions (around the bow and up to match sheer) but you can plane it back square after attaching. It doesn't hold varnish well. Wipe the surfaces with solvent to remove oil and use real oil based varnish and be prepared to scuff and recover in a year even if stored indoors. Or, just leave it natural and it keeps a lovely color to contrast your great paint job on that hull.


----------



## cutrunner

Done yet?


----------



## oysterbreath

> Done yet?


LOL, not yet.
I'm in holding position. I'm going to build the wooden rubrail. I'm sourcing IPE (Brazilian walnut). 2x stock of the stuff is hard to come by. 3/4" in more typical but using that will mean that I have to also borrow some tools I don't have. I'm trying to not go that rout. Most of my sources are closed for the holiday. Also, I do not want to add more coats of paint before building the rubrail. So I must pause.
After I get the wood, I will start back building like gangbusters. Once the rail is built to size, sanded and oiled, I will put it off to the side and finish up the deck. I'm also giving a lot of thought to the steering currently. The underside of my console is a little tight and I have to make a few small modifications. I'm basically working outside of my comfort zone currently. So much of my time is spent in research and contemplation.

Here's an interesting side note. With all of the delays in building, my monthly cost of construction boils down to about $100. If I drag it out a bit more I can brag to my wife that I've spent less money a month building the boat than she spends getting her hair done! Take that you self empowered women of the world!!!!!!


----------



## WhiteDog70810

"I'm basically working outside of my comfort zone currently."

[smiley=tinyviolin.gif]

Let me know how that hair budget conversation goes. My wife could recite a cumulative list of boat building expenditures by heart if I dared play that card.

Nate


----------



## oysterbreath

> "I'm basically working outside of my comfort zone currently."
> 
> [smiley=tinyviolin.gif]
> 
> Let me know how that hair budget conversation goes.  My wife could recite a cumulative list of boat building expenditures by heart if I dared play that card.
> 
> Nate



You and I would both be fools to *ACTUALLY* make that statement to a wife! lol


----------



## WhiteDog70810

What the heck bro? I am snowed in up here in the freakin' Arctic Circle with nothing to do except live vicariously through those in more temperate climes. Meanwhile I think you are trying to grow ipe in that hydroponic "herb garden" you have left over from college. I don't feel you are taking your responsibility to entertain me seriously.

Nate


----------



## david_kohler

Wow Oyster, what a great job! Just got done reading this whole tread and it has turned out beautifully! Can't wait to see it on the water with slime and smiles.


----------



## oysterbreath

Well, today I have proof that I am THE BIGGEST flip flop this side of any presidential candidate! Today, I brought this home:









It's a 55hp tiller. A retired military Johnson enforcer pump jet motor that was recently rebuilt. Yes folk, I spent all that time modifying the boat for remote, now I'm going to slap a tiller on it. I bought all of that remote stuff now I need to sell it off or something. I had temporarily lost site of my desire for a simple boat. Site regained...I hope! lol With this motor...all I really need to get onto the water is a trailer. In the meantime, there are some things I need to either do or accept. 

1.) I built that throttle riser, without a throttle it's an eyesore. I might cut it off and re-flatten the area unless I can think of something else to do with it. I still have a couple more coats of paint to put on so it's a good time to make changes if I need:



















Also, I think I may be putting these up for sale:


----------



## WhiteDog70810

Very interesting.

[smiley=1-mmm.gif]

Nate


----------



## WhiteDog70810

> Well, the wife put her foot down and told me that It's going to have a steering wheel!


Oysterbreath, today
"I'm going to slap a tiller on it."

Not to be an ass, but Have you cleared this decision with the appropriate authorities?  This is dangerous ice on which you play, young Grasshopper.

Nate


----------



## oysterbreath

> Well, the wife put her foot down and told me that It's going to have a steering wheel!
> 
> 
> 
> Oysterbreath, today
> "I'm going to slap a tiller on it."
> 
> Not to be an ass, but Have you cleared this decision with the appropriate authorities?  This is dangerous ice on which you play, young Grasshopper.
> 
> Nate
Click to expand...

The wife is on a mother/ daughter cruise.
Yes my friend....the ice is very thin in these here parts!
They get back tomorrow! I am a martyr for all men!


----------



## firecat1981

Why not try the enforcer as a remote motor, and if you don't like it then slap the tiller back on and cut off the extra console parts?


----------



## cutrunner

> Why not try the enforcer as a remote motor, and if you don't like it then slap the tiller back on and cut off the extra console parts?


Haha you clearly don't understand how hard if at all possible it will be to find the parts to convert that motor to remote.
Its a specialty motor that only came in tiller as far as I know.
But good thought


----------



## Recidivists

http://www.smalloutboards.com/j5598e.htm


----------



## Gramps

Cut - It is essentially the same powerhead & goodies as the late 90's 2 cylinder engines. Should be a plethora of parts out there for it. The lower unit, that's a different animal! Apparently it is a 3 cylinder l/u with the 2 cylinder sized drive shaft. Finding a used standard l/u that will fit is about as rare as Shalla's unicorn!


----------



## cutrunner

What I'm getting at is the pan looks different than the normal 50hp.
Everything usualy mounts to the pan in one way or another, I could very well be wrong
<------ yamaha mechanic


----------



## Gramps

I'll bring mine by before too long and letcha have a look.  

/me = desk jocky


----------



## cutrunner

You mean bring it by so we can run it??


----------



## Gramps

> You mean bring it by so we can run it??


Something like that. And we will make a video of us running the finished boat along with the new motor and send it to Oysterbreath!


----------



## cutrunner

^coldblooded


----------



## oysterbreath

> ^coldblooded


Ohhhhhh!
Why y'all gotta go poking badgers with spoons? lol
Now that's just down right dirty! ;-)

I don't think I would want to convert the Enforcer to remote. But adding the option for electric start sounds interesting.

Anyway, I got questions for you motor heads!

I'm going to mount my manual jack plate. Back before I bought it. I built up a transom riser because I didn't think I was going to find one for the desired price point. The riser is kinda rough but it is strong. I did a crap job fairing it. Needless to say, I did find a jack plate. So here is the deal. From the bottom of the transom to the top of the riser is 20 1/4" or 20 3/8 depending on if you measure from the front or back of the riser straight down. My Jack plate has 4" of rise. So How should I mount the jack plate. My thought is this. I should position the jack plate so that it is set in the middle. set at 2". Then I should align this so that it is at 20". that way I have 2" of adjustment in either direction. Is that the way I should do it?


----------



## Gramps

Sell me the jack plate & mount the motor straight to the transom. Yeah that'll do, that'll do.


Seriously though, I'd mount the JP so that the lowest setting on the JP puts the top of the plate 20" above the transom.  All "long" shaft motors that are supposed to be 20" clamp to cavitation plate are typically all 21-22" long.  I want to say our motors are approx. 20.5" from clamp to cav. plate.

This will give you the best range of adjustment for the motor. There isn't much info out there about how high the dura jet lowers can be run before loss of thrust / blow out. Should be an interesting quest for ya!

Oh did you see my email about the e-start option? There is a company in your neck of the woods that specializes in the Johnson Enforcer motors:

Premier Marine, Inc.
1631 Rock Springs Road, Suite 212
Apopka, Fl. 32712
(386) 690-5146


----------



## oysterbreath

YEAH! I saw it. I've known for a while that DuraJet/ Act Inc, the builder of our lower unit, was a hometown company. Their shop is about 8 miles from my house. Also Premier Marine, Inc., as you noted, is not that far away too. Maybe 15 miles. That's one of the reasons why I knew about this type of propulsion system. I've driven by their shop countless times. It is also why I went into "giddy school girl mode" when you notified me about these motors being for sale. BTW, thanks for letting me know dude! Big up's! I do like the idea of having starting options, pull or electric. More like electric with pull backup! ;-)

Act, Inc. ~ Marine Propulsion Division
6831 Edgewater Commerce Parkway, Orlando, Florida 32810


<------slowest boat builder on the forum, brunt of all cut runner jokes.


----------



## oysterbreath

Ohhhhhh man! So yesterday the true nature of my wife was revealed to me. The woman is a dang Kryptonian!
She's gotta be!!!!
Here's the story. I had to build another motor stand. So when I finished, I went into the house to ask the wife to help me get the 205 pound motor out of the car. Now this isn't the first time she's helped me move a big motor out of the trunk of my car. She helped me with the Merc too. Anyway, so she got dressed. Or shall I say, threw on some old rags. Came out to the car. Grabbed the blasted motor and damn near clean snatched it out of the car! Fortunately part of it got caught and it didn't completely come out. Cause your's truly was not ready OR EXPECTING that supergirl/ Hercules was going to take possession of my wife! Great scott that woman is strong!!!!! Ya'll, if I am ever found in the gutter, in 14 pieces torn up by hand.....it was her! Nobody else I could possibly piss off is strong enough! I prolly deserved it too. lol
Anyway....
Here's my new baby!





























sea grass will be safe, matinees may still receive concussions! Bad joke, forgive me...I'm just giddy!!!


----------



## oysterbreath

Someone just sent me this link. AWESOME poling platform!!!!!


----------



## Gramps

Man you'd better NEVER let your wife read this thread! You'll be in a world of hurt!

Have drilled the motor holes in the transom yet? I'm hoping the jackplate is standard BIA and the 3" setback will work well with these motors. Mine should be here this weekend...


----------



## oysterbreath

> Man you'd better NEVER let your wife read this thread! You'll be in a world of hurt!
> 
> Have drilled the motor holes in the transom yet?  I'm hoping the jackplate is standard BIA and the 3" setback will work well with these motors.  Mine should be here this weekend...


This past weekend I hacked off the throttle riser, drilled and fitted the jackplate, drilled holes for the compass and cup holder. I patched the hole left by the transom riser and sealed the wood at all of the new holes I created. Next I'll be priming and painting the patch. After that, another coat of deck paint and then kiwigrip. At that point, I think I'm ready for trailer and inspection. The rest is going to wait. I can do the rubrail, poling platform and seats after splashing the dang thing.


Oh, I also added the holes for my switches and 12v plug onto by contrl panel.


----------



## oysterbreath

Per request. This is what I did over the weekend. 

Behold, the DEATH of a throttle riser!



















What you don't see is that I laminated 3 sheets of ply to patch the opening. Then glassed it and applied the thickened epoxy. I also added two holes. One for the compass and the other for a cup holder.











This is the one thing I might end up regretting, adding the through bolts for the jackplate that might not work with the motor I have....freaking nuts!!!


----------



## Shalla Wata Rider

You are doing a great job my friend... I know those "set backs" feel like a kick in the groin  ...You'll get it done and it will be right . I know this 'cause you made room for:


> for a cup holder.


 
You probably already know this but if you need to fill those holes in the transom :Use fast epoxy thinned by 10 - 15% acetone,so it soaks deep into the wood, on a acid brush or something similar and re coat it with straight epoxy then fill (chamfer(SP?) the holes a little...it creates more bonding area and reduces print thru later) with epoxy putty .Keep up the great work...you're almost there


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks SWR. Yeah, setbacks suck man. They drain ya' a bit. I'm close though, so all is good!


----------



## cutrunner

Done yet?


----------



## oysterbreath

> Done yet?


I got another coat of paint on. It didn't go on all that great. I have a couple of runs that developed and a couple insects that wanted to be immortalized. I may just say the hell with it and finish up. I don't have enough reducer and converter to do another coat.

Also, I may have to order one of those plates and have Taylor CNC boatworks drill it out for me. Or at least order a template from him.


----------



## Gramps

Pay and ye shall receive!


You can always touch up paint while on a trailer in the garage, but can only splash at the waters edge.  Eh, that sounds like an ancient Chinese proverb in my head  ;D



I'll get you dimensional info for the plate later today.


----------



## oysterbreath

G-paw, Glade you noted that the plate is not necessary. I'll just be drilling the plate like you said. I still gotta figure out the whole drilling thing. I don't have the needed tools to drill Aluminum. Did you use a drill press or go for it with a regular ol' hand held drill?

Anyway, pic update:
So I now have every vestige of the throttle riser GONE!


----------



## cutrunner

God that boat is sexy...
Hurry up and finish it lol


----------



## firecat1981

looking good, whats the plan for the under gunnel and deck areas?


----------



## makin moves

Looks great  I like the riser gone and the cup holder and compass are clean looking.


----------



## Gramps

Watch it Oyster, I can still whoop your hind end!

I used a drill press at the house but Cut used a hand drill to punch 2,  7/16" holes. The 1/2" holes are a bugger.  Using the plate I was able to create a template by mounting it to the motor, I would suggest doing the same with plywood.

Cut it out to match the square profile of the jackplate, trace the 1/2" mounting holes from the JP to the plywood and drill them out. Then use the plywood template on the motor while it is on the stand, like I told you about. Get the ply flush with the top of the mount, centered 2-5/8" on the bracket edge to ply edge, mark the holes & drill.

Once the ply template is made, bolt it to the jackplate, mark the holes for the motor on the jackplate with transfer punches & drill it out.  Depending on how confident you are, taking it to a machine shop for about $40 or less, to drill the holes is a good option.


Oh and once you are ready to put the motor on, place it gently in your trunk, hook up the boat, and drive south to Stuart. CutRunner's garage is open most weekends and the hourly rates are very fair.  Just don't run the motor while the misses is sleeping.  ;D


----------



## Shalla Wata Rider

That thing Looks Fantastic!!!   You got the fairing thing down for sure . I'm sure you already mentioned it but.......What are you doing for a rub rail ?


----------



## cutrunner

> Watch it Oyster, I can still whoop your hind end!
> 
> I used a drill press at the house but Cut used a hand drill to punch 2,  7/16" holes. The 1/2" holes are a bugger.  Using the plate I was able to create a template by mounting it to the motor, I would suggest doing the same with plywood.
> 
> Cut it out to match the square profile of the jackplate, trace the 1/2" mounting holes from the JP to the plywood and drill them out. Then use the plywood template on the motor while it is on the stand, like I told you about. Get the ply flush with the top of the mount, centered 2-5/8" on the bracket edge to ply edge, mark the holes & drill.
> 
> Once the ply template is made, bolt it to the jackplate, mark the holes for the motor on the jackplate with transfer punches & drill it out.  Depending on how confident you are, taking it to a machine shop for about $40 or less, to drill the holes is a good option.
> 
> 
> Oh and once you are ready to put the motor on, place it gently in your trunk, hook up the boat, and drive south to Stuart. CutRunner's garage is open most weekends and the hourly rates are very fair.  Just don't run the motor while the misses is sleeping.  ;D


Ha u funny!!
Un benounced (spelling?), to you we will be building me a custom fishing rod soon


----------



## cutrunner

> That thing Looks Fantastic!!!   You got the fairing thing down for sure . I'm sure you already mentioned it but.......What are you doing for a rub rail ?


I'm pretty sure he said something about varnished mahogany and polished stainless insert... :-?


----------



## oysterbreath

Y'all should know....I'm king flip flop! I make Al Gore seem stubborn and unchanging! The rub rail was going to be black vinyl, then Mahogany w/ stainless insert, then Ipe, then Sepele, then white vinyl, then red grandis...now....I'm back to black vinyl! Wood looks great when new but is more expensive and will not last as long. VINYL is the way to go!

firecat1981, I'm not sure I understand your question. So far. I have extra buoyancy glued to the underside which should help also deaden sound. You got some ideas in mind?


----------



## Brett

[smiley=popcorn2.gif].[smiley=popcorn2.gif].[smiley=popcorn2.gif].[smiley=popcorn2.gif].[smiley=popcorn2.gif]

just checking....nope, still ain't done...not that I expected it to be. :


----------



## permitchaser

Firecat meant the under gunnel looks unfinished. What r your plans, rod rack or what


----------



## oysterbreath

> Firecat meant the under gunnel looks unfinished. What r your plans, rod rack or what


I'm leaving it bright. There is a rod holder there too.
It's real dirty right now so it looks bad. Heck, it'll prolly still look bad once I clean it up. Eventually I might paint all of the bright work but no time soon. As it stands. It is epoxied with 3 coats of glass.


----------



## firecat1981

Yep that's what I was asking. What about a black rubber rail with stainless insert? Might look nifty. What color will you paint the enforcer? Matching the deck color would look nicer then flat black IMO.


----------



## Gramps

> Might look nifty. What color will you paint the enforcer? Matching the deck color would look nicer then flat black IMO.


Don't give him any reason to not put the boat on the water! ;D I agree though that motor in a light shade / white would look killer on his boat.


----------



## oysterbreath

Gramps, if you look close at the other pictures of that white enforcer...you can tell that it was painted by amateur. They did a decent job though....White would look awesome!

stainless AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN on the rubrail. Cost WAY to much!


----------



## Boatdesigner

Any chance this thing will splash in the next month? You see a certain Boatdesigner is tentatively scheduled to have his stem cells sucked out and re-installed in about a month. I'll then be in the hospital for a solid month and not in very good shape for possibly a month or two after that if all goes well. I would sure hate to miss a good launching! I am really curious about that engine and how it will run on a flats skiff.

No pressure or anything, just a little hint to hurry it up.  DON"T FORGET TO LET ME KNOW WHEN IT WILL SPLASH! Hopefully I won't be getting some kind of treatments that day. You would be shocked at how many people don't bother to tell me when they are launching their boat,  losing out on my (in my opinion) valuable opinion on all things boating at launch. I don't even charge for all of my worthless valuable opinions! ;D


----------



## oysterbreath

I'm not sure Timm, I know I'll have it all done by then...except for the trailer. I gotta get that part together and it may take a bit longer. I gotta stay on budget. I think I finished taping up for kiwi too


----------



## makin moves

Thats going to look great when your done. I bet laying that tape down so perfect was fun


----------



## Gramps

All of the blue tape will be smooth areas?

I can't get a mental picture of the final product other than an OCD Zebra...  :-/


----------



## Shalla Wata Rider

Yep!...It's OCD  , and you got it bad ;D Looks great as usual... can't wait to see her unmasked!


----------



## Recidivists

Classic lines.


----------



## Dmagee

I was hoping to see the fish pattern or is that for the cockpit? I like the striping too.


----------



## cutrunner

Wow nice, going full classic.
I vote for a teak cockpit floor


----------



## oysterbreath

> I was hoping to see the fish pattern or is that for the cockpit? I like the striping too.


I didn't take any pictures but I started doing the fish before I went retro. The fish was going to require trimming too much tape though.
So this is where I am now:




























It's kiwi grip as noted earlier and I will say, this stuff IS a two man job. My silly self decided to do it solo. I started earlier enough that the garage was still cool. That was my saving grace.


----------



## Dmagee

Looks awesome, I ordered some kiwi grip this week. I'll listen to your warning and apply mine at night. High humidity probably slows down set time too?


----------



## oysterbreath

Rubrail on!


----------



## Recidivists

Timm's gonna be proud. Looking very, very sharp.


----------



## Brad_M

Looks GREAT OB, way to go!


----------



## Rosco

I really like what you did with the deck. The boat looks great.


----------



## permitchaser

Man cool is not the word Very creative


----------



## Boatdesigner

WOW! Looks great Oyster! You made some great progress lately. What is funny is that after I read the comment about a teak sole, I instantly wondered what would happen if someone who was really artistic and had lots of patience were to tape off the deck in a pattern similar to what a traditional teak deck would look like. I am thinking having the "planks" curve around the bow and end in a king plank on center line. That would look pretty cool! Especially if you could get the Kiwi deck in brown or cream color. That might be something you could cut out on a cnc machine and then just lay down in one piece.

So, is there anyone out there who can lend Oyster a trailer so he doesn't have the agony of a finished boat, ready to go in the water, sitting in his garage just waiting for the trailer?  I think I would be losing my mind if I had that situation after all this time building!


----------



## Andrewp

Really lookin' good there, pard'ner. 

I know you're saving up and hunting for a trailer. But what's next on the boat?


----------



## oysterbreath

Thanks to all for the compliments. AP, yeah, the trailer is high on my list BUT I need to call FWC really soon for the inspection. Another thing I need to do is build a hoist for mounting the motor. I think I will build one into the ceiling. Directly above my garage is an attic space. I might mount a plate to the top chord of my roof joist. From that use (4) heavy duty threaded rods to extend through to the garage side of the ceiling and mount a secondary plate. I will mount a wench to the secondary plate.

Other than that I want to get these items in this order

1.) tiller extension- considering either buying a carbon marine or making my own
2.) push pole holder- Vmarine spool type
3.) Poling platform
4.) Push pole
5.) resolve electrical and add nav lights


----------



## cutrunner

Sounds like a lot of work.
Why not just rent a cherry picker from napa or advanced auto for the day, its like $20


----------



## DuckNut

You have done a great job but you are about to mess it all up.



> I will mount a wench to the secondary plate.


Once your wife find out about this your boat will be kindling wood ;D


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## grovesnatcher

Killer deck, love the boat!


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## PG350

Love the boat, your attention to detail is clearly seen in the beauty of this boat. 

What kind of speed do you think you will get from the Enforcer..


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## Brett

What? This distinction needs refreshing.

Wench










Winch











Are we having fun yet?


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## oysterbreath

> Love the boat, your attention to detail is clearly seen in the beauty of this boat.
> 
> What kind of speed do you think you will get from the Enforcer..


I have nooooooo clue! Maybe low to mid 30s, who knows. One thing remains true, I'm too chicken-snot to open her all the way up right away. It'll be a slow dance indeed! 

Brett, How many wenches does it take to lift the motor?


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## Recidivists

It's your boat; no need to rush things for our sake.

A harbor freight shop crane is pretty cheap, too.

I'd rent something, like cut said.


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## Gramps

Wuss! WFO or nothing!

Crouch says you'll do about 35. I'd say 32-35mph easily. 

Let me know if you're going to order the carbon marine tiller. I'm pretty sure they will have to be custom made and there could be a lead time.


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## cutrunner

> Wuss! WFO or nothing!


Hmm, how can I say this politely?..
Gramps my friend, you kinda set a picture of what could happen on a"wfo on the first run" example


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## LWalker

Looking good Oyster. Glad you are keeping the Osprey's alive cause I have been seriously slacking for the last 6 weeks.


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## Boatdesigner

I have no idea how efficient those motors are, but a normal 55 hp OB would push an Osprey right around 40 mph, maybe a bit more. Frankly, faster than I want it to go!

I also vote for the rented winch rather than the permanent wench. Once you let those wenches into your home, it is really hard to get them out. It usually doesn't end well.


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## oysterbreath

> Wuss! WFO or nothing!
> 
> 
> 
> Hmm, how can I say this politely?..
> Gramps my friend, you kinda set a picture of what could happen on a"wfo on the first run" example
Click to expand...















> Looking good Oyster. Glad you are keeping the Osprey's alive cause I have been seriously slacking for the last 6 weeks.


Man, you were on a serious roll for a while! I was getting a bit scared! If you were to finish before me I'd never hear the end of it. I almost thought I was going to have to pay you to slow down bro! lol

I think I might do the wench rental. Seems to be the easiest...


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## cutrunner

Haha that picture is amazing, and really accurate lol
Yea Oyster you would have never heard the end of it if Lwalker caught up to you


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## WhiteDog70810

Lag a beam across 4 ceiling joists and hang a $50 Harbor Freight 1 ton chain hoist from a big eye bolt in the center. A hoist is nice to have around (you'll have to pull that engine from time to time) and it will cause less marital problems than a wench.

Nate


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## Guest

This is awesome and very impressive - can't wait to see it completed!


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## Shalla Wata Rider

Bump  Up date time...


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## oysterbreath

Sadly, I have not touched the boat in a long time. It's not done but is actually done enough to put on the water sans the registration. I messed around with making some high density foam seats but it didn't go to well.


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## Rosco

I wanna hear about the seats! Dude, don't worry about not being done, sometimes life just gets in the way. You are on the home stretch and it can be tedious.


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## WhiteDog70810

Don't sweat it. You'll find that once you are done, you still ain't done. At my current rate, it will take a couple of years to work out all the kinks.

Nate


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## oysterbreath

Well I had carved some seats from minicell foam then Streched and adheired some spandex-like material to it. It didn't turn out too well.









I might try to redo it. I also played around with some


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## Boatdesigner

I think those seats look nice, what didn't you like about them? Now, you need to get your priorities straightened out . . . boat, family, work! ;D Let me know when you are launching, I'll be the one wearing the surgical mask so I don't get any germs!


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## permitchaser

Those seat look a lot better than the cracked vinyl in my '97 boat


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## Brad_M

Looks great OB! Where about will you be running this rig? I'd love to see one in person. 

Thanks!


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## oysterbreath

> Looks great OB! Where about will you be running this rig? I'd love to see one in person.
> 
> Thanks!


Thank you sir. Initially I plan to stay close to Orlando with her but I will eventually be running it all up and down the coast More frequently Between Daytona and Melbourne. I will at some point of time make it up to Jacksonville though....I'm just not sure when.


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## Godzuki86

I don't think the seats look bad at all! 

Really cool boat OB!

Andy


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## Michaelbell00

Hey bud, beautiful build, I have looked into SMD plans in the past with much interest in this particular design. Rough ballpark idea, what is the cost of a "basic" build for the osprey??


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## cutrunner

> Hey bud, beautiful build, I have looked into SMD plans in the past with much interest in this particular design. Rough ballpark idea, what is the cost of a "basic" build for the osprey??


If you count the cost of labor time Oysterbreath has into it you might as well buy a Rybovich. 

BAM!!


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## DuckNut

> Hey bud, beautiful build, I have looked into SMD plans in the past with much interest in this particular design. Rough ballpark idea, what is the cost of a "basic" build for the osprey??
> 
> 
> 
> If you count the cost of labor time Oysterbreath has into it you might as well buy a Rybovich.
> 
> BAM!!
Click to expand...

Cut - oyster is the only other person other than me who works for free. His build wasn't that expensive :-?


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## cutrunner

Well that makes 3 of us..


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## oysterbreath

> Hey bud, beautiful build, I have looked into SMD plans in the past with much interest in this particular design. Rough ballpark idea, what is the cost of a "basic" build for the osprey??


Sorry for the extreme delay. 
Well; just for materials, not including motor, mechanical, and electrical. I managed to keep the cost just under $3,800. My TOTAL cost to date is just barely over 5k. That includes both motors, a used trailer, and a bunch of other stuff. Some of which I'm about to put up for sale. Don't be discouraged by the duration of time it has taken me to build mine. Truth be told, I've been building for 3 years and 1 month now. Of that time I have been idol and not building for over 1 of those years. Life gets in the way.


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## Boatdesigner

I went to the Tampa Boat Show this weekend. Considering what some of those skiffs cost, you are getting a real bargain! I saw an 18' flats boat that had a near $60,000 sticker! I don't care what you make it from, that is just ridiculous. I worked in production boat shops for many years, if you know what you are doing those little skiffs are pretty inexpensive to build. Sure it had carbon and Kevlar in the hull, but do you really want to spend an extra $10,000-20,000 to save 75 pounds? What is really scary, you could build the same thing using similar methods to the Osprey and get a boat that is almost the same weight as the high tech super skiff.

I was going to suggest you work too hard Oyster, but in this economy it's good that you have plenty of work to do!


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## Zipper146

You Sir, are an unbelievable craftsman and artist! That boat is a work of art! Very impressive.


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## oysterbreath

Thanks Zipper!

Timm, in retrospect I seriously think that IF money wasn't an object I could have been DONE in 1 to 1 1/2 years. Part of my issue were the OTHER issues and items that were "in my pocket." If I proved anything it's that this boat can be build while limited your expenditures to about $150 a month as long as you don't mind working over the long haul.


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## Boatdesigner

That is the important thing for people to realize. If you don't mind taking some time to get your boat, you can slowly pay for it while you build. You don't need to take all that money out of your bank account (a strange and alien concept to boat designers) at one time. 

You do have to have a wife who will let you spend that $150 a month, every month, for a couple of years though. It may help to let her then spend the same amount over the next couple of years for something she wants after the boat is launched. Best bet though is to teach her how wonderful fiberglassing and sanding is for toning her arm muscles. Then teach her how good all that fresh air is for her when she is standing on the boat and casting to a big fish. Well, if you don't mind fishing with your wife!


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## LWalker

Yeah right, my wife barely comes to look at mine, but I guarantee you she will be a bow hog once it's done! Oh, and she doesn't like fishing, she likes catching! It is not unlike her to come meet us after we have already located the fish.


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## oysterbreath

Or...you could tell her, "honey, would you rather me be in the garage doing something constructive or out at the bar destroying my liver with my buddies!" lol
Oh by the way, I ordered some carbon fiber sleeves. Tiller arm coming up!


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## tomahawk

> Or...you could tell her, "honey, would you rather me be in the garage doing something constructive or out at the bar destroying my liver with my buddies!" lol
> Oh by the way, I ordered some carbon fiber sleeves. Tiller arm coming up!


I'm not really ahead on that one. I'm probably destroying my liver in the garage building a boat.... ;D


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## oysterbreath

> Or...you could tell her, "honey, would you rather me be in the garage doing something constructive or out at the bar destroying my liver with my buddies!" lol
> Oh by the way, I ordered some carbon fiber sleeves. Tiller arm coming up!
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not really ahead on that one. I'm probably destroying my liver in the garage building a boat.... ;D
Click to expand...

lol! I hear you!

Well today I called FWC and the boat will be inspected Wed.


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## LWalker

> Or...you could tell her, "honey, would you rather me be in the garage doing something constructive or out at the bar destroying my liver with my buddies!" lol
> Oh by the way, I ordered some carbon fiber sleeves. Tiller arm coming up!
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not really ahead on that one. I'm probably destroying my liver in the garage building a boat.... ;D
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> lol! I hear you!
> 
> Well today I called FWC and the boat will be inspected Wed.
Click to expand...

Sweet! Let us know how it goes.


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## Boatdesigner

They actually send someone out to inspect it! That answers one question I have wondered. If you have a built in fuel system, make sure it meets the new standards as someone from the gubmint is going to look it over. I am glad I redesigned the Osprey to go to a portable tank!

Does this mean we are getting close to a launch date?


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## oysterbreath

Indeed it does. I still have much to do but I need to get this thing wet and move on...


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## Boatdesigner

At the moment I don't have anything scheduled for Wednesday, so I should be in the office all day if any questions arise that you need help answering. Feel free to call. Also, did you get a capacity plate made? I am sure that will be the main thing they look for when they inspect it.

I am all for getting it wet! Let me know when the launching party starts. I noticed the water over this way is back down under 85 degrees, so if I understand these things correctly, the fish should start moving back onto the flats again soon. You'll be just in time!


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## oysterbreath

> ...did you get a capacity plate made? I am sure that will be the main thing they look for when they inspect it.


No, I didn't. Ohhhhhhh snapfui! He read off the list of things that I will need but never said anything about that. I think I can make one real quick. Sheet of thin aluminum and an engraver should do the trick I think. Any other suggestions?


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## Brett

Made mine using AutoCad, photopaper
and plastic laminate sheet to seal it to the hull.
Located it under the gunnel cap, still there 6 years later.


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## tomahawk

> ...did you get a capacity plate made? I am sure that will be the main thing they look for when they inspect it.
> 
> 
> 
> No, I didn't. Ohhhhhhh snapfui! He read off the list of things that I will need but never said anything about that. I think I can make one real quick. Sheet of thin aluminum and an engraver should do the trick I think. Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

The guy that inspected mine never mentioned that I would need one. My skiff is a touch under 16' though. I don't know if that makes a difference.


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## WhiteDog70810

Homebuilt boats don't usually need a capacity plate since they are one-off boats. I had to permanently affix the hull ID number to my boat. I just used a Dremel to etch it into the transom, but most guys make a plate of some sort. You won't get a hull ID number until after inspection I bet. Here in Maryland, they don't even inspect homebuilt hulls. I just sent in pics and a cost estimate and got the hull number back in the mail.

Nate


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## oysterbreath

Inspection went well. The Officer was a really cool dude. Very professional & knowledgeable. I enjoy officers like that!


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## Boatdesigner

Great news! So what is the next step toward getting her wet?


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## LWalker

> Inspection went well. The Officer was a really cool dude. Very professional & knowledgeable. I enjoy officers like that!


Good Job.

Any funny requirements us other builders should be looking out for? Did they require the capacity plate?


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## oysterbreath

> Inspection went well. The Officer was a really cool dude. Very professional & knowledgeable. I enjoy officers like that!
> 
> 
> 
> Good Job.
> 
> Any funny requirements us other builders should be looking out for? Did they require the capacity plate?
Click to expand...

Nope, nothing funny. If you do built in fuel you may have a different experience. He closely investigated the hull and measured it. Measurement is from tip of rub rail to outside face of rubrail at back of the boat so my boat is 18'-1". He didn't need to capacity plate either. He just told me to be sure to add the serial/ hull id number to the back starboard side of the hull.


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## oysterbreath

I started work on a tiller arm inspired by carbon marine. I had some issues but I'm going to work around them. I built it using PVC as the main part of the "mold". At the location where the throttle slips into the arm I built it up with wood that was slipped over the PVC and lathed to match the throttle arm tapper. After building up the mold, I coated it with mold release and slid the whole assembly over a broom pole. The broom pole allows me to use my rod turner to spin the assembly while the epoxy cures. Anyone who builds fishing rods will tell you that this helps keep the epoxy even. I then added 3 layers of carbon sleeve. It all went perfect EXCEPT somehow the mold release was not enough to allow the pvc mold to easily slide out once cured. So I had to drill out as much of it as I could from the tiller arm side of the arm. I left the pvs in at the handle side.




























I still have a few more things to do to it before I can use it. I'm going to use one of those worm drive pipe clamps to attach it to the tiller. I think that will do the trick. I may also epoxy the inside and add some sand to the mix for better grip to the rubber tiller handle.

Other than that, I've started thinking about building a carbon fiber poling platform. If I do that, I may plan to keep the pvc inside the carbon fiber intentionally. I'm not sure yet. We will see....


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## makin moves

Very cool  nice job.


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## oysterbreath

She's got a tight fit and I added a bit of antislip to the inside to help it grab the grip. I put a single slit/slot with a tapped end for force dissipation. It should keep cracks from forming at the end of the slot. We'll see how it performs soon...


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## LWalker

Looking good! What are you planning to do on the handle end?


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## oysterbreath

> Looking good! What are you planning to do on the handle end?


Cork! I think I'm going to trim up some cork to make a plug. The plug will extend out of the tiller arm about 1 1/2" so that I can round off the end.


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## oysterbreath

This last year has been SLOW!
The boat has changed very little since mid March of this year. Infact, they only thing I've done all year is put the non skid on and the rubrail. But.....I did do this! lol










I put the push pole holder on! Bahhhh ha ha! That's a lot of work y'all!


Also, I've been giving some thought to the poling platform. I think it should go onto the water before I put a platform on it so that I can find the angle relative to* G *that the boat squats under motor and fat dude load. That way, I can get a better idea what angle the platform should have so that it is level when under poling conditions. Does this make sense???


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## Boatdesigner

You could just tell me where you are putting your fuel and how much, where the batteries will go, how much your engine weighs and basically any other relatively large weight and I'll calculate how the boat is floating. Already did it for Luke to help him with his layout.

I would put it in the water just to take it for a ride! You've worked a long time on it, you've earned a boat ride. Hell, go do a little fishing (it is actually possible to catch fish without a poling platform!). Then install all the accessories after you have used it a little. It may help you fine tune things a bit. Bring it over here to beautiful Crystal River. We have a nice ramp and lots of flats out on the Gulf where you can run it around and see how it works. You'll also have the benefit of all my local knowledge, amassed over a dozen or so fishing trips since I got my little boat last winter! ;D


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## LWalker

> You could just tell me where you are putting your fuel and how much, where the batteries will go, how much your engine weighs and basically any other relatively large weight and I'll calculate how the boat is floating. Already did it for Luke to help him with his layout.


Yup, the weight study is good stuff!


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## tomahawk

> Also, I've been giving some thought to the poling platform. I think it should go onto the water before I put a platform on it so that I can find the angle relative to* G *that the boat squats under motor and fat dude load. That way, I can get a better idea what angle the platform should have so that it is level when under poling conditions. Does this make sense???


Makes sense to me and thats the route I'm taking as well. You also have to take into account the tiller extension and how it relates to the platform legs as far as interference etc..


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## oysterbreath

Timm, you'll prolly need to know my weight too...but I ain't telling! lol


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## cutrunner

So what your saying is,
You should be done around summer 2015


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## WhiteDog70810

Good Lord man! You are dragging this out worse than me. I think you are afraid of empty nesting.

Nate


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## DuckNut

What happens to the angle when your fatazz is up front and a skinny kid is pushing you around?

Parallel seems to work for everyone else. 

I agree with Nate, Cut and Harry Caray - Holy Cow, you've been in the seventh inning stretch for a year


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## oysterbreath

> What happens to the angle when your fatazz is up front and a skinny kid is pushing you around?
> 
> Parallel seems to work for everyone else.
> 
> I agree with Nate, Cut and Harry Caray - Holy Cow, you've been in the seventh inning stretch for a year


Nate is trying to throw everyone off his trail...no one's been in 7th ending longer than him! Y'all fell victim to the Nate-cool-aid! lol


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## WhiteDog70810

Admit nothing, deny everything and make counter accusations.


Nate


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## WhiteDog70810

> This post started off as a long, drawn-out dissertation about why I had so many delays with my plan to build a boat. I scraped that essay! Who the heck wants to read that mess! Anyway, I started building 4th of July weekend and I've been slowly working away. I decided to build Timm Smith's Osprey 18.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Specifications:
> LOA:17'-7 3/4"
> LWL:15'-10"
> Beam:66"
> Draft (Keel):6"
> Displacement:1,300 Lbs
> Fuel Capacity:12 Gals
> Deadrise:6 Degrees
> Freeboard (Fwd):18 1/2"
> Freeboard (Aft):13 1/2"
> Power:40hp Outboard
> Construction:Cold molded
> Capacity:4 Persons or 645 lbs
> 
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> So far I have built frames A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and my stern.
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> I have frame H on the table right now being glued up.
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> After that I will start the transom.
> Here are a few more construction pics:
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> I've been flirting with the idea of building the transom from Celtec or another PVC based material but my emails to the manufactures about epoxy compatibility have been unanswered for 2 weeks now. I know it works well with polyester resins but what about epoxy. Ohwell, I guess I will have to just stick with a marine ply transom and simply pre-drill and create my epoxy plugs for all of my through-bolt attachments. I'm not going to explain what my final vision is for this skiff is aesthetically because that might change. I will say that I'm hopeful that my craftsmanship is good enough to do some bright-work on the interior though.
> Back to the transom...I'm trying to keep this build as spartan as possible but the design calls for a jackplate. At this point I'm planning for a manual jackplate even-though I'll be stocking my coin away for a 25hp (Etec or Merc). Either a Bob's mini jack plate or a mini-jacker if my motor selection is less than 150lbs. If the funds are there, I might upgrade to a CMC PT-35. I know TSG has some great stuff too but I think they are out of my price range. Although I will buy my jackplate much later I will be predrilling for whichever one I pick. Another option is to redesign the back end a bit so that I won't need a jack plate at all. I'll have it figured by the months end.
> 
> Anyway, as far as construction goes. All the the frames are built from Douglas fir. I will tell you, Lowes DOES NOT CARRY fir. The cheapest place in town was Home Depo but I quickly discovered that not all HD stores are equal. By far, the best HD store for fir was the one near millinia mall. They had the best stock. Some HD stores don't even carry fir. The ones that do, only carry up to 1x6. For 1x8 I had to go to Thomas Lumber. Frames E, F, G, H, and the transom require 1x8 for the bottom pieces. I will start the transom next weekend but I will need to buy some 3/4" marine ply. That stuff is hard to come by locally at a decent price. If anyone knows a good local Orlando source PM me.
Click to expand...

Let's see... ...July 4, 2011 to now... ...Brother, you're at 3 yrs, 5 mons and 11 days.

Yours truly took 3 years and 12 days from ply to paint.

You have the misfortune to be among the few I can talk smack to. Notice how Rosco is being real quiet right now?

Nate


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## Rosco

nothing to see here folks  I'm sooo about to make some progress so leave me out of this


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## oysterbreath

...and Nate delivers the fatal and infamous blow to the crotch!


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## cutrunner

Its ok oyster. Youve milked this build so long that the milk has spoiled, turned to cheese, and finally aged to a fine cheese. Only thing missing iw the wine on this build. But dont fret, because i am sending you a bottle of "yacht christening champagne". And u BETTER bust it over the bow of your 18ft child or im driving up to orlando or wherever you live and busting another over your head! Now hurry up and finish this thing, this weather is amazing


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## LWalker

Alright dude, me and Timm need an update. You have got to hurry up, I am trying to base my motor decision on how yours runs! Or are you complete and secretly fishing this thing already?


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## Boatdesigner

Maybe we should meet in Orlando when Oyster is working and break into his garage. We can mount the motor and take it for a spin. If we hurry, we can have it tucked away in his garage before he gets home. ;D


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## DuckNut

> Maybe we should meet in Orlando when Oyster is working and break into his garage


That's funny stuff right there.



> If we hurry, we can have it tucked away in his garage before he gets home.


No need to be in a rush - he isn't.


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## oysterbreath

Ha! You fellas are a comical bunch! lol

Well, I have not been working on it for a while. I'm trying to catch up on some other things. Need to reorganize my garage before putting the boat on the trailer. I am Pretty much DONE with the trailer now. I just need to adjust it and slap my plates on it. Anyway...hopefully it will be on the water sooner than later.


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## cutrunner

> Ha! You fellas are a comical bunch! lol
> 
> Well, I have not been working on it for a while. I'm trying to catch up on some other things. Need to reorganize my garage before putting the boat on the trailer. I am Pretty much DONE with the trailer now. I just need to adjust it and slap my plates on it. Anyway...hopefully it will be on the water sooner than later.


Sounds like optimism met with skepticism


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## WhiteDog70810

`Sup?

Nate


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## TidewateR

this thing has to be finished by now


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## Matthew131

I know this is an old thred but I would like to sea the boat that is finished I am looking to make one thanks.


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## TidewateR

i feel like there was another member who finished one..Luke something maybe?

edit..I found it!

https://www.microskiff.com/threads/build-thread-osprey-18-flats-skiff.17438/


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