Fly Fish Nevada

Due to the fact that about half the hits on here are related to building my D4 Dinghy, the Otter, I have decided to try and post one episode a week complete with pictures and annotation (in green and bold).  If you miss a week, they will also be added to a dedicated page called, The Otter.  May you learn from my mistakes!

Introduction

I don’t know about you, but I am not Bill Gates.  Anymore, the cost of pontoon boats for fishing requires that you own a company listed on the Nasdaq exchange.  I, for one, wasn’t ready to fork over that kind of dough. (I did eventually.  Paid $1000 for a Dave Scadden Skykomish Sunrise) That’s when I ran across Bateau.com.  They have dozens of plans for building plywood stitch and glue boats.  They even have a free set for a 7’10″ pram called the D4. (Get them here) I went ahead and bought the plans and the epoxy kit for about $275 and the plywood cost about $75.  That’s about all you need, besides the tools (power saw, sander and drill).

I began by ordering the plans and the epoxy and flotation foam kit.  The epoxy covers the boat to keep the plywood safe from water and adds strength to the structure.  The kit also include fiber glass tape for the seams between the plywood panels, wood flour for building fillets and the flotation foam.  The foam is added beneath the seats and makes the boat unsinkable.

Once I was in my new house and had taken care of an infestation of moving boxes, I purchased the plywood, or rather tried to.  Apparently, A/B plywood in the thicknesses required has not made its way to Nevada.  Maybe the new Transcontinental Railroad will improve this situation when it is built…what they finished that about a hundred and fifty years ago?  Then what’s the #@%&* deal?  I  finally settled for some expensive 1/4″ oak plywood and some crappy 3/8″ Douglas fir rough faced siding.  I am guessing 3/8″ plywood is an endangered species east of the Sierras.  Nice!  Guess who gets to sand those smooth! (Big mistake, spend the dough to get quality wood.  If you aren’t sure, do a little research online.  Try the forums below)

I did, however use the forums at Bateau2.com and got some nice suggestions.  One was an outfit called Edensaw.com. (They sell plywood on Bateau.com also) They can get some really nice marine plywood to you for a reasonable cost.  A bit much for this little project but not to bad if you were building a bigger boat (luckily the D4 can be built with just about any decent plywood product). (I did not get a decent plywood product. Oak veneer paneling is not oak plywood!) Other suggestions included special ordering from your local home center/lumberyard and one I can’t mention on these family oriented pages (just kidding).

Next time, the building begins!!

Filed under: Building the Otter Tagged: | boat building, D4 Dingy, Otter