Scull boat project--Done!

Jeff, forgot to mention that the handles at the transom are the same as on my boat. I wonder who made them. They are not cast, but seem more like tubing bent and braised onto a plate. Makes me think some one at Bath Iron works was doing some side jobs. I also hace a very nice sculling port maybe from the factory too. I'll send you some photos.
Frank
 
Frank
That's a built in wood shell holder - block of wood with holes drilled in it with a painted burlap cover. There are also blocks on the port side to hold a shotgun. Nice adders.

Scott
 
Well, almost done and ready to hunt, anyway. Paint is on, other than a little bit of touch up.

I have a full list of projects to improve the boat, starting with some floorboards, backboards, and installing a shelf and some kind of gun storage, but those can all wait. For now, it's time for a water test and then hunting.

Will post some photos over the weekend, then some hunt photos in a week or so when our season opens up.

Many, many thanks to all of you who offered advice and enouragement.
 
It was great watching the progress of that boat. You did a nice job. Me and my dad have built a few boats now and i regret not taking more pictures of the processes. We've built 2 sneeks, a skull boat and we're finishing up a layout boat right now. It's a hobby thats real easy to get into for the right type of person, and its hell for most (especially all that damn sanding!!!). Cant wait to see the finished product but if you anything like me, it'll never be totally done.
 
I had the boat out on Friday and again yesterday. Friday was a bit of fun, as I launched late in the afternoon after hunting elsewhere on foot in the morning. The idea was just to do a quick shake down cruise in preparation for a morning hunt from the boat. It turned out to be a good thing, as I broke the bronze shear pin on my little Tohatsu 3.5 horse about a mile from the boat launch. (Got home and searched posts here--believe the posts that say the bronze pin will break if you shift into gear at any speed above idle.)

Silver lining--the row back to the launch into a stiff headwind was pretty easy--this boat was clearly built to row. I can't scull a lick however--need to find someone to demonstrate and give me some tips.

After some work with a fine grinding bit on a Dremel tool I got what was left of the pin out of the shaft and replaced it.

Yesterday my wife and I took a much more leisurely trip, about half rowing and half with the motor, which seems to function just fine. I need to get a steel shear pin so I don't break one in the dark some place where it would matter. The boat rowed and motored even better with some weight in the bow. I'm going to need to get some sand bags or something for when I take it out solo. We were on a new-to-me lake and I think I located 3 or 4 spots worth hunting, including one corner that had a big flock of geese, who went back to the same spot even after we pushed them out of it. There was also a cove that is just a hop and a skip from the walk in marsh I hunted Friday, and that was full of ducks. (Now I know where they go when they fly out of our little pocket marsh.)

Anyway, the boat works great; I need to learn how to scull; and many thanks again for all the help.

There are pictures from yesterday in my camera, but we got home too late to download them last night. I'll get some up in a couple of days.
 
Great update. Not surprised on the shear pin. With respect to learning to scull - get Lou's instructional tape, it's how I learned. Donald tried to teach me but he was all "figure 8's & feel". Chit I'm an engineer, detail the stroke and what I'm trying to accomplish so I can understand it. Lou's tape did so for me, making it very easy to grasp and perform.

While you waiting for the tape/disc, a few basics:

Grasp the oar with the blade horizontal and 6" - 12" down below the surface of the water. Try stroking the oar back and forth keeping the blade horizontal. Nothing should happen, your effectively in neutral. To go forward you twist your hand and oar about so the leading edge of the blade in the direction of the stroke is about 15 degrees down, making the oar blade want to dig deeper into the water. At the end of the stroke rotate your hand and oar 30 degrees back so the oar blade's leading edge (now the other side) is again at 15 degrees down from horizontal, digging into the water. Repeat till your wrist gets tired ;^) The driving force comes from the oar blade digging into the water, and your hand resiting the dig. In other words the water pushed down on the blade, the oar shaft sits on the bottom of the hole in your transom, and downward pressure from your hand as it holds your end of the oar down. The resulting pressure on the hole (fulcrum) pushes the boat forward.

View attachment SCULL.jpg

To turn angle the blade to dig for half the stroke while returning with a level blade, repeat until your headed the desired direction and dig in on both strokes again. Try it it's not as complicated as it reads.

Play with the angle of attack and oar angle while keeping your hand below the coaming. Add a leather glove and a bit of Vaseline on the oar hole and your in business.

Enjoy!
Scott
 
Thanks Scott. As a lifelong canoe/kayak paddler, swimmer, and water polo player, I figured I could figure out how to scull with a long oar. Let's just say it doesn't work quite like hands and feet, and not at all like a 2-handed canoe or kayak paddle.

When you say Lou has a tape, does that imply I need to have a VCR? I'm not sure I could find one anymore . . .
 
It means I'm old! 10 years ago when I experienced Lou's video it was in tape format and I'm way too lazy to check what formats Lou has available today. The Video is fun to watch, unless it's been updated it was a less than professional grade, kind of a take a camera along while hunting. During a scull on birds the camera gets dropped, etc.. A good time seemed to be had by everyone involved.

Scott
 
Jeff, Ive been in Bowdoinham now for a week and a half. We'll leave next weekend. I finally stopped into the frontier here in Brunswick And thought I'd shoot you an Email address. If you email to the address I'll be able to get your phone number. frank@middletonboatworks.net Anyway, I've got the same boat as you and would like to see yours. My hunting has been good. today- three big ducks and 2 geese. many more teal, geese and mallards and blacks. pintail have been lucky, but have had some opportunities. I push or scull a lot, but did find a decent spot for decoy hunting and used a few I carved recently. I can show you how to scull, and put you with a man who still makes the merrymeetingbay gunning flolat and oars for when the time comes.
FRAnk
 
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