Pond box for big guys

Steve, my helper and I just got done with a cardboard and duct tape mock up. The second version of cardboard box ended up at 39" wide at the widest point in the middle and 6'7" long. Loads of room when sitting, maybe too much but it look like it should float, and be pushed or paddled.


My next step is going to be making a luan version to work out the fit and finish kinks. Cardboard does not really hold it's shape well enough to get the true picture. View attachment cardboard.jpg
 
I, too, built the Zach Tailer (sp?) coffin box, actually two of them. While I am inept boat builder, I am pretty sure the specs from the magazine were wrong but I adapted. They towed ok but could only be used on the salt marsh with a foundation. Any floatation where the entire box was in the water was a major issue. I also tried to retrieve a black duck, kinda of paddling and shoving one afternoon into a floated drean at a high tide. Unlike your experience, it was a warm early November day, but could have been a disaster.
 
My first boat back in 1973 or so was that Zack Taylor Pond box. The plans were either out of a magazine or his book Successful Waterfowling. I had no help and just figured it out as I went along. I was only a teenager at the time. It was ok but have since built a couple of Sanford gunning boxes. Steves design is superior in my opinion. One of them was recently involved in a fire and needs new canvas.
Went i use them in water I make a cradle out of four posts and two cross beams at the waterline and rest the boat inside this structure.
 
http://duckboats.net/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=154703;search_string=pond%20box%20;#154703
here is a two man design posted a while ago
 
I have mocked up a Larger version of the Sanford Gunning Box. The LOA of the box is 6'8' and the beam is 39"
View attachment box1.jpg


View attachment box1a.jpg

This prototype was made from the finest plywood Ecaudor and the big box store have to offer (crap)!!!! But i figured it was destine for the scrap heap anyway. The only big change i feel I will make is to make the top of the transoms wider than the bottoms. They seem to pull the sides in to far and open the bottom/side seam. Other than that I am pleased with the size and shape, now I just need to get some real plywood and start building.

Any suggestions on type of resin and hardener for these boxes, Remember fiberglass rookie,?
 
Hi, Shawn~

I use 6-ounce cloth and 1:3 epoxy from U. S. Composites. I normally get the medium cure but you may want the slow cure if working in summer temps.

I 'glass the sides AND double the 'glass over the chines (instead of using tape). I roll (foam roller) a coat of resin to saturate the wood then apply the cloth later the same day when the first coat is tacky but not wet. I saturate the cloth with the next coat then leave overnight to cure. A third coat is usually needed to fill the weave in the cloth. If you do it the next day you can probably avoid any sanding or grinding between coats. NOTE: If you try to fill the weave when the second coat has not cured, you run the risk of "floating" the cloth in a sea of resin. The goal should always be to use only as much resin as is necessary to get good adhesion to the wood and a well-saturated matrix of resin and 'glass.

I sacrifice the foam roller covers, a 3" chip brush and tray liners. Cleaning is usually not worth the effort or solvent. On the other hand, I use graduated quart containers for mixing the resin. You should have a few on hand but they can be reused once the resin cures by pulling it out - kind of the opposite of a crab shedding its shell.

Once the resin is fully cured - and leaving it outside in UV for a couple of days can be helpful - you'll need to wash it down with soap and warm water (and a ScotchBrite pad) to remove the amine blush before painting. If you need to do any grinding, a 50 or 60 grit on an orbital sander is one approach I use on small areas.

Interior needs just duckboat paint or deck stain.

Hope this helps!

SJS
 
thank you Steve I will let you know how it goes. I will be putting boxes together in the next couple of weeks, but very limited on shop space so not sure if I can make room to do more than one assembly at a time
 
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