Thread: Fun Boat Plans

I got hold of these plans a little while ago and finally decided to have a play.
The damn thing turned out alright so far. In hind sight i should have used good timber.

Now i have to epoxy and glass the thing so it wont fall to bits :eek:

http://www.swadling.com/boats/mini_dory/


Cheers

Blake

Originally Posted by swaddo

Now i have to epoxy and glass the thing so it wont fall to bits :eek:
Cheers

Blake

Gidday there Blake... I think weve met on another forum Anyways! I just thought Id pop in and ask why? Okay you state "8'x4' sheet of the crappiest ply I could get my hands on. $20 at the local Hardware store"? So Im gonna ask why the blazes you would now spend several hundred on glass and epoxy for it?

Now before you go off on the wrong tack mate I have something to add here... Now I got real antsy a year or so back and built a 6 hour canoe out of the crappiest sheet of 1/4in ply I could find several lengths of crap pine and bunged meself together a canoe! no epoxy no glass just a bit of silicone around the chines and a hell of a slatherin of cheep housepaint left over from a painting excusion inside the house by her highness... and I tell you what! I reckon canoeythingy is gonna make this mob of hoons as happy as larry for some years to come... and if she falls apart well its not going to hurt to make anothery! but I dont expect that to happen for a few years at least

And I DONT repeat dont treat her special in anyway... she lives outside on top of the Tuart stacks in all weather I just give her a once over before we take her out no worries and no probs as yet!

So anyways heres a couple of snaps to show what I mean... remember no epoxy no glass just paint and a bit of silicone around the edges keeps the water out where it belongs

Here goes hopefully Ive got this right... okay the first one is simply my inspiration pic and definantly worth a gander but the other three are canoeythingy

Hey there Dingo,

Yeah im lurking on the other forum too

About the dory ... I've had it put to me that the slightest bit of moisure getting into the joints would cause it to delaminate. The kids will be mighty upset if it falls to bits.

Sounds like it might be worth trying your trick with the house paint and some sealant and see how it goes. I can always knock together another one out of real ply if it goes pear shaped

thanks for the info.

This is my 'effort', built from cheap construction ply, recycled oregon pergolas, offcuts and 2 litres of very cheap epoxy, painted with acrylic left overs and powered by a borrowed outboard......

BUGGER!!!! I shall try again..... this new bb is a real pain in the ring when it comes to posting pics!

Firstly my favourite link to free boat plans from "Science and Mechanics" magazines _ http://www.svensons.com/boat/

Here you will find everything from the unlikely to the ungainly to the improbable to the "I think I'll build one of those".

Secondly, I have broken my own rule and given you a red smartie Christopha....fabulous work!! (I figured a green would undo all your efforts from the past!)

Thirdly love the six hour Mr Dingo...have been looking at the Eureka, and almost decided to do two. One the way I prefer...fine materials, gaboon /cedar/epoxy/varnish and the second the way most seem to want to build....cheap...pine/pine/housepaint.

I don't think the saving will be as great as people imagine, the cheap boat won't look as good, but in the medium term it will probably last as long, but won't be worth a cracker to sell, whereas I expect that the good one will actually be worth more in a few years.

Time will tell if I'm right>

Cheers,

P

I can see where your coming from midgey but... no matter what you do with it its still always gonna be a ply canoe no matter how much you spend on it its still gonna remain a ply canoe... and as such will never return very much by way of $$ for effort so you may as well get it done and get paddlin... save the money for a solid well made and spectacular strip planked canoe then the return will be there...look at the old White canoes worth a flamin mint now... but a ply canoe will always remain a ply canoe

Svensons are a good site theres a bunch of others that I will see if I can find...

IVE SEEN THAT ONE!!! ookay! now I KNOW who you are Christopha!! whew... good to see you again ol mate

Shane....... MAAAAAAAAte!

for what its worth about 5 years ago I wrote an article for AABB describing how I built a dory rowing& sailing(build a boat plan No? called Nostalgia)for a bet to come in under $1k including sails
I used cd ply and expoxy had the sail made. Its still in good nick and swambo made a canvas cover for it since to keep the water out
Peter

Originally Posted by Wild Dingo

I can see where your coming from midgey but... no matter what you do with it its still always gonna be a ply canoe no matter how much you spend on it its still gonna remain a ply canoe... and as such will never return very much by way of $$ for effort so you may as well get it done and get paddlin... save the money for a solid well made and spectacular strip planked canoe then the return will be there...look at the old White canoes worth a flamin mint now... but a ply canoe will always remain a ply canoe

Dingo,

We aren't talking a King's ransom here... I have just bought two sheets of Gaboon for $45.00 each. I spent probably $30 more than I could have if I'd bought cheap cheap heavy heavy stuff that looked 'orrible, saved a kilo or two in finished weight, and have not bad looking wood.

On Epoxy, I'll use four litres probably because I hope to clear finish this one, with a 4oz glass cloth bottom. Clear is contrary to popular belief, the easiest way to hide a less than fair hull, and is very easy to repair!

So for maybe, MAYBE $50 worth of material cost, I'll have a durable boat that looks like it's worth HEAPS more than it cost, and looks like I've actually spent MORE time on it than I did! (That's the theory anyway.)

I can't actually see how a stripper could ever actually recover the cost of labour... but like all things that's not what boat building is about either!

Will post pics and costs on the Eureka thread as I go.

Cheers,

P