Devlin Scaup 18

J

Jason Dismukes

Member
Hello everyone,
I've been watching the site and reading your posts for a while. This is my first post. I purchased plans for Devlins 18' Scaup design. I'm contemplating starting the build this spring. I would appreciate any advice and will definately post progress when I start the build. Thank again.
 
Hi Wendell
Which Scaup are you going to build. I went back in forth for a while before deciding to go with the 18' version. Sam doesn't have pictures of it on his website. I bought study plans for both the 16 and the 18. The 18 is quite a bit more material. There is a lot of structure in it.
 
Jason, I am planning on the 16. Eric's documentation of his build will be very helpful. Have you found your source for plywood & epoxy yet? I am just starting to look
 
Wendell,
I've been looking at various material sources. So far I think boulter plywood in Mass is a decent deal. I've spoken with the owner Scott Boulter a couple of times and he is very nice.
http://www.boulterplywood.com/
Right now I think RAKA has the best epoxy price and a very good reputation.
 
The Merranti 1088 looks interesting. I have a friend who used it on his cackler and it worked well. I see it also comes scarfed size 4x16 which could work well for me.
 
Wendell
I've only looked at the okoume 1088. Boulter will scarf to 4x16 or 5x20 but the cost starts really adding up. Scott and spoke about it on the phone. We figured having him scarf everything would be an additional $1000. I plan on mounting the motor on a hydraulic jack plate. That $1000 will pay for the plate and with some left over. I've been working out a jig using a router and straight bit to make the scarfing easier. Haven't started building it yet but the idea is sound.
 
Yeah, I was a little shocked when I ran the numbers on the 18' vs the 16'.
The 18' has (3) 3/4" logitudinals that run almost the length of the boat. They have to be scarfed. It's a lot of wood. But I really want to be able to comfortably hunt 3 guys and a dog. Oh, Boulter will deliver to your house with no sales tax. If you go to mass you'll pay their tax.
 
Jason,

Before you count those sales tax savings, ask the CT guys who have registered a home built. When I built a trailer I went in with material receipts to prove I'd already paid sales tax on the material. I'm not positive but the state may assign a value, like they do to cars, if you can't prove you've already paid sales tax.

Good luck and know that we're looking forward to seeing pictures of the build.

Scott
 
CT Boat Builders; a few thoughts from someone who has been there / done that...

1) Scarfing looks daunting, it is not ... when you are done, you will look back and say to yourself..."why was I going to pay a premium for scarfed wood?"

2) Scaup is a great boat, no question. If you are boating on the coast, you may want to look at something with a little greater freeboard like the Cackler/Snowgoose. The Snowgoose and Scaup hulls are practically the same, however the Snowgoose has slightly higher freeboard and the stern is "Normalized" providing greater room and flexibility. If I were on inland waters only, I'd build a scaup design for its slightly better cancellation.

3) Meranti is a good choice due to its toughness and cost vs Ok.

4) Raka is GREAT stuff... no blush, i.e no washing... little smell.

Good luck and have fun... Andrew
 
I used raka on my devlon "mallard" build a couple of years ago. All their stuff worked great. Their fast hardner kicked too fast for me most of the time, but with their epoxy you can mix the fast& slow hardners to come out with a med. speed hardner, just keep the ratio of total hardner to epoxy the same. The scarfing process sounds harder than it is. Erics build on this site or Devlon's book explaines it well, I used a hand plane& belt sander, & came out well. Use the edges of the plywood plies to keep the taper even from side to side. Good luck& enjoy the builds, tis a great feeling to build your own boat, seing it come alive, with your own hands!
Dennis
 
As Andrew said, the scarf is much easier than you would think. I stacked my sheets on top of each other and then offset them to get my 1:8. Then used a belt sander to take the wood off.

Don't be skeered of the scarf, save yourself the money and do it yourself. It's also rewarding when you get past that little hurdle.

Good luck.

Ryan
 
Scarfing is not that big a deal. As long as the ratio is right and the wood is kept square, Bob's your uncle. As far as epoxy, I've built 11 boats with U.S. Composites. Price is great and it wets out really well. I've also used West Systems but it is almost unafordable and I don't like the way it wets out.
The boat won't notice the difference
 
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Wow! I really appreciate all of your comments. Andrew, I hear you about possibly going with the snow goose/cackler. The Scaup 18 also has a straight transom not a motor well. I really like that. I like the sneak box style and I think the 18 will still be able to hunt the inland waters but be enough boat to go after divers if I want. I also want a boat that I can travel with and hunt other locations. For that reason I may even make a hard locking cover for it. The 18 actually measures around 18'-5" and has around a 7' beam. I have been talking to sam and his staff about some minor tweaks. I may bring the side panels up a little higher and raise the combing higher as well to increase freeboard. Does anyone have experience with getting backyard builds registered and certified in CT. As far as taxes they're going to get you coming or going. It is what it is. Lime they say death and taxes can't be avoided. Thanks again for everones comments.
 
Wow! I really appreciate all of your comments. Andrew, I hear you about possibly going with the snow goose/cackler. The Scaup 18 also has a straight transom not a motor well. I really like that. I like the sneak box style and I think the 18 will still be able to hunt the inland waters but be enough boat to go after divers if I want. I also want a boat that I can travel with and hunt other locations. For that reason I may even make a hard locking cover for it. The 18 actually measures around 18'-5" and has around a 7' beam. I have been talking to sam and his staff about some minor tweaks. I may bring the side panels up a little higher and raise the combing higher as well to increase freeboard. Does anyone have experience with getting backyard builds registered and certified in CT. As far as taxes they're going to get you coming or going. It is what it is. Lime they say death and taxes can't be avoided. Thanks again for everones comments.
Click to expand...


Registering in CT is a breeze. You just have to contact DEP when done and they assign and install a HIN (bring some 5200 to seal the plate on, since they do want to screw it on right then).

For registration, I don't think they questioned me on materials if they were taxed. I had a whole file of materials I had paid tax on if they asked (really what are they going to know about materials?), but they didn't ask. One nice thing is a wood boat is not assigned a very high value, so personal property taxes are low.

If you haven't been in these boats, they are low and wet. I wouldn't build a Scaup for my use here.
 
comfortably hunt 3 guys and a dog
Click to expand...


Where? How? The Scaup, like it's little brothers, the Black Brants, Bluebill, Mallard, are all sneak boat type designs with a low profile and a low freeboard, for concealability where you have low cover. Best used with a dodger or low blind where you sit on the floor and shoot from a sitting position. To gun 3 guys, you will most likely be sitting on buckets or stools where you need to make a HIGH BLIND which cancels out the low profile of the design. If your end game is to be hauling the boat down to LIS I don't think the Scaup design is what you want. Just running out to the hunting spot or back to the ramp, everybody is going to need to sit on the floor probably in order to stay in the boat if you get some chop or hit a wake.

Here is what I think you should do before buying the materials....both of you. If you are going to be gunning LIS a lot, or the mouth of the CT or Housey, go at minimum with the Snowgoose and take Tod up on his offer to go to his place and check his out. Tod knows better, but if 3 guys is only an occasional crew, the SG is probably adequate. If you are hauling a gianormous rig of goose floaters and ducks, maybe towing a layout, upsize to the Honker. Higher freeboard and much safer if you will be in the Sound. If you are going out for Scoters go with the Honker.

If you want to see a 14ft Black Brant up close, I can connect you to Daryl Baker who is at the blind building stage of his boat. He has pictures posted here of his initial blind framework. It looks somewhat awkward on his low profile boat, but in reality is the same height from the floor as my TDB and his neighbors DW15. He's in Lebanon. The BB is a good boat for Daryl as he is going to gun alone often, mostly in protected waters, and is going to have a water shedding dodger in addition to his high blind.

Anyway, make sure you've thought out all of the conditions you are going to gun in. To me, an 18ft sneak is too much boat for inland marsh hunting and not enough boat for out in the Sound. Choose wisely before you spend your money.

And I believe Scott is right, you have to probably bring the receipts for everything you bought to DMV when you register the boat to show that you paid sales tax......

Buy your motor in New Hampshire and don't have it on the the boat when you go to DMV....
 
Wendell, Yes, Meranti will work well but remember it is heavier than Okume. If you're ok with the weight you won't notice the difference in the build. All of the 1088 marine plywood I have used - Okume, Meranti and Sapelli are extremely easy to work with.

Over the three boats I have built I have always used RAKA epoxy and supplies and will again - great products, service and price.

Don't pay for scarfed plywood. If I lived near you, I'd do it for half that and it would be the best money I ever made. Scarfing only 'looks' daunting - it isn't. You don't need anything more fancy than a flat place to set it up and a belt sander with a 40 grit belt. You'll be done before you know it. Here's pictures of my pole boat construction last summer. Obviously, 4mm plywood scarfs faster than 9 or 12mm but the principle is the same.

First, make sure all the sheets are set up properly to get your 8:1 ratio (I used a longer scarf here - just because I wanted to). Clamp everything down tight.
001.jpg

Get your belt sander out and have at it.
002.jpg

You want to end up with all the lines of ply parallel to each other.
003.jpg

Flip them around so they are lined up and coat with unfilled epoxy and then a few minutes later, filled epoxy and clamp in to place after making sure all sheets are perfectly square. In this pic I clamped with a 2x4 and extra weight to make sure the joint was tight.
004.jpg

Finish by sanding the joint after it's cured. This joint is now stronger than the rest of the plywood.
007.jpg


Easy Peasy

Good Luck.
 
Tod thanks for the info. The Scaup 18 is a bit different than the 16. It's a self baling design. The sole plate is just above the water line and drain ports that extend through the aft bulkhead and transom. Thanks for your thoughts. Also, paying tax would stop me from building. I just know the wood supplier doesnt charge it if he delivers out if state but would have to if I took a trailer and picked up the materials. The delivery charge is about $150. To me that's a no brainer. I would have it delivered.

I see the Marranti is substantially cheaper and okoume but Boulter doesn't have it in 5x10 sheets. Makes sense to me the use okoume in 5x10 where I need it but then use Marranti everywhere else.
 
comfortably hunt 3 guys and a dog
Click to expand...


Where? How? The Scaup, like it's little brothers, the Black Brants, Bluebill, Mallard, are all sneak boat type designs with a low profile and a low freeboard, for concealability where you have low cover. Best used with a dodger or low blind where you sit on the floor and shoot from a sitting position. To gun 3 guys, you will most likely be sitting on buckets or stools where you need to make a HIGH BLIND which cancels out the low profile of the design. If your end game is to be hauling the boat down to LIS I don't think the Scaup design is what you want. Just running out to the hunting spot or back to the ramp, everybody is going to need to sit on the floor probably in order to stay in the boat if you get some chop or hit a wake.

Here is what I think you should do before buying the materials....both of you. If you are going to be gunning LIS a lot, or the mouth of the CT or Housey, go at minimum with the Snowgoose and take Tod up on his offer to go to his place and check his out. Tod knows better, but if 3 guys is only an occasional crew, the SG is probably adequate. If you are hauling a gianormous rig of goose floaters and ducks, maybe towing a layout, upsize to the Honker. Higher freeboard and much safer if you will be in the Sound. If you are going out for Scoters go with the Honker.

If you want to see a 14ft Black Brant up close, I can connect you to Daryl Baker who is at the blind building stage of his boat. He has pictures posted here of his initial blind framework. It looks somewhat awkward on his low profile boat, but in reality is the same height from the floor as my TDB and his neighbors DW15. He's in Lebanon. The BB is a good boat for Daryl as he is going to gun alone often, mostly in protected waters, and is going to have a water shedding dodger in addition to his high blind.

Anyway, make sure you've thought out all of the conditions you are going to gun in. To me, an 18ft sneak is too much boat for inland marsh hunting and not enough boat for out in the Sound. Choose wisely before you spend your money.

And I believe Scott is right, you have to probably bring the receipts for everything you bought to DMV when you register the boat to show that you paid sales tax......

Buy your motor in New Hampshire and don't have it on the the boat when you go to DMV....
Click to expand...


Jim is right on. I have seen way to many build sneak box styles and then put a high blind on it, it doesn't make sense to trade away freeboard and then replace it in profile made up of fabric. I shoot my snowgoose from the floor most of the time and it doesn't hide very much of me, so I don't know what the advantage if the lower sides in a huge footprint of a scaup is (plus you and your motor are way above the profile). I've been out in a Black brant several times and it is much wetter.

This class of boat, you aren't going to want to mess around with really skinny water either, since they are too big to move once grounded (and moving a grounded glass over oat with leave an impression on the hull in anything other than mud).
 
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