[Duckenfuss]

This past spring, my then-16 yo son had the hair-brained idea to build a boat. For years we’ve been crammed into a 14’ Gregor with a 9.9 Evinrude for all of our hunting and fishing adventures. Safety was a real concern and adding a third guy, dog, and decoys made it flat out scary at times. Time to upgrade! The budget didn’t allow a new-to-us aluminum boat (you’ve seen the current market!!), so what do you do!?!? I originally scoffed at his idea of a plywood boat, but soon realized he was on to something. A week later, the plans were in the mail!

8 months later and we did the maiden voyage this past Thanksgiving weekend. We learned a lot and my hope is to some day build another with my younger son. Hopefully my marriage can handle it. Thankfully I’ve got a good number of years before I’d even bring up the idea.
Here are a few photos…it’s very hard to pick so few. I hope you enjoy and just maybe it encourages someone to do the same. We did all of this with the most basic of tools and only a few times had to get fancy with our woodworking.

There is something truly special about captaining a boat you and your son built!

The first frame cut.

Thankfully he’s a whizz with the math.

Frames set. Gotta be precise here or you’ll pay later!

 

[AtItAgain]

I am looking forward to following the rest of your build. Great learning and bounding experience with your son.

 

[QSX15]

Keep it coming….please

 

[William Ritchie]

Did you loft from small scale drawings or full sized ? Nice jlob on the strong back . Way cool project , cant wait to see the finished boat .

 

[Duckenfuss]

Did you loft from small scale drawings or full sized ? Nice jlob on the strong back . Way cool project , cant wait to see the finished boat .

I spent the extra on the full sized drawings…and glad I did. I read a couple chapters about lofting and it seemed like too many numbers for my simple mind.

 

[Grizz86]

Very cool project! Looking forward to following along!!!

 

[Duckenfuss]

100% of the hardwood portions of the boat are White Oak. Here’s is the first longitudinal piece…the keel! Two 1/2” thick pieces of white oak, epoxy laminated and attached to the frames with silicone bronze screws.

No steam bending required…yet.

The second of seven longitudinals that’s were layer within notches of the frames.

We had to steam bend these ones and that was tough because they didn’t like to bend quite right.

Here you can see the notches from keel on out. Looking sorta boatish!?!?

 

[MSS Minnow]

Good on you for doing this project with your son. I remember building a small plywood boat with my dad, didn't really appreciate it at the time but now that he's gone it is a memory I cherish. He will learn some great skills (and patience) while doing this with you.

 

[Duckenfuss]

some hillbilly steam-bending.

19’ long chine logs ready to set. These really firmed up the structure. Full 4/4 thick made them tough to bend properly.

See what I mean!? Days after we thought we finished with the chines, we found the crack. This set us back many days!

 

[Antonio Zoli]

This thread is awesome!

 

[BowTaco]

This is great stuff! Can’t wait to see all you have done.

 

[Duckenfuss]

We didn’t scrap the entire chine and opted to scarf joint it at the 4th frame. Will it hold? I don’t have a clue, I’m not a boat builder!

You can see the shearclamps are also installed here. These should have happened in a different order, but my patience was lacking many times.

Creativity in clamping is a must! And yes, these longitudinals will simply float and make contact at the eventual plywood bottom.

Everything tied into the bow! Time will tell if it holds

 

[blackdog]

This is awesome! Working on a super cool wood working project, with your son, in what appears to be a bucket-list worthy shop. Tons of space, good work bench and tool chest, good light, beer fridge, squat rack, and bench. I'm sure there's a 55" TV on the wall someplace to keep the game on that we just can't see.

 

[slinger]

Beautiful work, guys. Thank you for sharing the progress photos and telling the story. Boat build threads are one of my favorite things on this website.

Regarding the design and plans, is that a Glen-L Rogue?

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk

 

[Duckenfuss]

Thanks, BD.

We bought some acreage and a modest house 8 years ago. With no garage, my first chore was to build a shop. 48x60. That too, was a fun figure-it-out-as-I-go build. It's a dream!

This is awesome! Working on a super cool wood working project, with your son, in what appears to be a bucket-list worthy shop. Tons of space, good work bench and tool chest, good light, beer fridge, squat rack, and bench. I'm sure there's a 55" TV on the wall someplace to keep the game on that we just can't see.

 

[Duckenfuss]

Beautiful work, guys. Thank you for sharing the progress photos and telling the story. Boat build threads are one of my favorite things on this website.

Regarding the design and plans, is that a Glen-L Rogue?

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk

Good eye, Slinger. This is a Glen-L Rogue Runner design. A few modifications to it, but hardly. It seemed to be the perfect platform for us a do-it-all boat.

 

[slinger]

Good eye, Slinger. This is a Glen-L Rogue Runner design. A few modifications to it, but hardly. It seemed to be the perfect platform for us a do-it-all boat.

I have a friend who built the same design years ago and loves it. He has a pump on his for use as a river sled, but I always thought the hull would make a fine duck boat.

Sent from my SM-A326U1 using Tapatalk

 

[andymac32]

One of the coolest threads I’ve seen on ifish. And really cool to include your kid, he’ll never forget it. Keep the updates coming!

 

[Duckenfuss]

Here’s a decent look at the transom and frame. In the four longitudinals, you also see the limbers. These are essentially drain holes that allow water to drain to the keel. Each frame will eventually have a similar drain hole at the intersection with the longitudinals to allow water to drain toward the stern.

I do not particularly enjoy scarfing plywood. I'd start with a jig, touch up with a block plane, and smooth it out with a belt sander.

All the plywood is Hydrotek. These being the sides are 12mm thick. This is a marine grade plywood with a good combination of structural and lightweight characterstics. I did a lot of research and found this BS1088 rating to fit the bill. What does BS1088 mean? It means it is very expensive!

Light coat of epoxy on each side and then a thickened layer to fill any gaps. Match it up nice and neat!

Then some more creative clamping. I found a lot variety in the color of one sheet to next of Hydrotek. Some was so beautiful it was hard to paint...but our number one rule with this boat...Utility > Beauty

 

[Flatfish]

Best thread in a long time.

Thanks for sharing!