New member and new-to-me Devlin Cackler

Nick Cameron

New member
Hey folks, new member here! I live in Bellingham, Wa and do most of my hunting in local ag fields and some of the smaller lakes. I've been hunting out of a little 11' sorenson the last 4 years but wanted something to get me out into the rivers and their estuaries. I have been combing these forums for a month or so and all of the Devlin builds made me curious about the Cackler. A quick and unoptimistic search into FB Marketplace showed, to my disbellief, a Devlin Cackler for sale in Oregon. I spoke to the seller and committed to make the drive the next morning. The boat appears to be made by Sam Devlin in 1992, according to the transom placard and registration. I have yet to find a HIN# for it. The boat looks to be in good shape overall but the transom, keelsons and potentially the gunwhales need some love. But, not knowing much about wooden/fiberglass boats, I thought reaching out to the community that inspired to purchase was my best bet.

After towing home, I decided to do a little digging. The glass was peeling off the upper portion of the transom so I took a razor blade and pulled all the glass off which was scary easy. I believe the previous owner added a transom extension to accommodate a long shaft motor. I removed the wood and I believe whats left is the transom as it was originally designed and built. Can anyone confirm a transom height of 17.5" for the Cackler? Also open to general comments and ideas about what needs to be done to bring this boat up to speed. Hoping to make these repairs and find a suitable outboard for it before the end of the season. Thanks!
 
Nick

Welcome to duckboats.net. Devlin's Cackler is one of my favorite Devlin designs, and the next build on my to do list that just keep getting bumped. One day...

It's hard to tell from pictures but the boat looks to be in good shape. Nothing you noted would concern me. I agree, the transom cap is definitely not Sam's original work. Somewhere on its journey a short shaft motor was replaced with a long shaft. If you are going to power her with a long shaft motor I suggest re-doing the transom extension. My approach to that mod is to use a router with guide to cut a mortise (slot) into the top of the transom and then slip a riser that has a tenon into it. Epoxy the joint and glass over it and you should be fine. I would avoid the temptation to use screws/bolts. Wood joinery and epoxy will be your long-term solution. An aluminum plate attached with 5200 wouldn't be a bad addition either.

Make sure you address and exposed wood or cracks now before more damage. The wooden runners on the bottom should be sanded and epoxied. You can attach brass/bronze/SS/Aluminum runners to make them more durable. If you haven't used epoxy resin before it isn't difficult. Do not use polyester resin. This is not the application for it.

At the present I am modifying my Devlin Brant. I've been posting some stories (videos) of that work on the Instagram account, duckboatsdotnet. There might be some info of use for you in the stories.

Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Eric
 
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That is a great hull. I remember the early adds Sam ran in Wooden Boat magazine waay back advertising the plans. A good number have been built by guys here. I have enjoyed rides in two. Both were really good boats. Your on your way.
 
Super cool boat Nick! & Welcome to the site, I love that hull design, I actually purchased a set of plans a few years ago down in NJ. Has alot of unique features we often overlook in today's designs.. best of luck with it!
 
Welcome to the site Nick! There is a lot of great knowledge to be had here and you should have no problems getting answers to your questions. Feel free to post lots of pictures as you progress on giving your cackler some love.

Dani
 
Thanks everyone! Very excited to get started. I contacted a shipwright a week ago who is familiar with epoxy/glass work (he's building a Devlin Candlefish for himself) and between his expertise and the forum, I feel I am in good hands. I also emailed Sam Devlin and asked about original transom height. The transom will need some work regardless but since I am still in the hunt for an outboard, no need to extend it if I can just buy a short shaft to get a good fit. I removed the oak transom extension that the previous owner put on. The original transom wood looks good. There is still some bondo or something similar hanging on. The oak extension was also secured to the transom using three dowels drilled vertically.

Any tips on how to remove the bondo? If I drill the dowels, can those just be filled with epoxy? Also since the boat is painted, there is always the question of what is the paint hiding? Eric, would you suggest just going through the boat as best I can with paint on and making a list of all the spots that have bare wood or cracks? I'll have to take a look at your Instagram for some tips.





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I have used a hammer to tap along a fiberglass over plywood hull to discover where there is waterlogged plywood. It will sound different.

Rick Lathrop
 
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