Florida Pirogue/dory

[ZipSnipe]

Here's an update


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Boat has final varnish



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Dry storage installed



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Console seat installed



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Compass and volt meter installed



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Trolling motor mounted with steering cables attached



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From the aft looking towards the console



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Steering cables attached to steering wheel( this was extremely difficult)



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Throttle handle for trolling motor attached

Just need the battery and wire it all up and she's ready to go. I was originally going to use a 15watt solar panel but have since learned that I will need at least a 50 watt panel if I want it to charge while I'm using the battery, so thats more money( $140 bucks delivered).
Then I have to decide how I will mount the solar panel, one idea is to make a t -top for the boat which I thought would be kool but still undecided. It really boils down to economics!!! More to come!!!!!

[WDfrmTN]

THAT, friend Zip, is ORIGINAL!

[ZipSnipe]

Thanx I thought so too, I couldn't find anything like it on the web. I plan to do out riggers too but thats still in the design phase

[shikeswithcanoe]

Hey Zip thats one cool looking vessel you have there. I myself have been dreaming of powering a small boat with a trolling motor, but the significant other wasn't going to let me drop several hundred on even a cheap trolling motor and deep cycle battery, so I've just been dreaming for years. But recently I have been given a pretty good and powerful trolling motor and a battery so now its time to take action

I have a 17 foot two person kayak. I think with one person, a battery, and trolling motor that thing will scoot right along.

But the reason I am posting is to make this suggestion. If you have a heavy ole lead acid battery in that boat (and the other bits of metal and trolling motor) you really need to be sure if you get swamped you'll float well. I wouldnt count on that front compartment you have. With Murphy's law the second you get swamped is the time you'll find you didnt put that hatch on right like you thought you did.

A cheap and dirty way to ensure flotation would be to get a bunch of plastic jugs and tie em to various places on the boat (make sure you have enough). Another would be to go to Walmart and get the el cheapo camping/sleeping pads. They are blue, about 3/8 inch thick, 20 inches wide, 72 inches long, and are made of polyolefin and cost about six bucks. I've used em to make seat cushions and line the bottom of my canoe. I don't think the stuff will hold up to years of outdoor sun exposure, but it has held up to years of every weekend exposure.

If I recall correctly each pad will float about 20 lbs. Four pads should do you fine. You could glue them or secure them to the inside sides of your boat. The nasty non-water based contact cement seems to work fine with this stuff.

I'd just hate to see your boat end up in Davey Jones locker.

[ZipSnipe]

Thanx Shikes for the suggestion, but it will probably go in the water once or maybe twice at the most before I put the out riggers on. The idea is pretty much in my head, I plan to do fold up outriggers with 4 foot long airtight compartments. I'm just working out the mounting part of it most likely will be epoxied on and this of course will add more weight so I have to wonder how that will effect the trolling motor and speed.

[ZipSnipe]

Well I finally put it in the water. At first one of my wires to the trolling motor came out of its connector so I rigged that up and took her for a spin. And here are the results.
1) Outriggers are a must as someone pointed out my center of gravity is high

2) I am not digging my trolling motor however it did have that rigged wire so I have to correct that and then try it out again.

3) Steering needs to be touched up. It was really squirly which means I had way to much rocker however the outriggers should help fix this.

4) I registered it but I should have waited until after my test drive becuz it will probably be a year before I can do the outriggers.

So I'll see you guys next year!!!

[ZipSnipe]

Doh !!!!! Disaster has struck!! When I was building it one of the many areas I rushed was the front dry storage, while I sealed all the seams with epoxy/cloth the inside walls I left bare. I realized this after I enclosed it but figured it would be alright, after all its dry storage.

Now here's where the problem starts, I can only keep the boat in a little fenced in backyard behind my shop and it barely fits, but roof drainage spout pours right on top of the boat, now for heavy rains its been fine becuz I keep it pretty well covered but for the two torrential downpours we had over the past few months filled the boat up completely thus filling my not so dry dry storage.

Now the wood is rotting from the inside, I have reasoned a fix would be just add a few more layers of heavy cloth in the front and run my graphite coating up the front sides to cover up my mess.

Just thought I would keep ya posted, Merry Xmas all !!!!

[Kayak Jack]

You may want to run a trouble light in that bay for a few days to be sure it is really dry before you seal the wood? (Probably no need to use a yellow light this time of year, clear white will do nicely and no bugs will be attracted. )

[ZipSnipe]

Oh the boat is sad!!! With the birth of our son I have neglected the boat and the front section where the dry storage is completely rotted.

So either I need to ditch it, maybe find another person who would take it off my hands and finish what I started.

I get compliments on it all the time but man it was a project that I should have waited til I was in a better position to finish it.

[Kayak Jack]

Dumb question here. Could you cut off the bad end of the boat, construct a replica, and patch it on? I know it's possible; is it practical in this instance? Or, would it be better to cut it off, up-end it, and make it into a bookcase?

wait a minute here. I missed the really important news in your post. Tell us about your new Son!

[ZipSnipe]

Well sold the boat to some kid. He was like a little tike at a toy store. He said he planned to finish the trimaran and put sails on it. Felt good to sell it to someone with some spark!!

Another guy called said he wanted to cut it up to use as furniture, I was like no way dude!!!!