My understanding of scarf joints is that the fit doesn't need to be perfect because the epoxy is good at filling voids. One of my first attempts at gluing with epoxy failed because I had a perfect fit and clamped it tight.
Boat building
- Thread starter SENC
- Start date
Well I ordered epoxy, fiberglass, filler, and some odds and ends. With the plywood that I bought yesterday I'm into this project for almost $500. Why go buy a used boat on marketplace for a hundred bucks when you can build one for $700.
Are ya open to suggestion on what you power it with.
The instruction booklet suggests electric trolling motor if it is to be powered , and then only if the transom is reinforced . I'm not sure that I will power it, probably try it for a while with just oars. Definitely going with so extra wood on the transom.
Truth
Break
Out
Another
Thousand
Out
Another
Thousand
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #128
I could be worse it could be bigger. My running total is at about $3200 - $2k for wood and $1200 for epoxy, glass, and related supplies. I'm sure I'll be at $4k once paint and flotation and cleats and hardware are purchased. At best, it would probably be worth $3k at that point. Then electrical, electronics, motor, and trailer. But, what cost can you put on the fun of fiberglassing and sanding!
I'm guessing if I do a decent job on mine, maybe it would bring $300 to the right buyer. We have lots of navigable streams and rivers with sections that are really hard to access. I love to fish rivers and when I was younger I used to bushwack some pretty good distances to get to the good fishing. I can't pull that off now but with a good number of access points and well documented stretches of river I am looking forward to trying some drift fishing. Used drift boats are a rare commodity in this area and new ones are very expensive. Maybe I can justify the cost that way, I'd be building something anyway.
Boat = a hole in the water you pour money into
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #131
Bulkeads laid out and cutting, need a little sanding and finalizing the edges - other than the top edge. I've left that about 1/2" proud of the line in case I need to make any adjustments once flipped.
What did you use to cut these out, Henry? Jigsaw? Band saw? Track saw? All of the above? None of the above?
Do your plans call for prefinishing any parts before assembly? My instructions say to prefinish everything with at least one coat of resin before assembly, they also suggest sheathing the bottom and topsides with cloth. I can imagine that spreading epoxy on a flat bench top could be easier. My materials are due to arrive on Monday, I hope to get a coat on both sides of all parts and the butt joints assembled next week. It could probably be done in a couple of days if I had unlimited space but my shop is a little on the small side for the project.
That makes sense if there's going to be a deck or even things like bench seats. Be really hard to finish the inside once the deck is attached.
Yes, mine has a small deck fore and aft that make water tight compartments for dry storage and floatation. They would be impossible to seal any other way. Because I am using cheap plywood I will make sure the inside's have 2 coats before assembly. The instructions suggest painting them a light color also to make the inside lighter
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- #136
Small circular saw for the main shapes and jig saw for the insides, etc. I've planed the outer edges to the dimensions, still need to sand/flatten the inner edges.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #137
I'll "prime" the edges of the bulkheads before assembly to ensure they're well coated and to prevent them from soaking up epoxy and starving the joints when I fillet and glass them. I'll do the outside first - yes, taping and sheathing. I'll end up with about 18 oz on the exterior joints. I'll prime and maybe paint before flipping and doing epoxy work on the inside.
My epoxy and fiberglass came this morning. We are having some pretty cold weather and the epoxy felt pretty cold when it came. I turned the heat up in the shop and will give it a day to warm up before I get started. I'm planning to mix a small batch to glue the bottom butt joint and use any surplus to prime coat some smaller parts. Hopefully by using small batches over the course of the week I can get everything ready to assemble without a lot of waste. Also build my confidence and skill for the bigger pours at the end of the project.
I mixed a 6 oz. Batch of epoxy and glued up the bottom butt joint and had enough surplus to prime coat one side of a few parts. I will have to see how fast it sets, maybe I can glue up a topside and coat a few more parts this evening. The shop is 72⁰ and as dry as a desert.
How's the smell?