Building The Phantom 16

[HiImNuts2]

Hi,
I have currently purchased a set of your plans to construct and build the Phantom 16 power boat. I have never built a stitch and Glue boat before (or any other boat for that matter) and have a few pre-start questions. My purpose for this boat is for fresh water use primarily fishing with my grand children and so I would like to modify the deck features of this boat more towards a bass boat design rather than a open cockpit design utilizing a center console. My question is, without reading through hundreds of posts, since one of the quality's of the Phantom 16 is it can be modified to just about anything in terms of deck design, has anyone ever modified the Phantom 16 for this purpose (Bass Boat Design) and are there any designs available for this task ?
Second Question. I have read and seen video on hull construction using plywood and the glue and stitch method, For a strong hull construction I had seen where a sandwich type (two pieces of plywood with a composite between them) is this the best way to build for hull strength ? Also, What is the best plywood material to build with ?
I would like to start gathering material well in advance of this project, If you could answer these questions it would be a great start. With the cash flow positive and the green light from the warden (my wife) I'm anxious to get started.
Thank You
David

[Fuzz]

Welcome Dave,
I can not answer your question about fitting out as a bass boat but I see no reason it can not be done. I am sure the experts will chime in soon. As far as making a tough hull goes, just follow the scedule on the plans. Your boat will be plenty strong enough for your use. Most of us end up over building and it is not needed 99% of the time.
Fuzz

[TomW1]

Hi David and welcome. You can modify the deck how ever you want once the frames and stringers are in place. The PH16 was designed with a tunnel but it can be left off to make construction easier. The tunnel doesn't had any thing to performance, but was added to increase draft a couple of inches. If you don't need to increase draft leave it off.

For you second question. All boats designed and built here use marine plywood sandwiched between an inside and outside layer of 12oz biaxial fiberglass. This results in a very strong boat. Also included is the inside framing that is fiberglassed to the hull and the deck that is epoxied to the frame and fiberglassed to the hull.

The best wood to use is marine plywood, either Okume or Merenti.

Tom

[swglenn]

Mark Ogre in Canada is building a Phantom 18 as a bass boat. Maybe you can get some ideas from his build. His thread is started under: http://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=21717

Good luck with your build.

[jacquesmm]

If you look at the pictures of the PH16 and PH18, you will see several that were customized as a bass boat:

and


Those boats have a flat deck and it is very easy do adapt them to the layout you want.

Yes, Tom is right: a sandwich is a core between layers of fiberglass, in this case the core is plywood. Not the other way around.

About the tunnel, that is the other way around: The PH16 and PH18 are not designed with a tunnel but many builders have added a tunnel.
I do not recommend a tunnel on those boats.

[jacquesmm]

For the materials, the plans specify Okume plywood but some have used Meranti or even Fir.
I prefer Okume.
To start, you need all the plywood and some epoxy fiberglass.
I usually recommend a "starter kit" made from 3 gallons of epoxy resin and 2 rolls of biaxial fiberglass tape plus 5 lbs of woodflour.
That allows you to assemble the complete hull, ready to flip.

For the plywood, the shipping charge may look like a lot but even shipping included, we often less expensive than local plywood.
Plus, there is a 10% discount when you buy 10 sheets or more.
And we do not sell cheap Chinese plywood. I hear more and more horror stories of plywood marked 1088 but that has layers of poplar inside! We only sell European plywood like Joubert, Rougier and Bruynzeel.

I am going to make this my signature:
"You can always replace a motor or electronics but you will be stuck with a cheaply built hull. Do not skimp on hull materials!"

[willg]

And we do not sell cheap Chinese plywood. I hear more and more horror stories of plywood marked 1088 but that has layers of poplar inside!

Ouch. Does anybody know about the marine ply marked "Dragon?" It's what I have bought through my local provider. It has the 1088 and 6566 stamps. Also has Chinese-style graphics. I have not noticed voids or other problems with it, but I doubt I'd be able to recognize poplar or other issues with it if present.

[jacquesmm]

Dragon is Indonesian not Chinese. It is a good quality plywood. We get all our Meranti from them since more than 10 years and never had a problem.
The problems I heard about were with Chinese Okume.
They call it Okume but it is only Okume outside.

[HiImNuts2]

All,
Thank You for the advise you have posted so far I really appreciated it, I just received my plans for the Phantom 16 today, 30/Apr/16 and I must say I'm rather lost looking at these drawings. I have purchased the recommended books to read to sort of get an idea of what I am intending to do here. In most of what I am reading the books all start with the same idealism about having a dream, the last guy I know that had a dream was shot so I am going to be very careful on how I approach this endeavor. I am currently amassing the tools I need of which most I already have. I have a dry heated and air conditioned working space and since I plan to get started hopefully by mid summer it should give me ample time to figure all these plans out. However, I will need some serious guidance on some if not all most of this.
I live in Massachusetts just over the Rhode Island line, Bristol Rhode Island is a boat building Mecca that is about a half hour from me but they mostly shoot fiberglass boats from molds and of course this is Stitch and Glue which I don't think they do much of, but they I'm sure would be handy to have around and I may have them shoot the finish on this creation.

Question 1: The stringers shown on the plans show they are 1/2" plywood with a template showing the angle or slope at the bow end but I don't see anything showing there length ?
Question 2: The transom is shown made from 1/2" plywood, should this be made thicker since its going to be supporting a 70 or 75 HP motor ? It just seems rather thin to me.
Question 3: I plan to have a 15 gallon fuel tank made for the boat and I also plan to have two 12 volt marine batteries, thinking center of gravity, where would be the best place to locate all this ? More Forward or Aft ?
And Last, Since I am wanting to build this more towards a bass boat design rather that a center console open hull design, How far from the transom to the first bulkhead can the measurement be ? I'm looking to have a two seat two console finish design with center access to the forward platform.
As I have said in a prior post I've never done anything like this ever before, I'm an electrical genius, so if any of you guys ever decide to build a High voltage utility sub-station in your back yard with megawatt generator support I can help you.
Thanking You All in advance
Be Well
Dave

[MarkOrge]

Hi Dave. Wow it was cool to say the least to get mention on someone else's thread - my build is a foam core PH18. Not much weight advantage and i pretty much did everything the hard way, but most of my fun has been designing it. My consoles are from a Champion, which were just trimmed and glassed in.

As for shooting the hull with a chopper gun - no reason to do it, and many reasons why not to. Stitch and glue using the instructions is as easy as it gets and the people on the forum are fantastic. If you do a search pretty much any question has been answered and there are no dumb questions if you have something new to ask.

If I can say one thing, be patient. Another thing I have done the hard way is re-doing things because I was not patient. If you look at the work that was done by the experienced guys you will see it is clean and neat - that helps.

Good luck !