8' Cheap Canoe for Little Kids

[Capt UB]

This would be something to look at;

https://bateau.com/studyplans/D5_study.php?prod=D5

Also, check out the build threads on the D5.

[Fred in Wisc]

I'm making good progress on this, considering that it's in between remodeling the house, being real busy at my job, and keeping up with regular yardwork and kid stuff. Plus a guy has to fish some times- it's been 3-4 times a week this summer. Loving that.


Slotted rails are on. I used a little piece of walnut I had around the shop for some accents on that.







Ends filled with flotation (gotta keep my son above water, and I'm pretty confident he'll be pushing the limits and tipping this over some times). First I created the deck frame (the center one is raised a bit for cosmetics- it's pretty close to matching the angle of the rails. Then cut some blocks of blue Styrofoam, them used pour foam to lock it in place and seal up all the surfaces. Trimmed it off with a saw and an oscillating tool.

[Fred in Wisc]

Next up the decks. Used the remaining plywood from the one sheet I'd bought to form those. First cut to rough shape. did several test fits, had to trim the foam a bit more where it was too high and making them rock. I also marked and cut a slight curve ont he inboard ends, I think it looks way better than a straight line. Did a real detailed job on one of the 4 deck pieces, then used a router and flush trim bit to duplicate it on the other 3.



Realized my bulkheads were cut flat on the top. Glued in some little triangles so they can seal properly. The good part is those are under the overhang, so they won't show.


Precoated with straight epoxy the backs of the decks and the bonding surfaces on the center frame and rails, plus any exposed wood I could find. Mixed up a batch of wood flour putty and glued 'em on.

Clamping them down to keep eveything flat was interesting. The middle wanted to come up a little, so I got creative and clamped some scrap wood across the top to hold it down. then around the edges to eliminate gaps as much as I could. Left that set up for 2 days. Slow hardener in the basement (about 65 degrees ) doesn't set up very fast.





Once it was all set up, I trimmed off the edges with a router and flush trim bit. then went back and used a 3/8 radius bit to round off the top edge.





You can see the curve on the inboard side real well here.

Then I chopped off the points (having run into them far too many times in the shop already), rounded those off and radiused the top and bottom.




Precoated and filled the center deck seams.





Next up, some detail sanding, radius the corners on the hull exterior, and get the glass and resin back out. And, dang it, I forgot the bow and stern eyes for installing painter lines. that would have been easier with the interior accessible.

[Fred in Wisc]

Flipped it over, gave the bottom and sides a quick sanding, and rounded the edges, bow and stern.

I precut the cloth, figured out the folds for the bow and stern (they both overlap to get a double thickness in that high wear area).

I'm working from leftovers here, so it's not ideal. Ideal would have been 3" woven tape on the seams and 4 or 6oz cloth over it all. Working from short rolls and cutoffs meant that I did the whole thing in a heavier fabric, probably 9 or 10oz woven. We're on a budget here.

Starting to kick myself a bit for not stepping up and getting good plywood. This would have been a LOT lighter boat with 4mm marine plywood. And I could have just coated most of it and just taped the seams. Never underestimate the hassle a cheap guy will put himself through to save a buck...

This used about 22oz of mixed epoxy, that thick cloth and pine plywood sucked up quite a bit of it. I used up the last bit of slow hardener, cracked open the next oldest bottle and found that it's medium, so I had to hustle a little applying this. I did it in 3 batches. First batch was starting to gel by the time I got finished.

Used a bondo squeegee and a 2" chip brush to apply the epoxy. Was able to get the cloth to conform well enough to wrap the faces of the outer rubrails and the tips. Sweet.







Next, to flip it back over, finish the deck framing under the overhangs, and glass the decks, then we're ready for minimal fairing and painting.


I made the front deck overhang a few inches more than the rear, planning ahead that we may add a little sail rig up there some day. But not today. I've gotta get this finished. And I'm waiting for the right Craigslist deal to come along on a little mast and sail.

[Capt UB]

Looking great. How many have you made now?

[Fred in Wisc]

Second one solo. Also built 3 with my scouting kids at church. Plus a Swift Canoe, a little Hickman Sled and a paddle boat.

And I had 2 sheets of 4mm okume left from my Hickman build, that's already cut out for a cc14 kayak for myself. But the kids need boats first, I can use my cheap plastic one for a while yet.

BBV. It's a thing.......

[Capt UB]

[Dougster]

Wish I could do work that nice. I'm close to painting my little Cheap Canoe made from left over ply, glass, and fairing mix. It's not close to looking as good as yours, but sure has been fun. There's something about "making do" and scrounging around to put something together that's makes the project satisfying. BTW, I really like your slotted rub rail.

Dougster

[Fred in Wisc]

Thanks Dougster, but close up this sure ain't perfect. It's got a good 6 foot finish, and it isn't likely to get much better.

The slotted rail is probably my favorite part, I think those are nice looking, too. And I like that I can install the seatback and whatever other accessories just with some lashing.

It's going to get a pretty good sanding but only down to 60 grit on the parts that get painted, 120 or so on the bright finish parts. Minimal fairing and only in the painted areas, then a coat or 2 of high build primer, a quick block sand, and then my 5 year old gets to paint it "batman yellow". I picked up the paint a few days ago. I'll certainly be able to see him out on the lake.

I'll probably do the spar varnish, that stuff seems to never dry if it's not on real thin, and then I've got to make/get some batman logo stencils for the decks and maybe the sides.

Graphite bottom, I'm sure this is going to get dragged over all kinds of stuff it probably shouldn't.... And it's getting a skeg. Hoping to add a sail later, so probably a little bigger than normal one to help it track under sail. I'll trade a few inches of draft to give it better tracking since the hull is so short.

The combination of my limited fairing / painting skills and knowing that it's likely to get used roughly makes it impractical to try for a really nice finish. I've found that as long as it's shiny, and has some bright work accents, people think it looks better than it really does.

[Fred in Wisc]

I never put up launch pics. Shame on me.

After our first test launch, we determined that it didn't track well- way too "wiggly" when he paddled. I added a full length skeg about 1 1/4" tall. That made a huge difference. We added a backrest too.

It's still not painted- thinking it'll be spar varnish inside and bright yellow with black Batman logos on the outside. Xander is a big batman enthusiast, so this can be his "Batkayak"