timnphx

Back in approx. 2002 I built a small row-boat that also came with options to use as a sailboat. It is called The Great Island Rowboat and I got the plans from Duck Trap Boats. I was ambitious back then and built all the options for sailing it i.e: built a mast, rudder, dagger-board, and sprit-rig sail and had a lot of fun doing it. I even took some sailing lessons back in 2005, but to this day I have yet to take it out sailing. Used a lot with elect trolling motor, but no sailing because need to fix problem with the dagger board. The problem is the dagger-board is too thick and gets stuck in the trunk or slot making it a pain to get in or out. The thickness of the dagger is approx. half-inch made from wood and I managed to set in some lead discs for added ballast (not that it was really needed). I am questioning if it makes sense to just keep sanding it down so once it is re-varnished it will slid easily in/out of slot or should I re-make it with thinner material but then re-enforce for strength with some metal plates or something?

I am thinking my LOA to be 12 to 14 ft. I think the beam needs to be 6 to 6 1/2 ft and I would like to somewhat light but figure it would have to be on a trailer as would be to much to be a car-topper. I downloaded a demo boat design program other day but not to knowledgeable on all the technical aspects and had to know all the deminsional info ahead of time to input to get it to display anything so could not use it. Need to find a program that is fairly simple.

Ok i have been thinking on the lines of something original that i think would be very functional and also could be built to look fairly well in wood and unique. There may be something out there that is similar but I don't know about it. Here is a rough drawing of what I would like to construct. I think I might need a lot of inputs from experienced boat builders to make it work right but i would like to give this a chance to develope. it is sort of like a twin hull or pontoon like but joined so there is a large area in middle where one can stand or move around and fish from the seat. I think the outer hulls will provide good stability. There is one long seat at the stern and possible some small ones near the 2 bows. Please advise.

I built a Great Island Rowboat (see image) from Ducktrap boats 7-8 years ago and it was fun to build and use over the past few years. However, now that I am older and with knee and back problems at my youthfull age of 53, I dont sit in this boat so well anymore. My primary interest now is fly fishing, so looking for a wood boat or thin wood and fiberglass design of construction that I know I can do. I want a 12-16 ft LOA and wider beam than my boat below (4' 4") that is real stable so can stand at time for fly casting. My other concern is good deep or high seating (however it is defined) so my legs dont cramp or back get aching as it does with my current boat. The rear seat in my boat is approx only 6-8 inches off the floor deck and middle seat is maybe 10-12. I also want something with more freeboard as current is to low and near water at stern if Isit all the way in back. I have looked at a site called Montanaboatbuilders.com tha has some really nice speciallized boats for fly fishing but yet most dont seam to have a stern for mount of a motor. But I am unsure of boat designs that offer best stability. I have looked at many skiff, drift and prams but which would have the stability and seating that i am asking for? Please make suggestions.

It has been quite awhile since I posted here last. Finished up my Great-island rowboat and sail rig last year and it works good. Only problem is I have gotten older stiffer and need something with more leg room, able to stand in a bit and do my fly fishing from. I am starting to look to see if I want to build a bass style of boat. I have seen the one bass boat listed on glen-L.com but wondering if anyone here might have a link or direction to a site with a different looking bass boat, so I can look at all the options.

I have a small wooden boat I build a few years ago and it has the sailboat trunk for a daggerboard. I had it out a few weeks back and after about 2 1/2 hrs of use was almost ankle deep in water. I think the only place it could leak is at the Trunk for the dagger-board. The wood has epoxy-fiberglass coating on hull inside and out. My question is for the small seams at wood where I think the leaks are, would it be smart to use the same epoxy used in construction. I am thinking of using a thickner to make a paste for filling around all of the joints. I have the West System resin 105 and harder 206 and also have some Precipitated Silica Visco-Fill II and also have Microspheres. See my trunk that needs repair for leaks in image.

I presently have a fixed rudder and tiller on my 12 foot homemade rowboat/sprit-rig sailboat. I am thinking on changing a few things such as the rudder and tiller to a ones that can swing up. I also want to design in a tiller extension. I wish to make them mostly from wood minus the hardware of course. Anyone have some generic plans for swing-up rudder heads?

Well now, the 2nd day on the water in my sailing class (Sat 3-3-07) I was a little apprehensive as we had some gusts recorded earlier in the day up to 29 mph, but when we got out there mostly 10-15 or less. It was a good day and stayed above water this time. We actually had 4 in a boat this time including the instructor but all went well. However, I may have determined that I need to re-design my tiller on my rudder on my boat for when I get ready to use it. The present tiller is fixed hard to the rudder, while the ones on the boats used in my classes (Capri 14.2) have tillers that can swing up and also have extensions. So I see that as a good option I should change to. :wink:

Yes, I actually am looking forward to this next class so I can "get back on the horse" you might say. I am am also thinking that my boat when I sail her will not be the same and actually easier to let the wind out of her and such as she has a loose-footed main. Tim

Well, I got my boat the, Lil Marauder, built with mast and sail last year, but only had it out with trolling motor or oars for fear of dunking her with no experience of sailing. So I started taking a sailing lesson from the Arizona Sailing Foundation called "Start Sailing Right". It started off with 2 nights of classroom discusions but then had our first session on the water with about a dozen people split up on 5 Capri 14's on Sat morning of 2-17-07. We were first towed by the main instructor to the east side of the Tempe Town Lake cause the west side was in use by rowing teams from ASU. We started out with basic tacking and jibing, with one crew on the jib sheets and one on Helm and main sheet in light winds of 2-6 knots with one instructor on board. After about an hour the main instructor who was on a motorized pontoon boat checking everyone's progress decided to switch our instructor to another boat. :? We got a 3rd student in place of the instructor now in the boat with a gal and myself. We worked a few tacks and then got dead calm for about 30 min. Finally we got some wind again and started doing a few more turns and the helm and main and jib controls. However the winds began to pick up we had 2 foot waves rolling our boats around and while I was at the helm got in a stiff one and could not steer out or let the main sheet go quick enough and over we went. :shock: Once got all back in and going again and winds got even worse and over again we went with the other more experienced guy at the helm. :oops: Our instructor told everyone to drop sails and tie off at sides of lake. It took a lot of help from others on sides fishing or watching to get all of us secured. The instructor said it was a wild gust that kicked up to about 30 knots for an hour on our first day on the water. :shock: My 2nd class on the water is this Sat 3-3-07 so I hope for a little less winds.

This is why Arizona at this time of year is great. No, we are not going to talk about the other time of year that the weather is huh. Don't say it has it will hear you and sneek in here and up to 100+ by April. I hope to soon have the lil boat out and about as was great in 70's

I have a 36 inch which has been too long for my small dingy rowboat/sailboat (Lil' Marauder) which has worked fine for a few years. However I had it out awhile back doing some trolling and fishing and after a few hours felt it was making my shoulder sore. So after getting back to my home with it I pulled it apart at the top and removed the switch handler and all in the head and then just cut off like 9 inches of the tube-shaft. The only issue was the tube-shaft is of like a fiberglas to it creates the fibers that you don't want getting into your hands so wear gloves. I also had to cut the wires coming up the tube to the switch head off a bit and re-terminal them as was to much to fit into the head if I didn't. All-in-all seams to be much better fit now.

Well, I have come up with my own design you might say. I am thinking of calling it a Kayactoon due to the shapes as you might fiqure out. I might do a strip-ceder like design for the 2 floats and fill them with floatation foam and so on. see my basic thought image. Kayactoon-1.doc

Hello, I was just wondering if anybody has ever made or seen plans for a small pontoon type boat like the ones you see as personal watercraft used for fishing on calm lakes and such? :?: I was just thinking about doing the pontoons in a sealed wood like floats with possibly filled with floatation foam and building the frame and all out of wood. I think it would be a bit more appealing than the blow-up floats. :!: Tim

Hello, Been quite awhile since been on this forum, but always look forward tothe expert advice I gain from it. I have a very basic question about applying some tels to my small mainsail or jib. I have a set of "Davis- Air-Flow tels" and thinking about putting them onto my small sprit-rig mainsail. I have the instructions ok on placement and all, but the instructions say nothing about which color goes where. It came with red and green tels; so do I follow the same as if I had the night lights, red on port side and green on the starboard side :?: Tim

Hello, I am new at the sailing bit and in part still constructing my small mainsail, jib, and rigging for my 13ft row/sailboat. I have sewn up my main and jib but have a pack of tell tails that came with my sail kits from Sailrite. The tell tails being the red or green strips of ripstock look easy enough to install, but my problem is where should they be placed as the pack has little or no instructions. Does anyone have nay suggestions as to how they go? Do they only go on a Jib or are they used on a main as well? Tim

I agree with the last posting on this. I have gotten captured into the wood working and building of boats (for my own pleasure) even though only have built one 18 ft strip-wood canoe and now one rowboat/sailboat, it is enjoyable. It is something done a billion times in the past by other master builders, but it is all new to me. It is the desire to learn I would say. Tim

I am in middle of trying to rig up my sprit pole and also jib sheet (clew-end). I about have the sprit pole set on the mast where it will work well and a line to control its tension, but I am worried about how the jib will transfer from side to side when tacking or jibe is done. The sprit pole over-hangs the mast approx a foot or less as I have tried to minimize this over-hang as much as I can. :? My boat is only 12.5 feet and he jib sail is rather small (12 or 13 sq.ft.). But I am trying to rig her so I can single crew it so want the jib to move smoothly around the mast. Any suggestions :?:

You are not alone. I have not sailed either. I started building a small row boat that is about 12 1/2 feet for sue as a trout fishing and such. The plans also show it with small sails, so decided to make the sails, mast, and started on the rigging. I am hoping to take a local sailing class soon before I take my own boat out sailing. But in the mean time doing a lot of researching and reading about it all. Here is a picture of my boat I call Lil' Marauder.

Yes I agree, The photos at Sailrite do look like they could be Pert Co. hoops. Pert Co. has the 4 inch for $11.50 each where Sailrite for 4 inch is $23.95. But I must say I have good customer service with Sailrite. I got my mainsail kit and jib kits and several other parts from them and I am a happy customer. I sent my sail demensions and designs to them and the quote I got held up for about 2 years befor I finally forked over the money and purchased them. I enjoyed sewing them up too even though my wife about had a fit each time I was seen using her sewing machine to sew them. Tim

I purchased 6 of the 4-inch white oak mast hoops from Pert Lowell Co. and ended up just setting them in a drawer cause I didn't like the way they looked. They were the copper riveted ones, but what i didn't like was they were thin wood wrapped around a few turns to form the hoop but they had separations in the wraps. it was like splitting at parts on almost each hoop so didn't use them. I haven't yet figured out what i will use them for as was a waste of $70 I think. I went with an external SS slide. Not as nice as something wooden on my wooden mast but actually more effective I think since I will have a sprit pole there as well that i think would be more interfering if had hoops. I do think the hoops at Sailrite might be better quality but not certain. Tim

Well, It looks like this might be a good project for me as well as I have recently been informed that I will have my first grandchild due in approx April, 06 So lots of time to get' her done. So you all say its the Baby Tender II from Jordan Wood Boats. So have to go take a look.

Ok, well i may have answered my own question a bit by re-visiting the website and seller of the 2-part foam I purchased (John Greer & Associates). I have pulled in a bit of his website question and answer so this is what he wrote; Q. How do I know how much foam I need to float my boat? A. Great question! Get your calculator ready, you will need it. A cubic foot of foam will float about 60 pounds of "dead weight". The wood parts of your boat will probably float, so you don't need flotation foam to offset that weight. The fiberglass parts of your boat will barely sink, so you really don't need much foam to offset the fiberglass- maybe one cubic foot of foam per two hundred pounds (or more) of fiberglass hull. The metal parts of your boat are what you really need to account for. A small (4-6hp) outboard may weigh 45-55 pounds. A 50hp outboard will weigh about 200 pounds. So a 16 foot fiberglass skiff with a 50 horse outboard will need about six cubic feet of foam to keep it afloat. A 12 foot plastic kayak will only need one cubic foot. A 30 foot fiberglass sailing sloop with a diesel engine and lead keel would need about 150 cubic feet of foam. Actually, very few 30 foot keelboats have positive foam flotation, but it's not out of the question- especially when you consider all of the air pockets that would exist, as well as all of the wood interior components that provide some positive flotation.

I recently made some slight modifications to my boat (12.5ft row/sail boat) where I created some areas under the aft seat and side seats where I poured in the 2-part foam that swells to about 20x its volume in about 1 minute then drys in about 5 minutes but then creates added floatation to your craft. I was able to get in approx 1.5 cubic feet. I hope this is enough to have a positive float if ever was to turn her over. Any thoughts on this issue :?: :idea:

Green, Gray. all colors you are imersed with when you live in Northwest like someone else said. I used to love green when I was growing up there in Everett, WA. But now that i am in Arizona our green is a bit.... different, just like our lawn is different here.... rocks, cactus, brown-stuff. So Blue is the color of choice for me here, like the sky. 8) Tim