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Sport Boat


Chick Ludwig

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I spent a very pleasant afternoon last Friday with Graham working on the design for my new project--a 16 ft. sport boat. Kind of a flat-back, wide beam canoe intended primarily for  my 2.4 HP, 4-stroke 'zuki. It will also sometimes be used with an electric trolling motor.It also has oar-locks mounted on out riggers. Might as well get a bit of exercise. It is intended to be used mostly on large and small mountain lakes. It needs to be light enough to be lifted on and off our pop-up camper by Miss Debbie and me. Stability is important, not only for choppy water, but also to lean out of it with a "turtlin' net". (I'll explain that to y'all if you really want to know.)

 

It will be built from a kit, mostly from 4mm ply/epoxy similar to his other canoe designs. It will be optimized to operate best at semi-planing speeds with two of us aboard. I don't know if he'll offer this as a design/kit to the rest of y'all. He tells me that it is easier for him to plug the design into his CAM panel cutter that to make up drawings---hence the kit. I will be starting as soon as it warms up a bit here in the mountains. Probably late March some time.

 

Maybe Graham will be kind enough to add some details on this thread. Maybe even a picture. (His design program is amazing. It will show it just like a photo.) And maybe if you ask nicely, he'll make one for you, too!

 

I'll keep you guys up to date with pictures and commentary as I get started. Can't wait!!!!

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Yeah, but you love a challenge! Can't wait to see how close we can come. As for the weight---I have some balsa wood left over from building model airplanes...

 

I'll be down to pickup the kit on March 13th. Then---on with the build! Hard to imagine now though---it was 2 degrees out with snow on the ground this morning.

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  • 1 month later...

Well, Friday is the big day! Pickin' up the sport boat hull panel kit. I've been checking out lots of cool (in this case, cool water---double meaning for "cool") mountain lakes. Can't wait to get to work on her (in between about a "gazillion" honey-do jobs, and all the stuff that has to be done in our new mountain home). I hope you guys will hang out with me on this building thread. Should be fun. Maybe you'll want one of your very own! By-the-way, I don't really expect her to plane with my 2.4 hp "zuki". Hmmm, Wonder if my 25hp Tohatsu 4-stroke will work? (Smile y'all---just a joke...)

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The very best place to start is...the very beginning.  I just got back from the "B and B design and industrial complex" near metropolitan Vandemere, NC. Following are pictures of the Master at work designing and cutting parts on his mighty CNC machine. (Note to all of us non-technical types: CNC=computer numerical control. Now, aren't you glad you know that, y'all?)

 

post-1823-0-05143700-1394890984_thumb.jpg These are the panels to be cut on Mr. CNC.

post-1823-0-88120600-1394891018_thumb.jpg  Graham at work.

post-1823-0-44263100-1394891054_thumb.jpg  Gotta screw the plywood down so it doesn't move.

post-1823-0-70062600-1394891088_thumb.jpg  CNC hard at work cutting.

 

It was snowing when I left Hendersonville (In the future shortened to H'ville or Hooterville.). After arriving down at the coast, it was not snowing but still COLD. Graham has a little-bittty wood burning stove to heat his big-old-barn of a shop. The temperature had maybe gone up a whole degree or so in there---brrrrr!

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  • 2 months later...

Hi Chick,  Have you put any of the piece parts together yet?  Have a trip planned to Tenn mid July and will probably spend a day or two around Ashville/Weaverville with Grandsons and hopefully drop down for a visit if you'll be in town.  Rick

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We should be around. I'll be looking forward to a visit with you. I haven't started yet. Just finishing a batch of 'honey-dos" and getting the garage ready. I'll be getting the CS-17 to finish on July 4th. Not sure if I'll finish that first or the Sport Boat. Should be working on one or the other. One of my hobbies is collecting and keeping turtles, so the Sport Boat will be called "Turtler".    ...ok, y'all can quit the laughing now...

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Well folks, finally getting ready (been getting ready to get ready for a long while) to start work on "Turtler". Got some 4/4 clear rough cut poplar lumber from a local sawmill. Air dried yet! Can't believe the price at .60/bd. ft. That's $22.26 for 3-1x6x16 and 2-1x4x16 boards.

 

I should be starting actual construction in a week or so---Good Lord willin' and the crick (creek) don't rise!!!. So don't change the channel---same time, same place, soon.

 

....now if only I can find a place to stash these durn boards 'til then so Miss Debbie can park "Red" (her Red Honda Fit---named after the M&M character "Red") in the garage. (Got a carport coming to park under in a week or two.)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey y'all, got a question for ya. I'm building the Sport Boat without plans, but Graham cut the hull panels for me. Here's the question. When gluing finger joints between the front and back panels of the hull, do you just use thickened epoxy on the joints, or glass tape on one or both sides, too?

 

Yep, I've finally gotten started!!!!! I'll tell ya more, and show you some pictures later---but got to get back to melting some crystallized resin now. Huh? What? I'll explain it to ya later....

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I promised to tell y'all about melting "crystalized resin". Seems like if you leave the epoxy resin settin' in the cold. it settles out in a white, crystal mess in the bottom of the jug. Sure can't use it that way! Here's what ya do. Heat the jug! I just put it in a pot of water on the stove top set on low heat. (Can't understand why my wife gets so upset about this???) Mine has been settin' for almost a year. But the "heating up" did the job---just like magic!

 

Now for today's progress report. I spent about two hours between ripping my inwales, outwales, and seat risers (side stiffeners?) from rough cut 4/4 poplar that I got from a local sawmill for a ridiculous price, (See an earlier post.) and running them through the planer. Then I had to clean up the mess, put away the tools, and find all the stuff to glue the hull panels together. Had to find everything, drag it all out of my storage shed, set-up a work table, lay the panels on the floor, and epoxy the finger joints together. Boy, do I LOVE these pre-cut parts done on the mighty CNC machine!!! 

 

Like I mentioned, it took about two hours of actual boat building, but three or four of finding, cleaning, moving, setting up, taking down, getting out, putting away...Oh, how I miss my big shop!!! Now let's get to a couple of pictures.

 

OK guys----HELP! I tried to add one lousy picture and it said "This file to big to load". It's the same as I've always done---what gives? The picture size is 6.65 MB, but that's what they've always been (Problem FIXED!!!)

 

 

 

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Finally!!! A download that works!!! Here are the panels glued together. Now to add the side stranger and wire the "butterfly" together.

 

...and here is the one I was trying to download all along. Thanks, Frank, for fixing the problem!

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Hang on, troops, we're really rushing along now...at a snails pace. All that pesky movin' everything around for every job again. Had to drag out the table saw to "thin-out" the front end of the side stringers, then put that away and move out the router table to round over the edges of said stringers, then make a bunch of blocks with tape on them and holes in them to hold the stringers in place while the epoxy cures, then, finally, get the stringers glued on. But on one side only! Not enough room or saw horses to do both. One today, one tomorrow----no, wait, gotta take the visiting grand baby (well, grand teen) around "Hooterville" to see the sights this week. I'll get the other side done later---I hope. Life keeps gettin' in the way, y'all!

 

Anyway, here are a couple of pics of today's "progress".

 

The stringer attached.

post-1823-0-82823500-1404168157_thumb.jpg

 

The other side showing some of those itty-bitty blocks that I cut. (Don't worry, they come off when I pull the screws out.)

post-1823-0-83219200-1404168186_thumb.jpg

 

By-the-way, those two boards you see clamped on just keep the whole works from floppin' around when I turn the thing over.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well folks, we're finally back. Thanks to all of you for the condolences on the death of our son, Peter. We took a week to settle his affairs, and then another week for a previously scheduled vacation with Pete's son, Carter, our grandson. But now, the best thing is to stay active, soooo. Back to work on "Turtler". (Y'all remember that that's the name for this particular Sport boat, doncha?

 

The following pictures show the parts wired up, and the temporary bulkheads in. The outwales are temporarily clamped on. Next we'll be filleting and taping the chines and bow. I think I'll tape down the centerline of the bottom so I can remove the wire ties, and then install the inner and outer keel' The bottom has to be kept straight as Turtler has a planing hull. Next will be the sister keels on either side. Then will be the seat faces, transom stiffeners, etc. Oh, yeah, the board clamped on the side is to hold the hull level without a twist.

 

Sorry I couldn't get a better picture from the side. Silly little garage, ya know. Take a look at the wire ties. See how they are bent over. They are SHARP when ya bump the. Ask me how I know...

 

By the way, for a great video on wiring and taping, see Alan's video on building a Core Sound 15. ( 

)

 

Ok, here we go---

post-1823-0-32126400-1406220255_thumb.jpg

post-1823-0-96952300-1406220256_thumb.jpg

post-1823-0-42475200-1406220258_thumb.jpg

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post-1823-0-43051200-1406220261_thumb.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I guess I've left you guys hanging for awhile. In between "life" I've gotten a little done. The aft-center seat face is in as is the aft seat face. (Hmmm, this even sounds confusing to me...)

 

You'll also see the internal stringers and keel Later I'll add external keel and "sister keels" (Or whatever you call them.) The top of the transom has been reinforced and notched for the motor, too.

 

Today I'm working on the forward seat and forward face of the center seat. The center seat will house the battery for the electric motor or a fuel tank depending on which motor I use. All three seats will have partitions at each side to contain foam flotation. The center area of the forward and aft seat will be for stowage. Seems like a good plan to me. What do y'all think?

post-1823-0-51291100-1407345483_thumb.jpg

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Looking good. did Graham estimate a design hull weight:  Electric maybe - mmmmm - I've been thinking that way too. Borrowed a Torqueedo for a bit and it ran great on a rubber dink I had handy.  Nice features but seemed louder than my trolling motors.  Think maybe the hollow shaft brings up more of the motor noise.  Li-ion batts nice and light though.  Hope to get by your home Aug 29-30 when in Asheville to deliver BH19 to new owner, if you'll be around. Now I have to decide "what next" - smaller for sure ;-).

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Looking good Chick. This may be a dumb question - excuse me if it is......why does one put a notch in transom for motor?

is it for achieving right propeller depth, or stability of mount, or establishing horizontal line? I am contemplating motor well in CS17 and some have mentioned notching transom, and I would like to clarify its purpose.

thanks

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   The boat's looking really good.  I'm all for flotation along the centerline.  It seems to me a boat with its flotation centered would be easier to right than the same boat with flotation along the sides.  Then again you're not building a sailboat so it's unlikely the turtle boat will ever turn turtle. :D

   Keep the pictures coming.

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