One Man Duck Boat
Updated October 8, 2007
After
duck hunting with and without a boat I decided that I needed to have a duck
boat. After looking at buying a new/used or constructing a duck boat myself
I decided on building it. Next up is what style and size. I decided that
I would be the only one using the duck boat so I could get buy with a smaller
duck boat, plus smaller equals cheaper. I wanted to build it at 10 foot
but that would require using 10 foot plywood or joining to sheets together
so I went with 8 foot. Below is my progress for building a one man stitch
and glue plywood duck boat. The boat design was created by myself. I started
working with a scale model until the boat looked right. I had the bottom
two pieces of the hull designed on AutoCAD and then plotted full size. I
used this to loft the design onto the plywood. The remaining parts are cut
to fit. I have calculated the boat to handle a 5 horse outboard. You can
download the AutoCAD files here Plans.
This entire project could have been completed in less than one month but
life happens and it took three years. I think I finally finished it just
to be done. I have never built a boat before and it was a very good learning
experience. I already have plans to build a bigger boat. As for modifications
I went way over board on plywood and epoxy. I used 1/2" ply and almost
5 gallons of epoxy. If I were to do it over again I think I would use 1/4"
ply for a boat that is only 8 foot long and should be able to get by with
2-3 gallons of epoxy. By using 1/2" and extra epoxy the boat will last
a lifetime and could probably survive going over Niagara Falls. The only
draw back is that the boat is heavier. By using epoxy the plywood is completely
encased and does not allow water to penetrate. This will prevent the wood
from rotting. I also would use Okoume plywood for the next boat. From the
research I have read Okoume is very light and when covered with epoxy and
used in smaller boats is strong enough. Most of the extra epoxy went into
the joints. The thickness for joints should be about 75% the thickness of
the plywood. I probably went 200%. All said and done I am very happy with
the boat. It will outlive me.• #4 sandpaper
• Wire -16gauge - One roll
• Wood glue
• 1 inch x 8 inch x 4ft hardwood
• Wood screws - 1 box
• 2 inch x 2 inch x 8ft hardwood - 6 (railing, runner)
• 3/8 inch x 4ft x 8ft CDX plywood - 1 sheet (Deck)
• 5 gallons of epoxy
• 9oz solo cups
• Large stir sticks
• 4 inch fiberglass tape
• 50 inch Fiberglass cloth
• 38 inch Fiberglass cloth
• 5 pounds of sawdust
• 2 inch pain brushes
• 3 inch pain brush
• large putty knife
• 2 Quarts Paint
Below is my template that I used to mark the outline to cut. I printed and cut out the template and then traced the design onto the plywood. I am using 1/2" CDX plywood. 1/2" is the thickest you would want to go but it was on hand 3/8" would be optimal. The other pieces all have straight lines and can be measured and marked with a straight edge and a ruler. Here I am next to the finished hull bottom and sides. I have spent 1 1/2 hours of time to cut out the main parts.
This picture shows how I stitched the bottom of the hull. I started by drilling small holes 3/4" in and 3" apart and then sanding the front, back and edges to remove any slivers. Next I pre cut 200 10" stitches and then started to wire the two bottoms pieces together. Note I put a marker in the stitch to allow for some slack. When all the bottom stitches are done you can simply open the two bottoms. The extra slack in the stitches helps the process. I then wired the side panel on. Note I have the sides on the side edge of the bottom hull. This will allow you to pull the sides tight up against the hull to get the plywood to curve. I then cut the front and back from 1/2" CDX plywood. The front panel is positioned between the two sides and up against the front edge of the hull. Note on the top edge as the sides were. On the back I glued and screwed a 1"x8" hardwood board to the back bulkhead. This will give the rear some extra strength to hold the motor. You can see how the hull and sides fit around the back panel. I have spent about 10 hours to prep and wire the main frame.
Now with all of the duck boat parts assembled it is time for epoxy. I used Epoxy-Plus Marine Epoxy from Clarkcraft. The epoxy is mixed in a one to one ratio which is very easy to mix if you use dispensing pumps. Clarkcraft as supplies fiberglass tape and cloth. I ran a vacuum cleaner over the duck boat to remove any sawdust. I then taped the bottom seams to keep epoxy from running on the floor. I prepared all the supplies I would need to be ready at hand. Once you start to mix the epoxy you do not want to be short something. Supplies include two gallons of epoxy, 9oz solo cups, stir sticks, 4" fiberglass tape, 5 pounds of sawdust, epoxy hand pumps, paper towels, 3" paint roller, 1" paint brush, and large putty knife. I started with mixing the first batch of epoxy in the solo cups. The hand pumps work very nice they measure out the same 1:1 ratio needed. I stirred the two parts of epoxy 200 times and then began to apply the epoxy. I first coated the seams with the paintbrush and the bottom with the roller. After some use the roller gums up and starts to leave parts of the roller in the epoxy. I now just use the paint brush. You can see from the bellow picture I have coated the entire bottom and front. You also can see how the surface that has the epoxy looks very wet. I broke the bottom into 6 batches.
With the inside of theduck boat covered with epoxy and the seams filled with sawdust it is time for the bottom of the duck boat. First order is to remove the stiches. The prefered way is to heat the ends of the stiches and then pull them out completely. When the wire heats up it melts the epoxy around the wire an this allows you to pull it out. I started to use this meathod but I became impatient and simply cut then off at the edge. With this method you must sand the edge of the wire flat. This will eat up more sanding belts. With the stitches removed you must sand the bottom smooth. I used a belt sander for this job. Depending on how well you butted the plywood joints will determined how long this takes. I rounded the edges and then flatened the bottom. This will allow for the keelson to be attached. You can see the finished product ready for epoxy and fiberglass. First I applied the first coat of epoxy over the entire hull. Next you see the fiberglass being covered with epoxy. I started by cutting the two pieces of fiberglass out and laying them down on the hull. I then poured epoxy over the fiberglass and used a large plastic putty knife I worked the epoxy in. With the fiberglass applied I lightly sanded the surface in prepartaion for the third and final coat of epoxy. I have been curving the keel in a form for the last few months. The keel is temporarly bolted the keel down untill I epoxy it in place. With all the fiberglassing done and the third coat of epoxy applied two handles are bolted on the front and two handles on the back.
I have used Parker Duck Boat paint. The color is marsh grass green. I cut the paint by about 15% paint thinner and applied two coats.
Finished; No leaks!
For designing the boat myself it performs very well. I am able to lean over on all sides and the boat does not take on water. It drafts about 4-5" deep. Due to the flat stub nose I was able to get quite a lot of room in the boat. I go hunting with 2 dozen decoys and all the other miscellaneous gear with plenty of room for me. When you motor across the water the stub nose picks up enough so it does not plow and the boat moves very nice.
