Bill Jonakin
My name is Bill Jonakin, and I live in Boise, ID. I started boat building in this unlikely place by constructing a sea kayak (no, there is no ocean near Idaho). It was a stitch and glue 17' designed by Chesapeake Light Craft. That got me hooked, much to my wife's chagrin.
Considering I enjoy duck and goose hunting about as much as anything, and certainly a lot more than working, I decided to build a duck boat. My first effort was a Kara, designed by Rob Leonard. I ordered the plans, and ordered my epoxy from Raka (www.raka.com) in Florida. They supplied the epoxy and glass for the sea kayak, and I was very pleased.
Getting good dimentional lumber is a bit of a challenge here in Idaho, if you don't want to pay a leg and an arm. 14' 1x4 was hard to find and expensive. Decided to use a skill from kayak building: the scarf joint. Cut 3/4" 4'x8' plywood into 3 1/2 in long strips, and then scarffed the joints. to make an almost 16' long piece. These became the 14' gunnels of the Kara.
In general, anywhere it called for 1" dimentional lumber, I used 3/4" plywood. I had used marine grade on the kayak, but decided that was overkill. Used good old ACX and it worked fine. To save a buck on a piece of 2" x 10" I glued 2 pieces of 3/4" ply together to cut out the nose pieces. More trouble than the $3 it saved.
Also elected to go the cheap route on the covering plywood. Used luan. Worked OK, but had to use screws to hold it on, because had a tendencu to pull through the nail heads at areas where bends were severe. Even using drywall screws, would occasionally pull through.
Painted entire inside with epoxy. Covered entire bottom with epoxy and fiberglass, and put an extra heavy strip along the gunnels. Put a reinforcing strip on the top, but didn't cover the entire thing.
Got some returned housepaint at Home Depot, and added some brown and green coloring to make a really ugly muddy puky color. Worked great, and only cost about $5.00 for the gallon.
Also built a small outrigger transom on the back of the cockpit to put a small trolling motor on. Tried polling, but the water is a little deep, and I never really got the hang of it. Also use a kayak paddle - just happened to have one - and that works pretty well.
Built a second one for a friend with a squared off stern and transom for a motor mount. Also put in a battery box on the rear deck. That one I completely covered in fiberglass and epoxy. Very strong, but somewhat heavier.
Third boat was a "Big Mama" from Gatorboats (www.gatorboats.com). It is basically a jon boat. Built it in exactly one week, while my wife was out of town. Modified the plans to build it using stitch and glue, like the kayak. Went together very quickly and easily. Used cheapest stuff on it too (ACX plywood, returned paint, etc.) and covered the bottom and chines with fiberglass and epoxy. Had it finished before my wife got home. Have also mounted a scissor-style blind on it. Works very well.
None of these boats are beautiful, but all work great for duck and goose hunting. As I learned while building "It's a boat, not a shrine"