Going to build a Devlin Broadbill

T

Tom Davidson

New member
After waffling all over the place on whether to try to buy/steal or build a small sneak style boat and how big it should be, I have gone ahead and downloaded Devlin's Broadbill plans and plan to start the build in the next couple of months when frostbiting starts and my garage will be emptied of my kids' Vangaurd 15 and Laser sailboats that seem to have accumulated there.

I have been pouring over the many posts here regarding Broadbills and think that the project will be a manageable one and the end result will be a quality, vesatile duckboat for the local marshes, rivers and inshore rocks.

I will send many past Broadbill builders PMs asking for pictures and advice, but any advice, encouragement, suggestions of tweaks, pictures, stories, etc. would be welcome here.

I will post pictures and updates as I progress.

Thanks,
TD
 
After waffling all over the place on whether to try to buy/steal or build a small sneak style boat and how big it should be, I have gone ahead and downloaded Devlin's Broadbill plans and plan to start the build in the next couple of months when frostbiting starts and my garage will be emptied of my kids' Vangaurd 15 and Laser sailboats that seem to have accumulated there.

I have been pouring over the many posts here regarding Broadbills and think that the project will be a manageable one and the end result will be a quality, vesatile duckboat for the local marshes, rivers and inshore rocks.

I will send many past Broadbill builders PMs asking for pictures and advice, but any advice, encouragement, suggestions of tweaks, pictures, stories, etc. would be welcome here.

I will post pictures and updates as I progress.

Thanks,
TD
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Good choice. You may not have seen my offer, but you should stop by to see my snowgoose before you start, seeing one of these boats in person gives you a lot of ideas and helps you visualize things.

T
 
Daryl Baker just built a Black Brant and is in the rigging out stage of the construction. I think you should go see his boat before buying your plans to see the scale of his boat. You will probably decide to go bigger. You're going to have to trailer it anyway.....build enough boat for yourself.

Lots of CT guys building this year...nice.
 
Daryl Baker just built a Black Brant and is in the rigging out stage of the construction. I think you should go see his boat before buying your plans to see the scale of his boat. You will probably decide to go bigger. You're going to have to trailer it anyway.....build enough boat for yourself.

Lots of CT guys building this year...nice.
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I was originally going to go bigger, but I have access to a bigger boat and I decided I wanted to keep this project simple. Plus, the wife is barely on board this one. Anything bigger would put her over the top.
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It's a 1 guy, no dog boat, for small waters and leave your goose floaters home. I bet you pretty much need to buy the same amount of plywood and epoxy, whether building a 10ft boat or a 14ft boat, only you have less scrap from the 14 footer. Devlin used to have a comparison chart on his website, but I can't seem to find it with the new site. There's always the Bluebill option that's in the middle, and you'll be able to take your wife for a ride.
 
I struggle with any of the Devlins smaller than a BBIII... I think that is really a 1 man/1dog/ doz decoy boat.... I think 2 in that are too tight, for transport anyway.... And as said the cost won't be much different... Don't tell your wife that you are going bigger... she will never know.
 
Keep the boat in perspective. It's a one man/dog and minimal gear boat and it's designed to be just that. Don't make this boat and expect it to be a two person/dog and gear boat. You'll be disappointed. For sheltered marsh and inland lake waters this is a good boat and hides very well.

Take Tod and anyone else up on looking at their boats prior to starting. Pick their brains on how they went about doing the fillets, glass work and custom changes. Everyone has a slightly different way and you can adopt what works well for you.

I'll send my pics to you, I found them. There's ~300mb so too large even zipped. Do you have a dropbox acct.?
 
Thanks Ryan,

I know this is a small boat, but it will be a huge step up from the small kayack I use to solo hunt now. I have done a lot of research and this boat is what I want at this point. There will be other boats in my future. There always are.

I don't have a dropbox acct. Is that something I can set up easily?

-TD
 
Thanks Ryan,

I know this is a small boat, but it will be a huge step up from the small kayack I use to solo hunt now. I have done a lot of research and this boat is what I want at this point. There will be other boats in my future. There always are.

I don't have a dropbox acct. Is that something I can set up easily?

-TD
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One thing to remember is that these boats take a lot of power to move, so the step from Broadbill to BBII/I isn't a lot of wood it is a lot of motor.
 
Thanks Ryan,

I know this is a small boat, but it will be a huge step up from the small kayack I use to solo hunt now. I have done a lot of research and this boat is what I want at this point. There will be other boats in my future. There always are.

I don't have a dropbox acct. Is that something I can set up easily?

-TD
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Go to dropbox.com and setup an account. It's free and you get 2Gb of storage. I use this for most of my file storage. Because it's in the "cloud" I can access my files from iphone, ipad, or any computer that has an internet connection. I can also share a directory if I want with another dropbox user. So I'll create a boat build directory and share it to you. You can then pull all the files out and into your account. Beats sending cd's or bunches of emails out.

Ryan
 
It's a one man/dog and minimal gear boat
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Seen the picture at the Devlin site? does the dog swim behind the boat? No room in that cockpit for a man AND a dog.

Go see Daryl's boat before you build.
 
Jim,

I believe my Aluminum John Kuhn seakbox is loosely based on the Broadbill. I stick my legs under the aft deck and use a MoMarsh seat. This leaves a good amount of room for Marsh (120# Lab) behind me (forward end of the cockpit behind the spray shield). We still need to work out a few kinks but if the two of us, size wise, can fit, a more "normal" sized team should fit fine. Having the legs under the aft deck helps with the quick sit-up to shoot. Also one of the pleasures of working with John was that I could request a bit more room for size 12 insulated waders under the decks. I trust anyone making their own boat would make sure there was enough room for their sized waders. Now size 13's that you'd need, could probably be done with something looking like a fake air scoop :^)

Best,
Scott
 
Often I'm cramped in my 14ft TDB when I need to bring my geese and fastgrass. I used to have a traditional sized glass BBSB...I'd tow it to the hunting spot with the 14ft starcraft that I used to have..... Could probably put a dozen dekes under the decks. Never motored it but no way could I and my 75# lab fit in that cockpit.

Here are my points that I'm trying to make:
  • I think that the cost difference between building the Broadbill vs a Bluebill or Black Brant is probably minimal. Well worth the few hundred extra bucks. Will take the same amount of time for either of them.
  • You need a trailer for the smaller boat, probably an 800# capacity. 1200# trailer doesn't cost much more.
  • 15hp vs 25hp motor is probably the biggest cost, but you can hunt many more places safely from the Black Brant than you can the Broadbill. Over the life of the motor the extra cost of 15 vs 25 is negligible.
  • Tom lives in Madison.......on CT's coastline. He'll have this boat in Long Island Sound or at the mouth of the CT River, whether he thinks so now or not. I think he needs more than 10ft of boat under him IMHO.
Tom, run the numbers and compare the costs vs the limits that you'll place upon yourself with the smaller boat.
 
Jim,

Your points on where the boat MAY be used and the cost of build/ownership are good ones for Tom to consider. That's for him to decide based on where he hunts. Your original argument was that the BB isn't a one man/dog boat. That is what I disagree with.

I don't hunt those waters so I will not act like I know what boat is best for the area. I do know that Tom stated he has been hunting out of a kayak so whatever water he has been hunting I don't think it's a stretch that the broadbill will be a safer craft with more room.

Ryan
 
Hi all-

Thanks for all of the discussion.

I know the Broadbill is a small boat. It is meant for a couple of spots where I solo hunt. At this point, my dog is not ready for prime time and I'm not sure I can get him there. I was a licensed captain and have a great deal of experience on the water, much of it in small boats. That doesn't remove me from any risk or discomfort, but should reassure you that I am aware of it.

I have looked at a number of designs and I keep coming back to the Broadbill. I like its looks, simplicity, and functionality. I don't want a larger boat at this point, but I am sure one is in my future. In the meantime, I have friends with boats and there is an age old belief that the best way to enjoy being on the water is on somebody else's boat!

This is also about the project as much as the product, and the Broadbill fits.

Jim, I appreciate your thoughts. Believe me, you made me stop and think, but I am going to proceed with the Broadbill. I hope we cross paths.

-TD
 
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