Eastern NC SK-14

[BlackJack224]

Well good morning guys. LONG time lurker, and first time builder here. When I say long time, I mean I actually bought a set of plans for a Phantom 18 almost 10 years ago to the date. Life and work got in the way, and I was hesitant to take on a first time boat of that size. Got the bug again and think this SK-14 will fit my needs perfectly to get over the learning curve before moving onto something larger, and it should serve me well in the skinny coastal inshore waters that I fish (white oak river, bear island, queens creek, etc...). As my signature would indicate, I have a BlackJack 224 bay boat that I really enjoy, but even it's a little over-sized for some of the skinny fishing I enjoy. Not to mention a real PITA to keep clean, serviced, etc...My regular job is fairly demanding, so this won't be a speed-build, but hope to splash by June or so. I have a good friend helping me out, who will likely start a build right behind me, and he's a work-worker by trade and has helped me a lot already. I'm going to have a ton of questions, so bear with me! Special thanks to Doug and Mike on this forum. I've gotten a lot of ideas from you guys, and were the inspiration to take on this little boat. Likewise, thanks to all of the other contributors who'm I've already learned a ton from regarding building methods, tips and tricks, etc...

[BlackJack224]

[jacquesmm]

Very nice stitching job: just the right amount of stitches, not too many. That keeps the panels fair.

[BlackJack224]

JM,
Thanks for the compliment. However, I can't take much credit! I ordered the CNC kit, and the stitch holes were pre-drilled, so I simply assumed you and Jeff knew a lot more about stitch spacing than I did, so I used those holes. I did have to add a few to get the bow to come around. I had my doubts I would get it pulled up, but it did and looks nice.

A few questions for the group, some short term, and some down the road:
1. Most of the SK-14's I've seen have one or more storage hatches in the front, most notably Mike's work of art! Unless there is a reason I shouldn't, I'm strongly considering foaming both of the front compartments and just putting the cap on without hatches. I have more storage space on my BJ than I know what to do with, and I somehow always find a way to cram a bunch of crap in there that I never use. I was leaning heavily on a very large paddle board before I started this build (Bote Rackham 14 or Bote Rover). I would like to keep it simple, keep it uncluttered, easy to clean, and as light as possible (I'm 245ish myself). Also, I plan to "use" the skiff and not just put around on it. If I tear something up on an oyster rock, it will likely be the bow/nose. I think I'd prefer the full foam in the front.
2. Not a big deal, and simply making sure I'm not missing something. My kit as stitch holes pre-drilled around the full perimeter on the topside, where the rubrail will go. It's not a big deal, as the rub rail will cover them on the outside, and I can epoxy/fair them from the inside, but just wondering why they would be there to start with?
3. I have a ways to go before I choose a paint and paint color. However, I've read on several forums to stay away from dark colors. I understand all of the reasons (weave showing, hot and making stuff move around, shows flaws, etc...). However, my BlackJack is solid black and I think it would be cool to paint this little skiff black to match. With such little surface area on the sides of the skiff, would it really be a problem to paint it black? Bottom will be graphite/epoxy, and topside will likely be light grey or light tan, with SeaDek in lieu of traditional non-skid.
4. I manage a large industrial/custom fab shop (metal) so I have access to custom make accessories from aluminum, stainless, etc... I will design and fabricate an aluminum grab bar system and integrate tackle bag storage, "junk tray", rod holders, small cooler holder, etc... I am also considering a 5-gallon bucket holder with integrated rod racks, very similar to Bote's bucket rack they offer. If I were to design and fabricate this so that it screws down to the deck, and I intend on mounting it on the foredeck up front in lieu of a storage hatch, should I glue a doubler or cleats under that front deck piece to give more meat for the screws?
5. I've glued the transom and transom supports together and routed the edges, etc... Otherwise, nothing else is glued and no fillets installed, and everything is just stitched and/or dry fit. I used VERY small spots of hot glue to hold the stringers and framing in place. Is it ok to fillet over these spots, or should I scrape them off before filleting?

Sorry again for all of the questions, but I hope to do this right the first time!

[Dougster]

Good to see another SK14!

Question1: I have one small forward hatch and never have really used it. I agree, a lot of storage is not so important on this little guy. A small cooler and a bucket hold everything for a few hours of fishing and that's as long as I want to be in her. I use a little chair on an unanchored stand to sit. Standing I'd not last over a couple of hours for sure.

Question 2: Dunno about why the holes are there already but you would have drilled 'em anyway. I'd fill 'em all. I use little plastic syringes filled with thickened epoxy to do it quickly.They fair out easily enough.

Question 3: Dunno about black paint. The heat may lead to print through of the glass? Somebody else will know more.

Question 4: Yes, for sure put in a doubler anywhere you intend to put screws in the sole.

Question 5: Not sure, probably just fill over 'em if they're an inch or two, six inches, no.

Looks real nice so far, good luck on a June launch! Plans for power?

Dougster

[BlackJack224]

Dougster, thanks a lot for the quick reply and advice. I'll do some more research on the dark paint prior to committing to that route. My hot glue stitches are all less than an inch, and only in a couple places on each stringer/frame. It will be interesting to see how she handles the extra weight (myself and a slightly larger than recommended motor), but I ordered a new Tahatsu 9.8 last week for her. It was the lightest motor in it's class that I could find, not much heavier than the 8hp, yet quite a bit lighter than the 9.9.

[BlackJack224]

Good morning. Forgive my FTBB ignorance, but I've searched the forum and couldn't find a specific answer. Regarding priming surfaces with straight (neat) epoxy, must I let the epoxy dry prior gluing or making fillets?

[pee wee]

Good morning. Forgive my FTBB ignorance, but I've searched the forum and couldn't find a specific answer. Regarding priming surfaces with straight (neat) epoxy, must I let the epoxy dry prior gluing or making fillets?

No requirement to let it set up before going to the next step, as long as it's the same brand of epoxy. There may be times you want to let it firm up first, as wet epoxy will be slippery; let it get tacky or partially set if you want to.

[poleposition]

FWIW, I'm pretty sure this builder is in your neck of the woods and completed a SK-14...may be worth pm--ing him for additional advice.

https://forums.bateau2.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=61727

[BlackJack224]

Carved out a few hours over the weekend to get some work done. Was able to get the entire inside primed with neat epoxy, made all of my major fillets (seams that I planned to glass), and glassed the inside seams. Have to finish the fillets on the remainder of the seams, and onto cleats, rubrail, foam and sole.