Recent content by Jim Mandas

Eric- 10-4, do you go heavier oz on your bulkheads? RM- I look forward to owning a sailrite.. I've hand stitched a lot of leather. They are awesome. I'll ask her, I think the 500 was the safest bet without having a walking foot- if its the same material as my eberlestock frame pack, then I...

Goodmorning fellas, Eric- Thank you for info about Raka, I am looking into them now. My only other experience has been with "smooth on" epoxy used to laminate recurve bows. The epoxy is actually more reasonable than I thought! How about weight of cloth? RM- My friend loves to sew and has...

Okay fellas, I am going to try and build out a price list. I do not have a shop where we currently live, but I still have most of my tools and I think I can get it done outside and borrow shop space from a friend for the glue up days. I have seen mention of 3M 5200, I used some of that...

I tend bar in my little town a few nights a week, this punt gun was the talk of the bar. I ended up putting it on the screen for some of the guys that hadn't seen it, I love seeing stuff like this. We've got a few hardcore black powder guys in town, one old timer builds high dollar rifles and...

Hey fellas, I’m about positive it’s a short shaft motor, Johnson CD-10. Good news is I don’t need to lift it as high as I thought- I think 4” should get the anti cavitation plate level with the bottom of the hull/ transom. Thank you! -Jim

Perfect thank you Steve! Yes, for the Herters. Treated 2x10 with the standoffs, I’ll order one in. I ran a Johnson seahorse 5.5hp which is what I’d like to run with that boat, my water and exhaust discharge port are a good bit underwater, anti cavitation plate is way under the line. I have a...

Hey fellas, Title says it all. Can I get away with a 2x6 or should I laminate ply for the transom board/ jack plate? My motor’s gotta go up about 6” give or take. Thank you! -Jim

Steve, super helpful talking about keeping a lip from the existing aluminum. I took the boat out today for the first time in a long time, keeping all this in mind while I was running it. Pulling the seats and decking the boat are absolutely in order. As it is now, when I throw the motor in...

It is encouraging to see a sneakbox with a narrower beam! What an awesome boat!

Thank you RM, the canoe was a solid project- the guy never glassed it, and it made it doomed to water damage. It would have been easier to build one from scratch and glass it from the start I think. As far as the duckboat goes, I'm taking the boat and trailer into my buddies welding shop to...

For context. I’ve never built a boat from the ground up, but here’s a canoe I heavily restored years ago; whole new ply floor, plus the added cedar. Was a decent introductory project for your world of wooden duck boats!

Steve, Eric, and RM; I have looked at this site for years, and always dreamed of building out one of these historic and hyper practical duck boats. Thank you guys, for your time, encouragement and guidance. While I plan to someday build one from the ground up, I'm going to get to demo today on...