Car Boat maiden voyage completed
Tue Jun 08, 2021 12:16 pm
Well, we survived... in fact the wee boat performed very well.
We took the boat out to Derryhick Lake on Saturday, nice fine day and very little wind. Christened it Junior II on account of its size (Junior is the dog!).
From the roof to in the water in about 10 minutes, took 7 minutes to get it back on including ratchet strapped in place.
Bit of experimentation going on, needed to be careful, so expect it can be done in 5 minutes up and down with practice.
Need a roller assembly for the rear of the car, anyone know of a supplier?
This is it during assembly: pressure treated timber, marine plywood and a lot of epoxy
This is it finally on the car:
A few comments on the American skiff design and adaptations made.
It is a bit skittish on account of its relatively narrow beam (3 feet). That will require a bit more testing without the teenagers on board.
Even with two adults and a teenager it rides remarkably high in the water. I calculated a load of 240 kilos, think this might be a bit conservative.
I am very pleased about how high it rides, as I put extra weight into it by using 1/2 inch marine ply for the base and extending the deadrise by 6 inches all the way around.
With just two paddles (2 hp 4 stroke outboard arriving shortly) it moves along at quite a clip once you get it started.
Staying in a straight line is not easy given there is no keel, so the paddlers need to work in unison (not a lot of that going on!).
Flat bottom looks like it will work very nicely for casting, ditto the 1/2 inch plywood seat covers.
Probably needs a rub rail along the top. Would have liked to put in structure to allow for oarlocks, as I reckon it would scoot along with proper oars.
Debating whether it needs a central runner on the bottom for protection. It has two detachable runners there already.
Launch point is sand and mud which is very nice, but that will not always be the case.
Probably needs a bit of a metal strip along the bow for further protection.
All in all extremely pleased. Lots of mistakes made (cut the aft section in the wrong direction for the grain!) but lots of lessons learned.
All I need now is a bigger garage...
We took the boat out to Derryhick Lake on Saturday, nice fine day and very little wind. Christened it Junior II on account of its size (Junior is the dog!).
From the roof to in the water in about 10 minutes, took 7 minutes to get it back on including ratchet strapped in place.
Bit of experimentation going on, needed to be careful, so expect it can be done in 5 minutes up and down with practice.
Need a roller assembly for the rear of the car, anyone know of a supplier?
This is it during assembly: pressure treated timber, marine plywood and a lot of epoxy
This is it finally on the car:
A few comments on the American skiff design and adaptations made.
It is a bit skittish on account of its relatively narrow beam (3 feet). That will require a bit more testing without the teenagers on board.
Even with two adults and a teenager it rides remarkably high in the water. I calculated a load of 240 kilos, think this might be a bit conservative.
I am very pleased about how high it rides, as I put extra weight into it by using 1/2 inch marine ply for the base and extending the deadrise by 6 inches all the way around.
With just two paddles (2 hp 4 stroke outboard arriving shortly) it moves along at quite a clip once you get it started.
Staying in a straight line is not easy given there is no keel, so the paddlers need to work in unison (not a lot of that going on!).
Flat bottom looks like it will work very nicely for casting, ditto the 1/2 inch plywood seat covers.
Probably needs a rub rail along the top. Would have liked to put in structure to allow for oarlocks, as I reckon it would scoot along with proper oars.
Debating whether it needs a central runner on the bottom for protection. It has two detachable runners there already.
Launch point is sand and mud which is very nice, but that will not always be the case.
Probably needs a bit of a metal strip along the bow for further protection.
All in all extremely pleased. Lots of mistakes made (cut the aft section in the wrong direction for the grain!) but lots of lessons learned.
All I need now is a bigger garage...
Re: Car Boat maiden voyage completed
Tue Jun 08, 2021 6:02 pm
Holy Bathtubs Batman! 
Well wear! That's an enjoyable project I'd say! I would reckon a central runner (a good sized one) would benefit on many levels. As a protection and also as a keel, the boat should track better in the water.
Well wear! That's an enjoyable project I'd say! I would reckon a central runner (a good sized one) would benefit on many levels. As a protection and also as a keel, the boat should track better in the water.
Re: Car Boat maiden voyage completed
Mon Jun 21, 2021 10:27 am
Took it out again with a 1.5 hp outboard (birthday gift) which will do very nicely if I can persuade them all to bugger off and let me do a bit of fishing!
A bigger engine would crush the waves a bit more, especially facing into the wind or quartering across them.
It's messy in a flat bottomed boat - just as well this one is as heavy as it is... the boat is ideal for two adults, which is what it was built for... but probably needs a 3 hp.
I'm not complaining, it was a nice surprise and it sure as hell beats paddling.
The boat will do very well when we load it into the rivers and onto the smaller lakes, which was the whole point.
The goods news is the boys now both have summer jobs. The bad news is I need one of them to help me load and upload the boat!
If anyone in Mayo want to do a bit of evening or weekend 'new lake' fishing, drop me a PM.
Jim, it's as you say, it needs a central runner, let's just say its a bit lively even on the relatively small waves generated on Derryhick, although it was getting into F4 yesterday at times.
On a related note, I met some people yesterday who
(a) did not have a single life jacket between them,
(b) did not have oars or paddles (or an auxiliary) and
(c) left their trailer submerged IN the boat ramp (grr!).
On top of which they took their 15 foot fiberglass round bottomed boat out into the middle of Derryhick in a F4 with four adults in it.
Had a quiet word, mentioned certain things several times, think it sank in (no pun intended) with the eldest son, not so sure about the dad!!!
Tight lines people...
A bigger engine would crush the waves a bit more, especially facing into the wind or quartering across them.
It's messy in a flat bottomed boat - just as well this one is as heavy as it is... the boat is ideal for two adults, which is what it was built for... but probably needs a 3 hp.
I'm not complaining, it was a nice surprise and it sure as hell beats paddling.
The boat will do very well when we load it into the rivers and onto the smaller lakes, which was the whole point.
The goods news is the boys now both have summer jobs. The bad news is I need one of them to help me load and upload the boat!
If anyone in Mayo want to do a bit of evening or weekend 'new lake' fishing, drop me a PM.
Jim, it's as you say, it needs a central runner, let's just say its a bit lively even on the relatively small waves generated on Derryhick, although it was getting into F4 yesterday at times.
On a related note, I met some people yesterday who
(a) did not have a single life jacket between them,
(b) did not have oars or paddles (or an auxiliary) and
(c) left their trailer submerged IN the boat ramp (grr!).
On top of which they took their 15 foot fiberglass round bottomed boat out into the middle of Derryhick in a F4 with four adults in it.
Had a quiet word, mentioned certain things several times, think it sank in (no pun intended) with the eldest son, not so sure about the dad!!!
Tight lines people...