1652 Hunt Deck Build

Thanks Phil. I know I'm taking a risk not using Okoume or Meranti. I looked through the plywood at the store to try to find some without voids, but I still ended up with some. I'll try to fill them and work around them the best I can.

My boatbuilding experience is limited to a 14 foot pirogue and lurking Bateau for a couple of years. I've never used marine plywood and price was an issue...Probably foolishly on my part. But I'm gonna epoxy and paint the mess outta this boat.

I think I will prime the hull prior to glassing and try to work wet on wet, if I miss the window I'll sand and then glass. Your thoughts?

Thanks.
 
Only time will tell if it was a mistake to use the plywood that you did. But, you are right, there is a HUGE price difference. I am just too afraid to try it myself... LOL If by, prime it first, you mean paint it with epoxy... then YES I would! But, I would go wet on wet if it was me. It is so much easier, in my opinion. Sure, you need a second or third set of hands to lay to cloth, but if you have it planned in advance and work fast, it is not that hard. I did wet on wet on my 19'3" x 91" Honker.... but I also mix larger batches than most probably do.
 
My motor was mounted on the 16" tall transom forward of the hunt deck.
My hunt deck is 20" long x 9" in height and tapers to 6" at the stern.

Here's a pic from 3 years ago.


 
Thanks, Paul...I have to laugh...your posts on MMTalk is the main reason why I went with the hull + power options that I outlined. Yours is the only thread that I could find, and certainly the most well documented, about putting a long tail (LT) on a false transom. My deck is 20" long and 10" high, but based on your pics and the 100" shaft I plan on buying, I believe I'll be able to "get as low" as I'll need with the prop. Don't really plan on running it in true mud flats anyway. Nice to talk with you and I really appreciate any technical insight you have.

May I ask how long your LT driveshaft was in the photo and how is your short shaft on the true transom working out?

Regards, - Jeffrey
 
Thanks, Paul...I have to laugh...your posts on MMTalk is the main reason why I went with the hull + power options that I outlined. Yours is the only thread that I could find, and certainly the most well documented, about putting a long tail (LT) on a false transom. My deck is 20" long and 10" high, but based on your pics and the 100" shaft I plan on buying, I believe I'll be able to "get as low" as I'll need with the prop. Don't really plan on running it in true mud flats anyway. Nice to talk with you and I really appreciate any technical insight you have.

May I ask how long your LT driveshaft was in the photo and how is your short shaft on the true transom working out?

Regards, - Jeffrey
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That is awesome Jeffrey! I built my boat after an old hunt deck style boat I'd been admiring for 12 years or more. As far as I knew no one had ever tried a longtail motor with a setup like mine. I'm merely a "wood butcher"versus a boat builder but I'm happy to help in any way!

My longtail was a 25 hp MB with a 73" shaft. It was a great setup on my boat and I'm surprised boat manufacturers haven't started making their mud boats with a hunt deck. Any naysayers would be shocked at how much better a longtail motor performs with a hunt deck on the stern.

My "new" motor mounts on the flat surface of the hunt deck and has a 33" straight shaft. I took the 25 hp Kohler off the MB to make the engine setup. It's responsible for the death of many a duck last year and a whole bunch last week alone. :)
 
I picked up today with my stringers. They're kinda like a puzzle...once I had them labled and lined up, it was just a matter of cutting them.

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I laid them out butterflied and checked their length and splice layout. Then I stacked them and put them away to await the epoxy and dowels. I debated for a while on whether or not stringers and a sole in this simple jon boat would be worth the weight. I decided to because I am using 21" sides and to put foam on the floor. Also since the sole is attached to the sides and sealed, it give me an extra layer of protection should the bottom get punctured...sort of a double bottom.

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Next I traced out the midship seat frames using the transom as a template. The seat height is 18", or approx. 15" above the sole.

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I stacked the plywood and cut so the frames would be identical. Looking at the pic, I'm noticing I forgot to layout the stringer cuts in the seat frames. I'll have to fix that.

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I tried a really risky (read stupid) process. I cut all four layers of 3/8" plywood for the 26" bottom halves at one time. By this time, I was tired of smelling sawdust and my back was talking to me. Usually, when I feel this way, it's time to hang up the tools for the day. I stacked them and hoped for the best.

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I turned out okay.

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The Destroyer in her natural state, chewing on something. Gentlemen, I submit to you that any dog that will chew on red oak (pin oak, water oak, Southern red oak) should strike fear in the hearts of wooden boat builders everywhere. If she can chew red oak, surely she can chew through chicken wire and eat my beautifully curved bow section.

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I placed the factory edges on the centerline and chose which panels I wanted where based on their quality. Here I am laying out the curve at the bow.

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Stack, cut, opened up like a book and symetrical.

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I have to cut a third section of the bottom at the bow transom. My overall bottom length is 17'2-1/2".

A good weekend of building. I think I'll have a bourbon and watch the wood ducks fly the creek.
 
Um... Thanks Jeff.... I am not used to men complementing me on me wood... LOL

Yes the Honker is a Devlin design. I did modify it a fair bit. Thes sides at 7" taller, the beam is 91", the length is 19'3" and the deck is obviously different. Based on Sam's recommendation I have an additional cockpit bulk head, and cold formed an additional 1/4"... or was it 3/8" to the hull, and 2 layers of 6oz cloth.

I don't believe I did a build thread. If you search the archives between April and September of 2006... that is where it would be. Pictures are at the the below link

http://s295.photobucket.com/user/Chesapeakeboy/library/14%20TDBish?sort=3&page=1#/user/Chesapeakeboy/library/14%20TDBish?sort=3&page=1&_suid=141806147840602720383769409818
 
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Here is a view of the model. This model has scale 24" sides and a 48" bottom (vs. 21 and 52) and no hunt deck, but I kept the shape of the bow

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My plans have been pushed back a bit by me forgetting to order wood flour to make the glue to laminate the transom(s) and the stringers. I wrongly thought that it was just epoxy used to laminate these layers. It'll be in next week. In the meantime...

I finished the bottom with the last 14 inches at the bow. Time will tell whether this last piece being so short is a good idea or not.

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I stacked the transom layers again to cut out the stringer slots. But first I doweled them in three places so they will go back together the same way.

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I then cut out the stringers slots.

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I then used a transom layer to trace the slots on the two midship seat frames and cut them out stacked.

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I then got ready to tape the bottom. I cleaned off the table and laid down plastic wrap so the bottom wouldn't be glued to the table.

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I then used pavers as weights to try to get the plywood edges to align...hazards of cheap materials. Laid out the tape and cut it to length. I'm using 6 inch tape.

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After I wetted out the plywood, I rolled out and wetted the tape and then layered the plastic over it and smoothed the edges as much as I could...kind of like an assembly line. I then put 2x4's on the seams to align the edges of the plywood and positioned weights where needed. Forgive nastiness on some of the pavers. I cleaned some ahead of time that I knew I would be needing, but I ended up needing more. I grabbed them and put them on, dirt and all, because I had epoxy in the pot and the plastic wrap kept the dirt off the tape anyway.

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I'm slowly realizing the extra time it will take to build this boat without a shop, using hand power tools instead of tables/machines, and having to play defense against The Destroyer. I've pondered this over the years and I'm glad I went ahead and pulled the trigger, but...I've sailed out of sight of the coast, the sky is darkening and the wind's picking up...I gotta keep going forward.
 
Looks great!

What are your daytime temps / humidity? Is the epoxy setting up pretty quickly?

If you want to slow pot life I used to set the bowl of mixed resin on top of another bowl filled with ice to slow down the kick of the catalyst.
 
Thanks, Paul. I'm using medium hardener that the mfg says will last in the pot 20-25 mins and cure in 8-10 hours at 80 degrees. Yesterday was 68 and 38 overnight and about 80% humidity. When I touched it this morning it was not tacky and seemed cured. I'll take the weights off this afternoon and check it out.

Now for the flip...
 
The bottom turned out okay, fairly level and not tacky. I don't believe it was fully cured yet, so I didn't try to flip it.

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I laid out the sides instead.

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Taped and weighted. Building on.

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Well, yesterday we had our first cold rain of the winter. It's been a cold and fine winter so far, but all of our cold days have been dry and bright, which is great, but all of our rains have been with warm or Pacific fronts, which is not so great. It rained all day yesterday and the high was about 49. Some cool days ahead, the epoxy setting should be interesting.

I braced up the sides to flip:

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And then taped them up. My epoxy usage was a little liberal on the top; some had made it through to set up on the back and I had to sand it before I put this tape down. I'm still not ready to flip the bottom...I would have had to put these side panel on the ground half taped while I worked on the bottom, so I'll finish the sides and then set them aside before I flip the bottom.

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