Boat Builder Central - Builder Forums

Hello!
I'm starting a D5 project for the purpose of getting onto local lakes for flyfishing. I could just buy one of the pontoon boats that are so popular up here for less money than a project, but I'm just a "boat guy". I need to put the boat up on my Subaru wagon single handedly and carry it a little ways down to the lake.

I'm wondering if anyone has a good idea of what the D5 will weigh if built per plans in 4mm okoume or meranti? I can get those sheets for about $40 each locally. I saw that a guy built his (Stan?) in 4mm but it has been a while since he posted here so I don't know if he's still active, and unfortunately I don't think he posted his all-up weight. I suppose I'd like to know if it will be stiff enough, as well.

Thanks in advance!
Kurt

You may save 10 to 15 lbs, not more.
The biggest saving in weight comes from a good fiberglass work: use as little resin as possible.

Cascadie wrote:Hello!
I

I'm wondering if anyone has a good idea of what the D5 will weigh if built per plans in 4mm okoume or meranti? I can get those sheets for about $40 each locally.

Kurt

Okoume for 40.00 a sheet?? Where are you?? Best I found is 80.00 to 82.00 a sheet. Don

I don't think you can make the entire boat out of 4mm. But making the hull planks 4 mm and the rest of the pieces 6 mm should work. And, with careful use of epoxy you should get to a weight either side of 50 lb. If any of the 4 mm pieces aren't stiff enough you'd have to glue on cleats which would run the weight up and might not be as stiff as a more adequit piece of plywood. My D4 has two bulkheads, the seat tops and the mast deck in 6mm.
To keep control of the weight it's not abad idea to pile all the pieces onto a scale as you go. My D4 had a pile of components that weighed about 35 lb.
At this stage;
http://gallery.bateau2.com/displayimage ... =343&pos=1
it was 45lb. I put double glass on the rear transom seams in case I wanted to mount a small motor.
For a while I thought I might bring it in at less than 60 lb. but the last 5-7 lb. kind of snuck up on me. It was 63 lb. minus the hatches, oarlocks,etc.

Charley those are great photos, and thanks for the first-hand account!

I'm in central Oregon, and that quote was on the 4mm 3-ply. I'm leaning now toward 6mm though. I haven't priced that option yet. (by the way, I forgot to mention an extra $10 for shipping, but that's for the whole order)

I'm thinking of going a little different route, but I'll ask here first, since this forum is so wonderfully active! I have a fear that this little pram won't be as stable as I might like for standing and casting. Does anyone use their D5 for fishing like this and do you find it plenty stable? I'm wondering if flattening out the V toward the stern would benefit the stability.

Lastly, I've read where the current latex exterior paints are very tough. Would it be imprudent to simply paint (primer first) over the plywood, rather than coat in epoxy first and then paint?

Question leads to my favorite bateau photo (not mine).
I think he is flyfishing bonita in Pacific salt.
I'm to old to stand that well on concrete, but he could do it.
Depends on the skill of the fishing skipper.

You could probably do everything but the bottom out of 4mm just make the bottom out of 6mm for the strength it needs. But like Jacque says if you look at the Plywood store here and look at the weights there is not much difference in 4-6mm wood.

Tom

Would it be imprudent to simply paint (primer first) over the plywood, rather than coat in epoxy first and then paint?

Bad idea. Even with marine plywood, you must encapsulate the wood with epoxy or you will suffer from rot in too short of a time. Paint alone will not prevent it.

Epoxy is your friend! It may be somewhat expensive but there is no substitute. Nothing gets a better grip on wood either as a glue or as a coating. Once a hull is completely epoxied any paint or varnish just goes along for the ride.
Standing in a small boat is an athletic activity. Being able to do it in comfort depends on your personal abilties. I stand to lash or unlash my sail. I'm always hanging onto the mast. Standing that far forward levers the rear transom way out of the water.

I was thinking more from a weight savings standpoint than cost savings, but it would be much cheaper going all latex. This http://www.simplicityboats.com/latexcarnel.html is the article that got me thinking about the straight latex painting. See what you think, I'm still looking around. This boat will see probably four or five hours of freshwater at a time, then come home to a garage.

Now, I know that the epoxy finish will be tougher and last longer. I'm just looking for the lightest alternative. I could go all epoxy, but I've been around boatbuilding long enough to know that it's no fun sanding epoxy down to a smooth finish. Latex might need a bunch of sanding too, but at least I won't be exposing myself that much more to the possibility of a sensitivity to epoxy. Putting latex down over wood makes me nervous, too... that's why I wanted to see if you guys had any experience with it.

A picture is worth a thousand words, huh? Man that photo makes me want to get started today! Thanks for posting it. Funny thing - I grew up catching Bonito just off the coast of southern California out of Long Beach harbor, where they filmed the opening credits to Gilligan's Island. They were ridiculously plentiful then (1967?). I think the balancing won't be so much of an issue after seeing this. It's exactly the picture I have in my mind's eye, especially the bend rod.

Oh, and finally - I purchased the 6mm plywood, and he has some 4mm as well. As cheap as it is, I was thinking the exact same thing, to put the 6mm on the bottom and make the sides of 4mm. I just want it to be easy enough to throw on top of the car after a couple hours of fishing and rowing.

Hopefully before too long, I'll have some photo's of progress!