New boat build

[John Bourbon]

Finally! the boat is painted! The false start with the "mud" colored paint slowed me down a little, but some OD green and some marsh grass paint applied just so made up for that....The paint was done wet on wet so it blended well. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to paint on some long pencil grass type weeds in a lighter straw color. We'll see how ambitious I get.

Another view:

In case you are wondering the boat is 12'10" long by 33" at its widest point. Its 31" wide inside at the widest point. Next step is to install the pad eyes and bungee cord along the top of the rub rail.

 

[Huntindave McCann]

John,

Looking good, be sure to post some on the water pics of it disappearing into the shoreline. As to the reddish mud paint, I don't know, I've seen some pretty red earth in parts of Oklahoma, maybe that is the mud color they were referring to.

What do you figure your boat weighs?

 

[Scott Bell]

John,
You did a fantastic job with this boat. I was curious about the (lack of) weight as well.

Scott

 

[Jon Zuccolo]

The boat looks really good! I think I may just build something similar when I get up to PEI!

 

[John Bourbon]

Thanks guys for the kind words.....As to the weight, I can still pick it up by the gunnels in the middle of the boat and put it in the truck by my self. Wednesday when the wife is at work, I will drag the bathroom scale outside and stand the boat up on it. Then we'll know the weight for sure.

John

 

[Huntindave McCann]

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Wednesday when the wife is at work, I will drag the bathroom scale outside and stand the boat up on it. Then we'll know the weight for sure.

Yes it seems actual weight is the only question left unanswered. You just answered the question about who is the boss at your place. :>) :>)
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[John Bourbon]

I have abdicated control of the bathroom and all its contents, however the garage and the manly part of the basement are still firmly in my control!

John

 

[Anthony A]

I have abdicated control of the bathroom and all its contents, however the garage and the manly part of the basement are still firmly in my control!

John

What, pray tell, constitutes the "manly" parts of a basement - curious minds want to know!

AA-

 

[Huntindave McCann]

I have abdicated control of the bathroom and all its contents, however the garage and the manly part of the basement are still firmly in my control!

John

What, pray tell, constitutes the "manly" parts of a basement - curious minds want to know!

In this case, the "manly" parts are most likely those areas which his wife says is ok for him to use. :>) :>)

 

[John Bourbon]

Hi Anthony...those would be the workshop, the gun room, the wall of mounted ducks and best of all the beer closet. Under the basement steps is where I keep the beer. Much like a wine enthusiasts wine celler, I have a beer closet. At any one time I have 15+ different types of beer, mostly fancy micro brews, mostly high octane stuff. Its also where I keep all the gunpowder and primers for my reloaders and the wood chips for my smoker.

Manly stuff.

John

 

[Anthony A]

Hi Anthony...those would be the workshop, the gun room, the wall of mounted ducks and best of all the beer closet. Under the basement steps is where I keep the beer. Much like a wine enthusiasts wine celler, I have a beer closet. At any one time I have 15+ different types of beer, mostly fancy micro brews, mostly high octane stuff. Its also where I keep all the gunpowder and primers for my reloaders and the wood chips for my smoker.

Manly stuff.

John

'nuff said! Thanks I was getting worried there for a minute.

 

[John Bourbon]

The official launching party! With the Vt Lake Champlain season only a week away, it was time. This afternoon at 2pm, fellow board member Cheech Kehoe and his family, my daughter and my good friend Ruel Elliott met across the street from the entrance to SandBar State Park and had us a casual launching party complete with beer and cookies! The skies were quite dramatic and made for good pics.

Here's your's truly. The view is looking south west with the NY mountains in the background.

If ever a pic needed to go in the Launchings section of WoodenBoat magazine....

Here's a comparison shot with my 20 year old Poke Boat. The new boat is about 8" longer than the Poke Boat.

Here's Cheech in a shot that looks due east towards South Hero Vt:

My buddy Ruel. He's still in shorts 'cause native Vt'ers don't give up on summer nearly as quick as I do....

Another shot of yours truly. You can tell there's a slight weight difference between Ruel and I. The bow is out of the water for him!

So, how did I like it? I like it. I haven't officially weighed it yet, but I'd say it runs somewhere around 60 to 65 lbs. As such it doesn't accelerate real fast, but the weight helps with momentum between strokes. The paddle is one I picked up used at a local kayak shop. I was going to make my own but time ran out and this was a good deal. If past history is any indicator, I'm sure I'll break this one and wind up making my own anyhow. The boat is a little tippy at first, but just before you think its going to roll over, it stops tipping. I'm guessing thats what boat designers mean by initial stability and secondary stability.

Since the last group of pics I've posted, I added a bungee cords down both sides and a folding Poke Boat anchor. The seat is a Cabela's kayak seat with the straps that adjust the backrest. So far I like it. Stay tuned for pics from this seaon....

John