New to forum, new to me Black Brant II

Kyle G

Kyle G

New member
Hello everyone,
New to the forum and duck boats in general. I've always hunted ground blinds accessed by canoe. I live in south Puget Sound Washington and I recently purchased a Devlin BBII, circa 1987 that I thought I'd share with the forum. I had been casually pondering building a BBIII but the II came available and I decided I'll run it for a while and build something else later down the line. So far it has been a lot of fun and I'm still figuring out what it is capable of. I love the stability of this thing. The boat has a 20hp 4-stroke outboard. With a light load it feels like plenty of power and speed (~15mph by phone gps) but with 3 people and some gear it becomes real sluggish. I won't be replacing the motor anytime soon so that's just a limitation I have to keep in mind for safety's sake.

The boat appears to be in decent shape overall and was reportedly entirely garage kept. There are some cosmetic issues one would expect on a boat this old. Flaking and deteriorated paint on the hull, floor, etc. The areas of most concern (that I've identified) are where the trailer wheel wells have rubbed off paint and exposed the glassed wood, and where the outboard has made repeated contact with the sponsons and exposed plywood corners. Oh and the strakes probably will need work in the near future as the fillet appears to be deteriorating..

I've already benefited from searching past user posts and I'm looking forward to learning form the forum. Some of the projects I'd like to work on are building a blind or spray dodger, figure out some method to retain decoys and other gear in the cockpit under the gunwale, and adding some lights. I also don't know if there is foam or some type of flotation in the sponsons/bow, so I'd like to cut into them to check and install a deckplate. My boat does not have grassing rails and after looking through a lot of posts on this forum it might be something I want to add for hiding the boat vs. building up a blind.

Any suggestions on approaching the above list would be well appreciated.
-KG


View attachment IMG_20200817_175517502[1].jpgView attachment IMG_20200826_090303506[1].jpgView attachment IMG_20200826_090235721[1].jpgView attachment IMG_20200826_090243455[1].jpg
 
Thanks! I know the previous owner only through the purchase. He didn't know the builder either, but my understanding is that the boat was owned by at least two individuals before him. I suppose I might be able to get that information through the state licensing department. The previous owner told me the boat was built in California for a class or workshop of some kind. It made its way to the Olympia WA area sometime thereafter.
 
Welcome Kyle. I'm getting close to finishing up a restoration project on a BBII that I purchased earlier this year. It has been a really fun project, and I'm looking forward to having the boat ready for the season. Good luck with the new boat.
 
taking a better look at the photos, 2 things:

  • need to raise the trailer bunks and the wheel well fenders rubbing issue is solved.

  • the motor bumping the corners of the sponsons is a known problem, A ruler, saw, some small pieces of marine plywood and epoxy is needed. But first review how all the other guys here did it..
 
Kyle G said:
Thanks! I know the previous owner only through the purchase. He didn't know the builder either, but my understanding is that the boat was owned by at least two individuals before him. I suppose I might be able to get that information through the state licensing department. The previous owner told me the boat was built in California for a class or workshop of some kind. It made its way to the Olympia WA area sometime thereafter.
Click to expand...

I was wondering if it was a boat already known here, it doesn?t sound like it.
 
Kyle

Have you ever worked with marine epoxy before? Based on your maintenance list and the pictures you are going to need to do some epoxy work. Doesn't appear to be major, but getting it right will prevent future problems. You mentioned the boat was garage kept. That greatly extends the life of a boat. Are you also planning to store it inside? If not invest in a good (probably custom) cover to keep UV an water out. These boats are durable, and with care will last a lifetime (I have two in my shop and both are about 20 years old) but neglect will lead to their demise.

Congrats and keep us informed on your efforts to get yours in tip-top shape.

Eric
 
Thanks for all the responses! Not really sure how to post a general response so I'm responding to everyone here.
Tod, I was hoping someone would know the boat, too. Based on the forum here these boats have a small dedicated following. Nonetheless there's a lot of info on the site to help guide my restoration efforts.
Richard, your restoration thread is an amazing resource for me. We have some similar issues and I applaud the work you've done. I will probably reach out to you as I begin planning the work on my boat. Did you finish the grassing rails on your boat?
Carl, thanks for the input. I've been poring over older threads and I have seen threads on the sponson repair, especially helpful is the thread by Bill B. I will follow that model to do the repair. Re - trailer bunks, low hanging fruit and on the top of my list!
Eric, I've not worked with marine epoxy before. I have some general woodworking experience and all the tools necessary. Luckily my buddy has a lot of wood boat experience so I'll lean on him for help. I'm planning on a mixture of inside and outside storage, depending how often I'm using it. I want to get a cover regardless. I've seen some cockpit covers on this site but I might also want to have a canvas cover made up to help with UV on the paint. I was admittedly hesitant about purchasing a wood boat this old, but the previous owners kept good care of her and I'm hoping I can give her many more years of operable life.

Thanks everyone and please keep providing me input on improvements, modifications, etc. for this boat.
 
Kyle, as you note, there are quite a few Devlin designed boats on this forum. Also search on Honker, Snowgoose, and Scaup and maybe others, I don't know the smaller design names, as designs that are shown here with our personal touches and maintenance efforts.
 
Kyle - I have not started on the grass rails yet. I've been working on electrical, battery box, shelf, front nav light, a floor, and working out something for a splash guard. I'll snap some photos tomorrow and post an update. I've also had trouble finding the right piece of wood for the grass rails. I was hoping to find a long enough piece of mahogany, but no luck so far.

Good luck with the new boat, looks like you've got a nice one there.
 
Good morning, Richard - and Kyle ~


A couple of thoughts re long stuff - thatch rails, rub rails, splash rails....


Scarfs are easy to make - to join 2 pieces to make one longer one. I make a 1:8 jig for my table saw to cut the scarfs. Epoxy is the glue of choice - clamped firmly but not over-tight.


I have used some PVC lumber (trim boards as Dave mentioned) - not yet tried Trex, Azek or other decking boards.


Neither is as stiff as wood; there is very little structural strength. In fact, I almost bought a 12-foot length of deck board a couple of days ago. I had my new car with the typical factory roof rack (my rack on my Element is 7' long and would have handled the shorter overhangs just fine.) The board drooped so severely that I left it at the lumber yard. My point in mentioning it is that you need to consider the flexibility for certain applications. I have not used either type for thatch rails. I am guessing it is an excellent choice as described by Dave - but I am guessing you might need a few more spacers. For Mahogany thatch rails, I typically put 2-inch spacers every 12 inches along the length of the rails - to hold in tightly-packed Salt Hay. I do not know if that spacing is sufficient for PVC or Trex.


The PVC lumber does machine nicely - on table saw and router table. However, it is much softer than wood. So, you need to be careful when tightening it. I first pre-drilled and then countersunk each hole for flathead screws to fasten this toe rail on my Sneakbox. The heads pulled way down into the PVC. So, no countersinking necessary - and I used panheads instead.


I show this break as a cautionary tale. Although PVC's flexibility allows for both tight radii and compound bends (bending in 2 planes), there are limits. I made the mistake here of pre-drilling for a fastener right in the middle of the piece - right where the bending strains were greatest.


So, Plan B did not pre-drill in that location.





View attachment B Toe Rail 1.jpg



Ultimately it worked very well - and would have been very difficult to do in wood.


View attachment B Toe Rail 7.jpg



And, the PVC is dense enough to hold the snap studs (at the hem of the canvas) - but not for anything that has a real strain on it.


View attachment D 28.jpg



I plan to go back and get some Azek decking for rubrails on the Scooter currently in my shop. I believe it comes in 20-foot lengths. I may try it for thatch rails in future vessels.


All the best,


SJS





 
Really nice information on the thatching/grass rails. Given the cost and availability of some of the wood I've seen used for rails seems like a good route. I've essentially decided I'm going to go through a season with this new boat and figure out what I want/need to upgrade.However, I have already rigged up a simple flip style conduit blind frame with Bimini hardware and sport net as the surface to affix grass to. Minor elements to refine but the basic gist is there.

View attachment netted.jpg

Eventually I'll add canvas to the frames to help with wind and rain, but I feel like giving a simple strategy a try first and then investing more time/money. I've also received nearly all the equipment necessary to wire in Stern, nav, and cockpit lights (with inspiration from Richard S). Hopefully that'll happen this week. I received a shipment of 'refuge' raffia bundles from jstern and took the boat and some bundles out to see how they blend. It's exciting to see the boat rigged up, even just with raffia loosely placed on it in no thoughtful way. I'll need to darken up the 'natural' strands to get a better blend with the area I hunt.


View attachment grassed.jpg

The pup in my profile picture is a german wirehair, so not technically a Draht but pretty close! Looking forward to getting her into some waterfowl action this season.
 
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