The First in a Series of Questions: Okoume Thickness | SouthernPaddler.com

The First in a Series of Questions: Okoume Thickness

After looking at my unused UJ pirogue kit for awhile, I've decide it's time to get off my butt and get it built. To keep it interesting, I'll be getting some "help" from my 3 and 6 year old sons.

When I bought the kit I purchased the extra rib so I could do either the 3 or 4 rib boat. I haven't decided which to build yet...any ideas on how the bottom width, capacity, strength, etc. are impacted would be appreciated.

The first real question I have is on the thickness of okoume to use for the sides and bottom- I'm looking for the best compromise of strength & weight, and right now I plan to fiberglass the outside of the boat (I don't have any experience doing this and I'm a little worried about fiberglassing over/around the ribs).

My local shop has 3mm, 4mm, 6mm, and 9mm available (as well as some thicker stuff). I was thinking about doing 6mm bottom and 3 mm sides...could I get away with doing the whole boat in 4mm? If I read some of the old threads correctly, doing an entire boat in 3mm can be done but the at the expense of some oil-canning of the bottom.

All suggestions and thoughts are appreciated.

Trey
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Trey..... 1st Welcome to the nut house called southernpaddler.

I'm an old fashion type of person or as most folks say ... an old Goat. So the mm measurements I am really not up with as far as inches ... I am right on with them.

For the 1st time builder I like to recommend using what the designer calls for and in this case it is 1/4 inch wood. By using it you will gain the experience of building the boat and have a good boat for your enjoyment.

None of us are experts since we learn from every new builder and help them with any questions they have , life is a learning experience and we have only made more boats.

The 1st one I made was 1/4 inch wood with three ribs. All the others have been 1/8th inch wood and one out of redwood strips which I cut out on a band saw.

The 1/8th inch will flex a little on you but with a couple pieces of some pine lattice striping down the inside it gets rid of 90% of that problem , in the water no problem. That is with the boat glassed inside and outside.

As far as glassing the inside do it in pieces between the ribs and there should not be any problems , except for a little trimming after the glass is layed down and epoxyed in place.

The 4th rib will widen the boat a small degree (not a lot) but will offer a lot more stability to the boat ( folks stand in the ones with the 4th rib and fish). You can stand in the standard one , if you have good balance or if you don't then if you are grounded on a sand bar. They are like bicycles , the more you use them the better you get with them.

YES. You can use thicker wood on the bottom then the sides and in fact you can build the boat anyway you want it because it will be your boat , made by you , for your use , so have it your way.

When you have a question ... ask , it is the one you don't ask about that will get you or make you learn some new words. :roll:

By the way , By all means have your sons help you , they will anyway so make them a part of this project. I like to think it cements family's and keeps the kids away from drugs and all of the nasty stuff, not saying sawdust and building boats can't become addictive , because it does.

Trust me on this............. When the boat is done and you guy's paddle it the 1st time they will want one so they can paddle with Dad. You will also be creating an tangible memory for your boys that will stay with them all there life , everytime they get in a boat or see or paddle a Pirogue.

Chuck
PS. These pirogues make great Christmas gifts besides being a great family project.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Kayak Jack , Who is gruff old goat and a friend of mine (also one of the reasons southernpaddler is here) built a canoe with his granddaughters (almost) help and here is what he did ... I copied this from a different post.

*************************************************************
Katie was only three when I built the boat, so she wasn't a lot of help. We did draw around our palm prints in the boat, put in our names and the date. Here is the presentation sheet that I epoxied into the inside of the boat:


the Katie Bug

This craft was built in East Lansing MI in 2002 & 03, by a loving Grandpa (Jack Voss, “Poppaâ€Â
 
No apologies necessary...that's very well written and something Katie is going to be happy to have when she's older.

oldsparkey said:
I'm an old fashion type of person or as most folks say ... an old Goat. So the mm measurements I am really not up with as far as inches ... I am right on with them.

I'm not a very good user of the metric system either- I thought maybe that was common to the boat-building community or something. After doing the conversions:
6mm is just under 1/4-inch (~0.236-inches)
3mm is just under an eigth (~0.118-inches)
4mm is somewhere in-between (~0.158-inches)

Based on your comments I'll rule out 3mm and probably stick to the 1/4-inch stuff.

This is going to be a very, very slow process but I'll be spending some time browsing all the old posts while I'm getting my materials together.
 

hairymick

Well-Known Member
Dec 8, 2005
2,107
2
Queensland, Australia
Hi Taw and welcome aboard mate.

Re the ply thickness and translation from inches to millimetres,

3mm roughly equates to 1/8"
4mm............................5/32
6mm.............................1/4"

Some of us build in 3mm or 1/8th ply but I wouldn't recommend it for a first build. It requires more work and more fibreglassing for strength. It is also very flimsy in its panel form.

I would recommend the 4mm stuff as a minimum. 6mm would be better.

Length is entirely up to you but my choice would be to gert as much length as you can from your sheets of Ply. Probably around 15 feet.

Width - also entirely optional, A minimum I would recommend for the bottom would be 600mm or two feet across the bottom at its widest part.

Good luck with the build mate. I am no expert but the above is what has worked for me.