Building a small flat bottomed boat

[AlbaSteamFan]

Looking to build a small flat bottomed boat. Something like a punt or a mini skiff. Nothing too complicated.

Looking to make her out of ply and odd pieces of 1x1 2x1 etc to keep weight and costs down. Also around eight feet is my max length as I will be car topping her.

Any advice or assistance offered would be great fully received. I'm in Fife in scotland

[fredrosse]

8 feet boat length is rather small, however there have been a few steamboats near this size. As to the cartop carrying concept, the only car-topable steamboat I have ever seen is described on Radow Rainer's website:

http://www.steamboating.de/

Look up "Scanoe Steamboat" for a description.

[AlbaSteamFan]

8 feet boat length is rather small, however there have been a few steamboats near this size. As to the cartop carrying concept, the only car-topable steamboat I have ever seen is described on Radow Rainer's website:

http://www.steamboating.de/

Look up "Scanoe Steamboat" for a description.

Wow, that wee boat is stunning!

[Cyruscosmo]

Hey AlbasteamFan

You want small and easy to build? Try this method on for size. http://www.pygmyboats.com/kit-construction-process.html

Couple something small like that with a similar engine/boiler arrangement like the "Scanoe Steamboat" and you could have a nice little rooftop run about to play with.

Cyruscosmo

[AlbaSteamFan]

Looks nice. A couple of the books iv read recently offer a lot of stitch and glue plans. I'm still pretty torn between that method or using chines. I'm not the most patient of workers and stitch and glue requires more finesse in the cuts on angles etc which I can imagine frustrating me greatly. On the other hand it's a lighter and probably all round better for my needs...

If I can find ply at cheap prices (or possibly free from friends in construction industry) then I may end up making more than one boat anyway. Iv drew up a few plans for different flat bottom boats and intend to make a couple of models tomorrow if the weather is bad (Mrs has me building a fence if the weathers nice)

[Cyruscosmo]

Hey AlbaSteamFan

I have been a party to a couple stitch and glue projects and they are not as finicky as you would think. The great thing about them is you can do small sections at a time. And the big parts like wetting the cloth for the hull you can have a couple buddies over on a weekend to do.

You say that you are not a very patient person, well believe me when I say... use the best quality marine grade plywood you can get because you WILL regret using the cheep stuff.

A tip... When we cut the panels we used the cheep stuff to make templates. When we got the cuts right we transferred the patterns to the marine grade plywood. The nice thing about that is we could use the patterns to make more. Sell one to cover your costs and you just made yourself a free boat. Sell two and you got funds for an engine.

The holes for the stitch wire should be as small as you can make them and still get the wire through. On one of the builds I worked on, someone mounted a drill bit that was larger than needed and the holes were a pain to fill.

The hulls are surprisingly strong for the method of construction. They would be perfect for something small enough to ride on your roof.

Cyruscosmo

[smokestackmag]

I'm building a Banks Dory this winter, 24' long. Plans from Spira International. I built a small one just 9' long for a grandson. Came out a little crooked. . . but a good practice project. I used cheap 1/4" ply for that one. Really easy to bend. For a larger boat go with the thicknesses recommended. Happy building!

[Bob Cleek]

I'd suggest that you carefully calculate the weight of the design before building if car-topping is your intention. Plywood is not a particularly lightweight material in the application you contemplate and any sheathing in resin and fabric will materially increase the overall weight of the boat. It could easily be far heavier than you'd want to be car-topping unless you had more people than the boat would carry available to lift it onto the car's roof. I once had a "lightweight" seven foot dinghy of plywood and chine construction without any resin and cloth sheathing and it required two people to pick it up and carry it anywhere. I'd expect that unless you are thinking about one of those nifty steam outboards carried separately, you'd need a forklift to get even an eight foot steamer on and off the roof of your car.

[smokestackmag]

Bob,

Thanks for the reply. Actually, my Banks Dory will be only trailerable as it will weigh more than 2000 lbs. I have 12 years experience with trailering my current boat, Flying Cloud, to all the USA East Coast meets. The weight of the dory will actually be a relief as the 'Cloud weighs around 6000lbs plus fuel, water and other necessaries.

[fredrosse]

You may want to look at the quick build of a small (11 feet long) plywood boat that is a replica of the larger sidewheeler hull, but scaled down, and built with common 1/4 inch thick "Laun" plywood, fiberglassed over. It is made with light weight frames and chine construction, in my view more rugged than stitch & glue, and fairly easy to produce. Look in the old thread on this forum, "New Plywood Sidewheeler Building".

That small boat is car-top carried often, but is relatively heavy at 39 kg (86 pounds). That is because I used heavy fiberglass and epoxy, left over from building the big steamer, and have a heavy flooring, which could have been far less weight. I am planning a portable "drop-in" steam plant with side paddlewheels, that will result in no new holes in the hull, and still allow use as a canoe for those with strong rowing arms. The "drop-in" steam plant concept allows car-topping and setup without the use of a forklift!