Broadbill revision suggestions/questions

Well the wife is on a business trip to sunny Californy and it’s fend for yourself around here. SO…I have a nice little fire going in the fireplace just finished a venison steak smothered in mushrooms and onions, salad and baked potato and I have a Canadian Mist and seven-up and the Broadbill plans laid out on the coffee table. I fired up the ‘puter and man oh man all the replies.

Lee, I thought long and hard about getting a hold of Pastor Larry when I seen he had is MLB widgeon for sale but like you I like the Broadbill being 4’ 61/2” wide over the 4’ the widgeon is. I did talk to Dave Simon and he suggested I not deviate from the 3/8” bottom. That will help me keep the boat fair and square rather than using something thinner that doesn’t have much rigidity. Also since I'm on the river with lots of submerged hazards, the thicker the better. I never thought about glassing both sides before cutting. I have been thinking about laying the boat out in cad. That way I could make DXF files and have the various panels laser cut by a friend of mine that has that business. I had also thought I would just add material to the side panels for extra height but I like the idea of adding to the decks to. I’m a little worried about the compound angles that would be created at the bow.

Thanks.

Ed
 
Eric,

I'm going to stretch this out to 11' also. I can get the MDO board in 12' lengths and thought about going to 12' but I'm afraid that's a little long without adding stringers of some sort to the bottom. I like the idea of adding height to the deck and increasing the radius. I can see where it'll give some body to any grassing rather that just looking flat. Adding material to the bottom of the bulkheads adds a lot of strength but is the opening still wide enough to get a fuel tank in and out? I have been thinking of a stationary tank with a fillcap mounted on the top deck then getting the tank in and out wouldn't be an issue.

Thanks,

Ed
 
Robert,

Thanks for thoughts. I do like the thought of a more radiused deck rather than flat. I never even consider a jet ski battery before. What are the cranking amps verses a marine battery. I may have to look into this further. I sure like somthing lighter for the aquapod if nothing else. By the way, didn't I see this boat on ebay. Did you sell it?

Ed
 
Hi Brian,

How was your season this year. Did you manage to hunt all the great lakes this year?

I was sittin here sipping on my Canadian mist and seven-up wonding how much Eric added in between the stations to get the 11' foot. Now I know. It was either last fall or this spring you posted several pictures of your build. I had them saved but not backed up then I had a harddrive fail. Would you mind emailing them to me at ejlydic@hotmail.com That was a great pictorial. You know what they say about pictures.

Thanks,

Ed
 
Ed, I think we tend to overbuild...sometimes when we add "strength" we transfer the loads to weak areas without knowing it. I am going for light weight and it will be staying at the lake so trailering ( the hardest thing on a boat in my opinion) won't be a factor.
 
Robert,

Thanks for thoughts. I do like the thought of a more radiused deck rather than flat. I never even consider a jet ski battery before. What are the cranking amps verses a marine battery. I may have to look into this further. I sure like somthing lighter for the aquapod if nothing else. By the way, didn't I see this boat on ebay. Did you sell it?

Ed



Ed ,
I really like the bubble/round decks becuase they add room under for my storage and the take the hard lines off the boat basiccly like a layout boat does. I don't know the exact cranking amps I would have to go look but they crack anything form 25 to 215hp engines on the skis and this one I used durin early season and the first part of season down here and have not charged it yet . my motor is a pull start until I find a flywheel stator and starter for that mecury :) but I would defently try useing this over the heavy marine battery now...........it takes a act of god to convince me sometimes but after that I am sold on a idea. I am not sure that it would hold up to a trolling motor but otherwise it saves weight

boat hide well this is shallow water and we are sitting on top the decks to be seen in picture

yep this one sold to :)

Amanda's Photo 039.jpg
 
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Hi Ed,

I built a Broadbill way back in '99 using all dimensions per the print. My one big regret is not having enough space under the front deck to keep my feet vertical. I have to cant them to the sides and they cramp up in short order. Now, I should say that my wader boots are something like size 12 or 13, so you may not have the same problem. That said, more space under the deck certainly wouldn't hurt anything.

As far as getting this boat to plane with a 15hp goes, unless you're planning on using lead as ballast, you will not have a problem. My 15hp Merc absolutely made this boat fly at WOT! I'm guessing that there wasn't much of the keel in the water at that point - we were smoking!

Have fun - I really enjoyed building mine. Too bad I don't use it more. It's been up in the rafters in the garage since '01.

Jason
 
Oh crap I lost the post. I glassed the decks on my poleboat last summer first abnd then couldn't bend them.
Shiny side up,
Wicker T & Walker
 
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I agree with you and I'm the worst. I guess I've been designing off road equipment to long. Also I have no experience with wooden boats outside of the Mahognay runabout I had for a short time. So I don't know what to expect. I'm still leaning toward ordering 1/4" material. If I'm going to increase the radius of the deck forming the deck will be a lot easier with the thinner material. I just need to make a decision by payday.
 
Tom, I was wondering about that. I think with the 3mm I should be able to get it to squeel into shape..do you think the 3mm with a 3oz glass on both sides would be stiffer than a sheet of 3/8"??? Back when I got the ply, Eric gave me the idea..I was concerned that the stitching on the thin,raw plywood would rip out when folding out the hull. Our other thought at the time was to just glass the area where the stitches went. This time I'll use zip ties. Hey, you don't happen to have a tiller setup for a 1988 20hp Johnsonelectric start do you?
 
Ed,

You've probably seen my Broadbill comments before, but,.... A couple issues:

1. Reinforce the motor mount. Some have reported cracks in the fillet where the mount meets the top deck. I used 3 layers of biax and a large fillet- no issues yet.

2. Make sure the transom angle is 15-17 degrees (may not be obvious in the plans), otherwise, you may end up building a shim like mine to get enough angle so the boat does not porpoise.

My Broadbill is out of 1/4inch okoume. If careful, you can get by with 3 sheets hull/deck ply (plus the 1 sheet of 1/2inch bulkhead ply) if you stick to plans. It's tight, so if you enlarge the boat, you will probably need the 4 sheets of hull/deck material. 1/4 inch ply is easy to work with, and has no oil can issues like thinner ply. I would recommend glassing the inside of hull as mine did get some cracks (with the grain). Plus, gear can be tough on the inside of a boat.

I run a 15hp Yamaha 2 stroke, and have a 3 gallon gas tank that is bungeed up against the forward floatation bulkhead. With the stock prop, it does 25.5 mph, just about any loading conditions (maxed on rpms, so a new prop is in order).


Here is the gas tank configuration:

gas_tank.jpg

The mod I find the most useful is the mounting of the oars. This allows storage of extra dekes or other stuff under the side deck, without fear of it rolling around. 4 magnum or 5 regular dekes fit per side:
magnums.jpg

The transom light can be stored under the deck to save space and reduce clutter:

transom_light.jpg

The shim to correct for insufficient transom angle:

shim..jpg

Here is how I hunt- I hava a board I lean against the front combing, and put my size 8 feet under the rear deck. Add 2 squares of antifatigue mat, and it makes for a real comfortable hunt (ie- bring lots of coffee or get a good nights sleep!!!).
lowblind.jpg

I really enjoy hunting the boat, and would not enlarge it, not even the cockpit. I've even notice a few experienced hunters have made the cockpit sides straight (as opposed to curved to match the shape of the rubrails) to reduce the opening and make the boat easier to hide.

If you want a complete set of my Broadbill construction pictures, shoot me a PM with your address.

Enjoy the build and post frequently!

-Bill
 
Ed,

Re-reading your questions,

I have run a 6 gallon tank under the front deck. The cap bumps barely sqeezes under the forward bulkehead, but once its in, its in. No promblem, even with the "stock" design.

I've not seen how much weight I can cram up front, but suspect a small battery would be ok (size of a lawn mower battery). Would be more concerned about what size wire to run support a starter. I use a lawmower battery for the lights and gps, and it sits right agains the rear bulkhead.

Hope this helps.

-Bill
 






broadbillfront.jpg


broadbillback.jpg


broadbillgoofin5.jpg


broadbillgoofin7.jpg
http://www.duckboats.net/pics/eric/broadbillfront.jpg

 
Ed, I have most of the pics on a different CPU, so I'll get them to you tmw. you have rcvd some great info from the guys on here. Heck, your boat should practically build itself!! ;^)

As for the "duck retrieved" on all the Great Lakes quest, I was able to check L. Erie off the list for Bella and me this year. Ironically, I still need to shoot a duck for her on L. MI yet (tried last week with Jay Anglin, but the ducks didn't see the party invite apperently)
So, I have set a goal of L. MI, and L. Ont. for next year, to complete the G.L. grand slam.

Brian F.
 
Lee,
I will have to look up the details but I think it was 6mm Oakume with glass on one side and it was all I could do to get the curve on the Poleboat deck. The glass wasn't real heavy. I will look tonight to see for sure.
Shiny side up,
Wicker T & Walker
 
No tiller for a motor like that, I'll keep my eyes open though. As far as the ties pulling out, I would just leave them loose until the boat was opened up and then snug them down. You will like using zip ties, I never used wire but the plastic is sure easy to work with. I built my second Kanyak with underlayment and had no problems with it. I can't remember what the stuff was called but it is a low grade mahaogany pli intended for use under vynl sheet flooring. Maybe just glassing the tie areas would help.
Shiny side up,
Wicker T & Walker
 
Hey Ed.

Glad to see you're finally getting serious about that boat. I hope you get it done in time to bring up to our Boat Builders' Picnic on June 23.

I echo what a lot of the other guys are suggesting for mods on the Broadbill. 11' would be a good length. If you want it bigger than that you should probably just build a Bluebill which is 12'. Don't raise the sides too high. One of the great features of the these boats is the ease of getting in and out in shallow water. Lots of places I hunt it's easier to place and pick up decoys by walking alongside the boat than by poling it, and the low sides make that a piece of cake. There are times when I'm hunting knee or thigh-deep water when I can just sit on the deck with my feet hanging over the edge into the water.

Curving the deck by raising the center height of the bulkheads is a good idea too. I raised mine some and wished I'd raised it even more. You might want to cut some scrap ply into temporary bulkheads and bend your deck ply over it to see what it will look like before you cut and install the permanent bulkheads. It's hard to visualize the amount of curve that you will have when the deck is in place.

One thing you should be sure to do is buy your fuel tank before you start building so you know you'll have clearance under the deck. Tempo makes a low-profile 6 gal tank that will get you a couple of inches clearance. (The main difference is just a smaller cap.) Or you could go with some of the older 3 gal steel tanks. I wish someone would manufacture a really low profile portable tank, but I haven't found one yet.

Can't wait to see your progress. If you do half as good a job as you did on your Starcraft renovation, it will turn out to be a great boat!

Rick
 
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