Thread: any plans for an estuary fishing 3.5-4m boat similar to Quintrex Hornet etc

Have a look at Mark Bowdidge's web site. there are some designs there for plywood construction that will probably suit what you are looking for.

Bowdidge Marine Designs Boat Plans

Mangrove Jack, Magnum 12, Mushulu 12, Mushulu 14, Tropic 14 and Edgetracker 426 all look like likely candidates to me. I think someone on this forum has built a Mangrove Jack, I remember seeing photos of it.

The Mushulu designs are available as kits, which might interest you.

Cheers, Cameron.

Silverfish,

I have a MANGROVEJACK 3.65, I have Plan set No 1, and the design is basically started by myself and Mark Bowdidge.

I have found that the boat is excellent, handles moderate chop in it's stride, and gives an honest 17Knots with 2 people on board with a 9.9 hp motor. The boat is rated to 15Hp, and this will give 22Knots, the bare hull weight is approximately 65Kg, and is simple and easy to build.

If you go to MArk's web site you will find Pictures and a video of the boat, if you would like to see the build Pictures they are on the Forum , i believe.

If you have any questions I will be happy to answer them for you.

Jeff
vk4

Yeah, that's the one!

Thanks for the great link,

lots of options there, I love that little Mangrove Jack, but it you compare it to a Mirror, the gains mean its not worth the effort of me building it (btw I really like yours Jeff, too awesome)

As you can see a Mirror is exceptionally well designed for estuary fishing, lots of storage space and flat surfaces to stand on http://www.mirrorsailing.ca/for_sale.html


The Tropic 14 looks similar to a Quintrex Explorer 440 (from an initial glance), and doesn't look too complicated to build. That and the two edgetracker designs seem the most likely.

If I'm going bigger, I guess I could look at something like the flat chat 16 (which seems very similar to the Phantom 16 here Boat plan details, Phantom 16 (PH16), Power Boats 16' or less). Any idea what something like this, with a centre console, would cost to build?

actually the main reason I want to build a bigger boat is that I can't get an electric mounted in the Mirror. It's not the motor that's the problem, I could devise a stand for it, its the battery, it weighs a ton and there's no way that I can see how I can comfortably and safely mount it in the boat. The 4mm ply construction isn't strong, and although I've been thinking of various cradles and Eski's that I could try and use to carry it, none of them give me much peace of mind if the boat were to hit some chop or an obstacle I can just imagine the battery would keep going long after the boat had stopped .

Silversnipe,

I am glad you like the Mangrovejack, I have also just built this for a friend.
It may not suit your needs but worth a look anyway, The Plans are from Selway-Fisher in England, and are available from Duckflats boats.

It is 13" long with a beam of 44" and a hull depth of 14 1/2 " it can be built from 4/6/9/mm plywood.The boat has been modified for sail, with a pivoting center board and amst .
The plan is for a power canoe and will carry a 3.5hp motor or electric&battery.

I used a 9mm E-LITE ply which is BALSA cored and lighter than 6mm Pine ply.

Hull weighs about 35Kg.


Jeff
vk4

That's another really lovely boat.

I guess the type of hull I have in mind doesn't really have the nice curved lines that a sailboat would have, but maybe I can start with a basic v bottom punt boat and do another nice one after.

At the moment I'm leaning toward the Bowdidge Edge Tracker 426, Tropic 14 or Roguewave XT-14. I guess I'll contact Bowdidge for more advice on the best model for my needs.

Any ideas on what one of these costs to build?

Hi again,

I've been in touch with Mark Bowdidge and he's been very helpful. He recommends the Flat Chat 16, so I'm like to start on that in a few months time

thanks for the help