New guy- sold the plastic thing **finished- w/pictures

[jdupre']

Just found this site a couple of weeks ago and you guys have been a bad influence on me already. :wink: Y'all gave me the urge to build another pirogue after 30+ years. I had gotten back into paddling my big red PLASTIC canoe when I found this site. You guys inspired me to sell the canoe and am now looking for some 1/4" marine plywood. Y'all seem to be big into the fiberglass and epoxy, but I'm going to build mine with waterproof glue and a good paint job or maybe a little varnish and paint.

The one I built way back then worked pretty well and held up for several years without much deterioration. I figure if a boat is only used a couple of times a month, it doesn't necessarily have to encased in epoxy.

I'm planning on a solo touring type of boat- something for day trips and maybe a two or three day camping trip. I plan to make it long and narrow- 24 or 25 " by 15 and 1/2ft. I'll probably have an airtight storage and/or flotation chamber.

Joey

 

[FlaMike]

Sounds like you are looking to make a fast paddling Pirogue!

Personally, I'd want a bit more width for stability, but then I'm one of those who tends to stand up in the boat.

At the very least, you should consider using fiberglass tape on the seams, inside and out, if you aren't going to cover the plywood with glass cloth.

Mine was built with plans from UncleJohns.com and he says many are built with just the taped seams and then painted. I almost built mine that way, but opted to cover the outside with glass cloth and epoxy, and epoxy-saturated the inside.

But, these are all custom-built boats! Build them the way you like. :lol:

Welcome aboard! 8)

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[oldsparkey]

You are correct , we do have a habit of leading folks down the primrose path and getting them addicted to good boats. You really need to watch out for us we are a bad influence.

When I was really young I had a wood skip jack that was painted wood and it lasted for a long time , especially when it was cleaned and repainted every year.

If you wanted to make the wood last longer you could epoxy saturate the wood ( Paint epoxy on it ) and after it sets then lightly sand it and apply the paint. I would suggest fiberglass tape along the seams , just as added insurance to make sure they stay together. I know it is not the old fashion way of making a boat but it sure works darn good.

Chuck.

 

[jdupre']

Thanks for the input, guys. I'll consider your suggestions when I get to that point. Going to get the plywood tommorow morning.

 

[FlaMike]

I don't know about this project now, he's not procrastinating nearly long enough. We just might be dealing with one of those "Get 'er done" kind of guys!

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[Kayak Jack]

I don't know about this project now, he's not procrastinating nearly long enough. We just might be dealing with one of those "Get 'er done" kind of guys!

Even worse - he may think about going to wor%. And, maybe he even has a clean shop!

We'd better go do an investigation on this guy. He may ruin our reputation.

 

[jdupre']

The project has started! The butt joint on two plywood sheets is drying as I type. I took off early this morning headed for the lumberyard- about a 100 mile round trip. If anyone is in this area, I highly recommend you stopping at Robichaux Lumber. I drove in past whole warehouses of cypress, redwood and many other species. These guys have cypress boards and cypress BEAMS(looked like 6x8's and 8x10's)--big $$$$$$$. Got all kind of ideas for the next boat.

I'll cut my chines,gunnels and ribs this evening. Already have some old cypress to make the stems. I'm thinking about making the pirogue asymmetrical so I'll cut the stems to fit when I bring in the sides.

The cypress comes from a fence post that was in my grandpa's yard for about 60 years. The wood is tight grained and almost orange- a sign of virgin old growth cypress.

PS I think I'll go clean my shop. :wink:

 

[Kayak Jack]

... The cypress comes from a fence post that was in my grandpa's yard for about 60 years. The wood is tight grained and almost orange- a sign of virgin old growth cypress.

PS I think I'll go clean my shop. :wink:

Whilst he's a good judge of wood, he still suffers form the "clean shop" syndrome. Joey, it will take a few applications of single malt Scotch whiskey to cure your affliction. I'm commencing your treatments right after supper.

 

[jdupre']

Kayak Jack, you are a true buddy--doing the Scotch treatment to help MY affliction. I think I feel some improvement. But, you are a little late. The shop is spotless and all the tools are back in their places waiting for tomorrow.

Got the chines beveled, the gunnels shaped, and spent 2 or 3 hours ripping down the rest of the fencepost for ribs and rough sanded everything. I'll start cutting and bending some wood tomorrow.

I'll try to borrow a camera and take a few shots.

Joey

 

[Kayak Jack]

Well - that just goes to show ya. I drank some Dago red instead of Scotch. And Joey cleaned his shop.

My treatment didn't work. Maybe I need more practice?

 

[jdupre']

Yes,Jack,you need to practice more - strictly for my benefit , of course. I'll try a little sour mash to see if that helps.

Got the sides cut out and the butt splice backer boards trimmed for clearance for the chines. Had a little confusion with the stem block angles. The 15 degree angle I had read about didn't seem to fit so I killed a couple of hours cutting and fitting a scrap piece until I realized the cut was supposed to be 15 degrees on each side- 30 degrees overall. Also clamped the sides onto my temporary center jig and played with the rocker a little. Attached the stem blocks to one side- will square everything up and attach the other side tomorrow.

 

[Kayak Jack]

Geometry and envisioning 3D figures are skills that you will hone and sharpen.

 

[a Bald Cypress]

p

All that done in just 4 days?

Darn; I can't even decide where the chair should be setting for beer drinking in that short a time.

That Boat will most likely have burn marks from the speed of the build

 

[jdupre']

Bald Cypress, it's actually two days and an hour this evening. I might be even further along if one of my buddies hadn't shown up yesterday morning to shoot the breeze. I enjoyed the visit but it kind of slowed my momentum. I'm going to slow down with the fitting of the chines and ribs. Might even take a WHOLE day to do that.LOL

Joey

 

[jdupre']

Picture, hopefully.

[/img]

Yesterday I cut and fitted the chines and cut the bottom of the stems. Today I nailed in the chines and made five bottom ribs and one set of center side ribs. I may need more side ribs. I'll see how the rocker works out.

This is a closeup of my temporary center jig. Just put the center bottom rib and you can see the side rib clamped on the right side of the picture. The cypress in the foreground is part of the fence post I started with.

[/img]

 

[jdupre']

Haven't been able to work on the boat but a few minutes a day after work. The mosquitoes are terrible. This evening I braved them and put in the middle side ribs and took out the temporary center jig. I guess I committed sacralige- I used a brad nailer to hold the ribs in place until the screws were tightened down.
Looks like she has an inch of rocker front and rear. That seems about right. Next comes the gunnels and the bottom , breastplates and paint and varnish. I did something special with the top of the bow and stern stems. Will show it in the next set of pictures.

Joey

 

[FlaMike]

I did something special with the top of the bow and stern stems.

Great! Something to look forwards to!

And that sounded a lot better than some of my post (in my build thread.) It was more like, "Well, let me tell you what I was trying to do when this happened. . . " :lol:

So far, looking GOOD! :mrgreen:

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[jdupre']

Mike, don't think that everything went smoothly on this build. I didn't mention not being able to find ring-shank nails short enough so I had to cut about 150 of them to the right length. And I'll need about 75 more for the gunnels. And how about my supposedly void free marine plywood not only having some voids but voids WHERE??- - right where the side meets the bow stem. But, mostly, everything is going pretty well. Knock on wood( ooooh bad pun!)

 

[FlaMike]

Oh good!

Well, not so much "good" for you, but for me. Here I've been thinking that it was just me that kept feeling like the building process was out to get me. :lol:

Sounds like you got it down, though.
Improvise, adapt, and overcome!!! 8)

Mike S.
Spring Hill, FL

 

[jdupre']

Yeah, I had to improvise. I cut about the first dozen nails with a pair of lineman's pliers until I did the math on how many I needed. There HAD to be a better way. I clamped one handle of the pliers in a vise leaving the other one to move freely and used a 12" cheater pipe on the other to clamp down on those nails. Piece of cake.

Like one of my friends says when things are not going well- " We're making memories _ some day we will laugh about this!"

Joey