One of the most common materials for building a boat with your own hands is fiberglass. Using such raw materials, you can independently construct a boat quite large sizes: from 7.5 to 18 m in length.
General information
One of the most common models of boats made from fiberglass material is the WaveRunner-285 boat. It is considered a full-fledged planing vessel, which is quite suitable for walking on the sea or tourism. The ship, which is characterized by the fact that it has an increased freeboard, as well as a fairly large width, is also convenient in that its bow can accommodate a comfortable salon with an adjacent toilet and galley. In the stern of the boat, you can make a double cabin with your own hands, the location of which will be located strictly under the cockpit. The unit control department will be located above the engine compartment, and it will also be protected from wind and water splashes by inclined glass.
Boat power
When equipping a boat with your own hands, you need to consider which engine will be installed on it later. This particular model is designed to install either one or two motors. However, it is important to consider here that the total power for the normal functioning of the facility should be in the range from 250 to 500 hp. With. They must also have a direct reverse gearbox, which will allow them to reach a speed of 15-30 knots, which in km/h ranges from 28 to 56. In addition, the vessel may also have propulsion systems or additional outboard motors.
It is worth noting that building a boat with your own hands saves from 50 to 75% of material resources from the amount that would have been spent if the unit had been purchased at a shipyard and not built independently. It is also worth noting that the given technology for building a small vessel is not the last word in shipbuilding. This is just a practice-tested, established method that will allow you to construct an acceptable fiberglass boat with your own hands.
Start of work
Starting the construction of a small fiberglass boat is no different from building from any other material. The first step is to lay out the theoretical frames, as well as the contour of the stem, on a plywood panel or on a sheet of cardboard. The breakdown should be carried out in the actual size of these parts.
It is also important to note that the board or plaza on which the layout is made must have a width corresponding to the width of the boat, plus 300 mm. The height of this object must be 400 mm higher than the expected height of the housing. Experts recommend first creating drawings of the boats, on which all the necessary parts will be marked with dimensions. This is done in order to avoid mistakes during the manufacturing process.
One more important detail- the upper ends of all frames must be extended to the height that is shown as a horizontal line on the plaza. It is perpendicular to the DP line and is called the Shergel line.
Assembling patterns
When carrying out work on plasma marking of patterns, it is very important to take into account factors such as the thickness of the slats and the thickness of the sheet metal that will be used as lining of the inner surface of the matrix. In other words, when drawing up a drawing of a boat and subsequent assembly, it is necessary to set aside from the theoretical line of each of the frames the distance inward that will correspond to the total thickness of the slats and sheet metal. It is this marking option that should be used when cutting out patterns and their further assembly.
The individual parts of the transverse patterns must be connected using materials such as linings and brackets made from pieces of plywood with a thickness of 8 to 10 mm. This indicator is suitable for a boat whose length will be around 10 m. It is best to glue the linings to the patterns, and then additionally screw them with screws or nail them.
How to make a boat: plating and matrix
Next, before assembling the existing patterns into a matrix, it is necessary to attend to the creation of the outer cladding of the structure. In order to create the most comfortable conditions When working with the outer skin of a boat, it is necessary to provide a part that ensures the tilt of the matrix on both sides of the ship.
If you do everything correctly, you will be able to work while standing on the floor next to the workpieces. The matrix itself, in any case, must have a very strong and rigid structure. This is necessary so that during the construction of the unit the shape of its body is not distorted.
How to make a boat with a strong matrix? Large structures are assembled from longitudinal beams, which will represent the horizontal base of the boat. Inside the resulting frame, it is necessary to install walkways that will facilitate the work of gluing the body. After the longitudinal bars, which are the base of the matrix, have been installed, the future position of all the patterns is marked on them, and the steel wire along the beams, which will be a string indicating the DP of the vessel.
Installation of patterns
It is recommended to start the process of installing blanks from the midship frame. Before securely fastening this element, it is very important to make sure that the pattern is strictly vertical and perpendicular to the DP. It is attached to the beams that serve as the base. After all the other workpieces have been mounted, the stand located in the transom DP has been installed, and all the elements have been braced with braces to avoid any movement, you can proceed to the stage of covering the inner surface of the matrix using longitudinal slats.
To perform this task, material with a thickness of 12 to 15 mm and a width of 50 mm is most often used. To equip the bottom of the boat, it is better to use slats with the same thickness, but greater width - up to 100 mm.
Aluminum water boat
Low cost starting materials, as well as lathes, led to the fact that many owners decided to independently manufacture certain parts and elements from metal. It is believed that the production of aluminum boats is one of the the most complex tasks, which is practically impossible, but at the factory they are created without difficulty, since they have special tools for this. However, this is not so.
The most difficult thing in making this type of boat yourself is making its pattern from metal. This term refers to the marking of exactly how it is necessary to cut out the necessary parts from aluminum.
When making such a unit from metal, the whole process comes down to assembling a kind of construction set. This is true if the blanks are not cut out yourself, since this still requires a lot of skill and high-precision equipment, but a computerized model of the boat is purchased. Yes, the cost of such a model will also be quite high, but if you compare it with buying a ready-made vessel, you will see significant savings.
High-speed small craft
Another option for a vessel that you can make yourself is a speedboat. A rather important part in the construction of this type of unit is the choice of engine and its location. This part can be placed in the cockpit of the vessel, and the part that will protrude can be covered with a hood.
This definition of the place was not chosen by chance. It will expand the range of devices suitable for installation. You can use engines from cars such as Zhiguli or Volga. In addition to these models, it is quite possible to install a diesel engine from a tractor. However, this is only possible if additional hot air removal is provided. You can use a fake chimney for this.
Air-cooled engines can also be installed. Since a high-speed boat must have good stability when moving quickly through the water, it is recommended to place this part closer to the center of gravity of the entire vessel. The greater weight of the engine will give greater stability to the entire structure.
Not everyone will be able to purchase a ready-made boat, since the prices are very steep. In addition, not all designs meet the needs of different clients. If you take inflatable boats, then these are not very reliable models, since they can easily be damaged in difficult conditions. This means that they are not very reliable. In such cases, a decision is made to make a boat with your own hands from plywood. The construction of a small craft begins with sketches, which are then transformed into very professional drawings.
This exciting process and it is only possible for those fishermen who are in constant creative search. In addition, building a boat is a factor of self-affirmation. But if you look at the process seriously, then there is nothing complicated.
A small craft that can take 2-3 fishermen on board and has no heavy weight, can be easily made from plywood, as one of the most affordable building materials. Moreover, the boat can move both with the help of oars and with the help of outboard motor or sails. This does not require special vocational training, which is quite feasible even for beginners.
Plywood is a strong enough material to build a small boat, not to mention expensive yachts, where plywood is also widely used in their manufacture. In addition, it is easy to process using electrical or manual tools.
In addition, if you install a motor on such a boat, it can develop a respectable speed with good performance characteristics. In addition, a plywood boat is much more reliable than an inflatable boat.
Materials and tools
Firstly, you will have to select an appropriately sized room where the boat could freely fit. It is advisable that the room be heated, since all work can take place in winter. In the summer, it’s unlikely that anyone will start building a boat: in the summer you already need to sail on it. Moreover, the room must be ventilated, with the ability to maintain optimal temperature regime. Since you will have to work with wood, the humidity must be optimal.
To draw a diagram, you need to have:
- drawing supplies;
- pencils;
- elastic bands;
- patterns;
- rulers and triangles;
- line;
- cardboard and drawing paper;
- paper glue;
- calculator.
At the construction stage you will need:
- jigsaw;
- hammer;
- axe;
- clamps (up to 10 pieces, no less);
- brushes, spatulas (metal and rubber);
- screwdriver;
- electric and manual plane;
- screwdrivers;
- chisels;
- stapler;
- circular and hand saw.
Materials for manufacturing can be:
- plywood (sheet 1.5x1.5 meters), thickness 4-5 mm;
- pine or oak boards;
- fiberglass for covering the boat hull;
- putty for filling cracks;
- waterproof glue;
- drying oil or water-repellent impregnation for wood;
- oil paint or waterproof enamel;
- nails, screws, self-tapping screws;
- metal strip, metal for various fasteners.
Main dimensions of the boat
If you use plywood with a thickness of 5 mm, then its optimal dimensions will be:
- The total length of the craft is 4.5 meters.
- The width of the craft (at its widest point) is 1.05 m.
- The depth of the boat is 0.4 meters.
What is the boat made of?
The boat consists of a key element - the keel, which serves as the base and to which other elements of the boat are attached. The bow of the boat is called the stem and with reverse side there is a sternpost. With the help of these components, the boat is given longitudinal rigidity. Such structural parts can be made from a single piece of wood or individual components connected by gluing, as well as nailed or twisted with screws.
The shape of the hull is determined by the presence of transverse load-bearing elements called frames. The planks connected to the frames, stem and stern post form the sides of the boat.
If you cover this frame with plywood, you will get a boat. A deck is laid inside the boat, which is the lower deck, to protect the bottom of the boat.
Plywood boats for motors
Motor boats are not particularly different in their design considerations compared to boats designed to be propelled by oars or sail. The only difference is in the organization of the place for mounting the engine. As a rule, a transom board is attached to the stern, where the outboard motor is installed.
Certain designs of small vessels are equipped with other elements, such as a cockpit, deck stringers, side stringers, etc. To improve stability and unsinkability, special gaps are provided in the craft, which are filled polyurethane foam. This approach eliminates the possibility of flooding the boat if it capsizes.
Working drawings of the boat
All work on building a boat begins with drawings, which must be drawn up professionally. If this is not possible, then you can turn to the Internet for help, where you can find ready-made drawings. The main thing is that they correspond to the basic imaginations. But even here you need to be careful not to miss the main stages of assembling the boat and making additional components.
As a rule, most drawings are drawn on graph paper. This will make it possible to calculate in detail all the structural components.
A large sketch of the drawing can be drawn using the following algorithm:
- A line is drawn that conditionally divides the boat into two parts. This takes into account the fact that the two parts, left and right, must be symmetrical and absolutely identical.
- The drawn line is divided into several equal segments. Subsequently, frames will be installed in these areas.
- Both a vertical display and a top projection are drawn.
- The shapes of the frames are drawn using the transverse marks.
- The main dimensions of all components are checked to scale.
- The shape of the frames is drawn on a scale of 1:1 on cardboard or thick paper.
- Flexible lines of the boat shape are drawn using a ruler or pattern.
The resulting drawing is folded along the drawn line to check for symmetry. Both parts must flawlessly repeat each other.
Transferring a design to a wooden piece
After once again checking the drawings for correctness, they are transferred to cardboard. Thick and rigid paper will make it easier to transfer the drawings to the workpieces. The drawing is transferred to the workpiece, taking into account all the contours and contours exactly as it was drawn, without all kinds of overlaps, reductions and increases in size.
When copying designs, take into account the direction of the wood grain. In this case, it all depends on the design of the boat elements. If the element is made of plywood, then the plywood layers themselves are arranged in such a way that the fibers of each subsequent layer are perpendicular to the previous layer.
As for making futoxas, they can be made larger in height, since they can then be trimmed.
Technological stages of production
To build a plywood boat with your own hands, you need to follow these steps:
- transfer the drawing to the template;
- transfer drawings from templates to wood;
- install the keel and secure the stem;
- secure the frames;
- secure the sternpost and transom board (for the motor);
- cover the bottom with plywood;
- trim the sides;
- seal joints and stringers;
- putty and paint the boat hull.
Boat hull
The frame of the boat and its hull are assembled from prepared parts. The assembly process must be carried out carefully and carefully, in all planes.
The frames are first pre-attached to the keel and only after the next inspection are they finally secured. Moreover, the fastening must be reliable, since the boat will have to be turned over before covering it with plywood.
Assembling the inner contour of the futox
The strength of the structure, including the sides, depends on how securely the footoxes are fastened. Futoxes are an integral part of the frame structure, which consists of a floor timber and two futoxes.
Floor timber is the lower part of the frame, which is designed to be attached to the keel. Futoxes are the side parts of the frames to which the sides of the boat are attached. The places where the futox and flortimber are attached are structurally made somewhat wider, which increases the stability of the entire structure. This is especially important for watercraft where engines will be installed, which increase the load on the structure in general and during movement in particular.
Material for stem
The stem has a complex shape, which is due to the loads acting on it during the movement of the boat. One of the most suitable materials oak can be used to make it, but, in extreme cases, elm can also be used.
You will be lucky if you can find a piece of suitable wood that has a natural bend. If this is not possible, then the stem can be made from individual elements using the gluing method. If you want to have a solid structure, then you need to take an ax and other tools and cut it out according to the shape of the boat.
Keel design
The keel is the simplest component of the boat design, and is a typical board, 25-30 mm thick and 3.5 m long.
Side boards
To do this, choose healthy, smooth and knot-free boards, 150 mm wide and up to 5 m long.
Making a transom
The transom is intended for mounting a boat motor. The transom board should be 25 mm thick. If plywood is used, it is better to glue several layers together so that you end up with a suitable thickness (20-25 mm). The base for mounting the motor must be rigid, so its thickness should not be less than 20 mm. If necessary, the transom board is reinforced on top with a wooden block. In this case, it all depends on the method of mounting the outboard motor.
Making a boat frame
The frame is assembled in the following sequence:
- the keel is installed;
- stems are installed;
- the installation locations of the frames are marked;
- installation of frames;
- fastening frames, stems and transom to the side boards;
- checking the correct installation of all elements before their final fastening;
- It is advisable to treat the joints of structural elements with a waterproof compound or drying oil.
Sheathing a boat with plywood
According to the working drawing, blanks are cut out of plywood for sheathing the boat's hull.
Subsequently:
- the frame of the boat capsizes upside down;
- all surfaces of the keel and frames are treated with emery cloth and made absolutely smooth;
- the parts of the bottom of the boat are installed in their place and secured with a stapler, after which the fastening points are pierced with nails;
- The side skin elements are first tried on, and then fastened in the same way as when fastening the bottom;
- When gluing workpieces, you should pay attention to the direction of the fibers of the outer layer of plywood. They should be located along, not across, the boat.
Working with glue
Work with glue is aimed at obtaining a durable structure, and, if necessary, filling seams or cracks with it. When working with plywood, all joints between the workpiece and the keel and frames are glued. After punching with nails, the areas connecting the plywood with the load-bearing elements are filled with glue if they do not fit tightly.
To improve the strength and performance of the craft, the plywood sheathing is covered with fiberglass. Similar protection wooden structure increases the durability of the boat. The fiberglass fabric is evenly distributed along the plane of the skin, while folds or the appearance of bubbles are not desirable, which indicates bad quality work. The fabric is glued from the keel, towards the side boards.
Painting
As soon as the surface of the boat has dried well, proceed to the next stage - puttying and painting. Ready-made putty mixtures on an artificial basis are ideal. The boat is painted in two stages: first, a primer layer is applied, and then one or two layers of paint.
Registration of a watercraft
To register a boat of your own making, you must provide the following documents to the State Inspectorate for Small Boats:
- passport;
- individual taxpayer number;
- A certificate of initial technical examination of the watercraft agreed and signed by the inspector with a conclusion on its suitability for operation;
- settlement receipts for materials that were used in the construction process;
- receipts for payment of state registration fees;
Specialized stores offer a fairly large number of boats designed for fishing or tourism. You can find products on sale various forms and sizes, but drawings of plywood motor boats that are in open access, allow you to make such a vessel with your own hands literally from scratch.
So why don’t you try your hand and build a boat with your own hands from plywood; you will find drawings and all the recommendations for construction in this article.
If you still doubt the advisability of using a material such as plywood for boat construction, check out its main advantages.
Advantages of plywood sheets:
- A boat made of plywood, the drawings and patterns of which are made correctly, will have a very light, but at the same time quite durable structure, because laminated veneer has much less weight than solid wood.
- The structure will have excellent stability because plywood sheets have clear geometric proportions, allowing for impeccable installation.
- Low purchase costs necessary materials, namely: plywood boards, specialized adhesive composition, boards, compositions for priming.
Pay attention! Any person with at least basic carpentry skills will need no more than one or a day and a half to make a boat from plywood with their own hands; a drawing with patterns can be purchased in a store or drawn up independently using our recommendations.
Selection of tools and materials
The modern market provides customers with a huge selection of specialized varnish and adhesive compositions, all kinds of impregnations designed for working with plywood products. To make a boat from this material you do not need to look for special tools and devices.
The list of necessities includes:
- Plywood boards. Birch plywood, the thickness of which is 0.5 cm, is suitable for the structure; for the manufacture of the keel and frames you will need thick slabs of about 1.2-1.5 cm.
- Wood used to install internal spacers and work on boat sides and seats. It is best if you buy edged boards made from light wood, such as pine or spruce. However, each of these materials has its own characteristics. For example, spruce has a higher water resistance rating than pine and its wood appears whiter, so it is most often used for sheathing. But spruce boards also have their drawbacks; they can split as a result of hammering nails.
- Material for seam fastening of individual cladding parts. The material used is flexible thin wire, plastic clamps, thick nylon fishing line, etc.
- An adhesive composition used to seal seams. Experts recommend using compositions based on polymer resins.
- Specialized impregnation and varnish compositions for wood protection.
- Fiberglass used as a protective material for seams.
- Waterproof dye.
Pay attention! To make a boat with your own hands, purchase only high-quality materials. Plywood should not have any damage or defects on its surface that could affect the reliability of your product. Purchase cost quality material much higher, but safety is much more important.
Tools:
- a saw designed for working with wooden surfaces;
- jigsaw and a set of blades for it;
- grinder;
- hammer;
- fixing clamps for securing plywood during installation;
- varnishing and coloring compositions, as well as brushes for their application.
Initial stage of work: drawing up drawings
If you have not yet decided how to make a boat from plywood, drawings play an important role in this matter, so you need to start the process of making your product with them.
The first thing your drawing of a plywood boat should take into account is the features of the future vessel. Do not forget to indicate for yourself what purposes your vessel will be used for. For example, do you want to make a boat that has a flat bottom for fishing or do you want to design a motorized vessel for tourism.
Pay attention! In this article you can find ready-made drawings of boats for self-building from plywood with different design features. You can use these options to avoid making mistakes in your calculations.
If you did not find the option you need among the presented samples, then you can try to design the vessel according to your own scheme. So that as a result of your labors you do not end up with decorative option vessel, which is simply impossible to fully operate, place the main emphasis in your calculations on the carrying capacity.
Studying existing projects that have been successfully implemented will help you navigate the first stage.
You can use the drawings and videos presented here to make a plywood boat with your own hands. This video review examines the manufacturing technology simplest design, which even a beginner can handle.
After you have selected the appropriate version of the boat, you need to transfer the contours of its main parts onto paper. To make it more convenient for you to work with plywood after this, you can make a paper template.
All the most important parameters of the boat should be included in the drawing:
- product size;
- width;
- height of the structure;
- shape of the main parts.
The design of the boat hull may seem complicated at first glance, but if you follow all the recommendations, the result will not be long in coming.
Execution technology:
- Using a saw or jigsaw, complete all the design details according to your drawing. The permissible error in dimensions is 1 mm, otherwise you will end up with inconsistencies in parts during assembly.
- The parts of the rear side and frames are glued together to provide the structure with the required level of strength and thickness. Despite the fact that these elements will have a lot of weight after gluing, this fact will not affect the quality of the design you are performing.
- To make the connections holding the transoms and frames very strong, you can use fastening elements, such as self-tapping screws. It is very important to calculate their length: the fastening element must fully connect the parts, but not pass through them. The surface of the screws must be galvanized or tinned. The parameters of the screws required for the work are 3x25 mm and 2x18 mm; for the seats, stern and sides, 5x60 mm and 4x60 mm self-tapping screws are used.
- To make your work easier, make goats from 5x5 cm beams. During the installation process, it will be more convenient to place the transom on them.
- The sides and bottom of the structure are attached to the transom so that they meet each other at the bow.
- If you are using not very thick plywood, then all the cladding parts can be fixed using joint material or adhesive. If you use glue, the edges of the parts where the joint area will be located must be cut at an angle.
- Make sure that all parts of the boat match each other in size. If you need to reduce the gap, you will have to re-disassemble the structure and trim the frames in some places.
- In those designs where the presence of a motor is provided, the transom must be glued using fiberglass and strengthened by fastening boards made of hard wood.
Upon completion of the rough assembly, all parts are glued and fixed. When the adhesive composition has completely dried, the surface of the boat should be degreased, impregnated with a composition intended for treating boats, the unevenness should be filled, applied with hot drying oil and covered with a coloring composition.
All photos from the article
The modern market provides quite large selection various tourist and fishing boats. But for our man, a homemade plywood boat is much closer. And the point here is not even about saving money; a boat made by yourself is a source of pride, plus the whole process of self-production is not so much a job as an interesting hobby. In this article we will look at the main stages of assembling such products.
A few words about preparation
Homemade boats made of plywood and fiberglass are considered, although small, but full-fledged watercraft. Therefore, the preparation and assembly process must be approached responsibly. After all, by and large, mistakes here can not only lead to damage to the vessel, but also in some cases endanger the life and health of the owner.
What materials are needed
- As the name suggests, the main material here is, of course, plywood.. For body small boat sheets no lower than first or second grade, about 5–7 mm thick, are suitable. For the keel, frames and other auxiliary structural parts, you need to take a thicker sheet, from 12 mm and above;
- The grade of material is not the least important.. The choice of plywood is now quite large, but in this case the material will be in long-term direct contact with fresh or even sea water, naturally, plywood must be taken with increased moisture resistance. Ideally, it is better to take the FB brand; it was originally made for ship needs. If the price for “FB” does not suit you, then you can stop at “FSF”;
Advice: the now widespread brand “FC” may be listed in some sources as waterproof.
But in our case it is not suitable; here we need a material with increased moisture resistance, plus one that can withstand prolonged exposure to an aggressive environment.
- Clean wood will be used for struts, seats and other elements. As a rule, planed boards with a thickness of 25 mm are taken here. In this case, preference should be given to soft, porous varieties. In professional shipbuilding, larch is used, but for a small boat spruce or pine is sufficient;
- Copper wire with a thickness of about 2 mm is well suited for intermediate stitching of sheets.;
- Fiberglass and polymer glue are used to create sealed seams. Nowadays it is not difficult to choose the type of adhesive composition; there is quite a large selection on the market, the main thing is that the composition is waterproof.
Tool selection
Homemade plywood boats for fishing do not require an excessively large set of tools.
Here you can get by with a traditional kit, which is available in the workshop of almost any owner:
- In addition to pliers, screwdrivers and scissors, you will naturally need a hacksaw;
- Cutting plywood with a regular hand saw is quite difficult, so it is better to purchase it with a set of blades. Moreover, you should select a model with as many a large number rpm, since at low rpm the veneer along the edge will break off;
- For such work you definitely need a grinding machine. With ordinary sandpaper, by hand, you will not be able to achieve good quality processing;
- To secure the sheets when gluing, clamps are used; there should be at least 3–4 of them;
- A set of brushes is needed for applying glue and paints.
Boat construction
In this case, it is not so important which type of boat you choose. Whether punts, kayaks, sailboats or boats with a motor, the construction instructions for all of these models are approximately the same.
Let's start with drawings
Nowadays it’s not a problem to find drawings of a homemade plywood boat. There is enough information on the Internet or in specialized literature. You only need to decide on the size of the vessel, because the thickness of the sheets depends on this. If you don’t yet have the proper experience in such work, it’s better to stick to simple, non-separable models.
Experienced craftsmen do not recommend designing a boat yourself. But if you still decide to undertake such a feat of labor, you need to start with a careful calculation of the displacement and carrying capacity of the vessel. So that after you launch and try to swim, your product does not immediately go to the bottom along with the owner.
Important: drawings homemade boats made of plywood for a motor, they are not much different from pure oar analogues.
As a rule, in these vessels the transom (rear side) is slightly modified.
Therefore, regardless of whether you have at the moment motor, it is better to immediately give preference to just such boats.
So, when you have found a model that is suitable for you, before moving on to the actual production of parts and assemblies, you need to make paper patterns according to the drawings. And only after checking all the dimensions, transfer the pattern to plywood or wood.
Housing assembly
The maximum length of a standard sheet is about 3 m. Therefore, in most cases, you will need to splice two or more small sheets into a single sheet. This is a simple, but rather painstaking process that requires precision and accuracy. Such a connection among professionals is called miter gluing.
To do this, take 2 sheets and cut them along the edge at an angle; the width of such a bevel should be at least 7 times the thickness of the sheet. How larger area contact, the stronger the connection. The main mass is removed with a file, then with a machine until it is in perfect condition. Next, the bevels are smeared with glue, connected and pressed with something heavy until completely dry.
Advice: assembling and gluing such structures on the floor is extremely inconvenient, so it is advisable to immediately build trestles from wooden block 50x50 mm.
Keep in mind that you will have to handle both sides of the boat, so the sawhorses must be adjusted to accommodate this.
Probably every fishing enthusiast has at least once thought about how to make a homemade boat. This is not an easy task, but it is still possible to make such a watercraft.
Moreover, you don’t have to be an engineer; all that is required of you is a few hours of free time. You will learn how homemade plywood boats are made from our article today.
Manufacturing difficulties
Is it really difficult to make such a design with a minimum set of tools? As practice shows, even with such equipment, homemade inflatable boat(or plywood) is done easily in 3-4 hours. Due to the fact that all this work requires a minimum of time, you can make a boat even in the open air. Well, if the weather changes, you can always cover it with a tarpaulin or a piece of plastic film.
Why are they good?
Firstly, plywood is light, durable and quite warm material. It is almost impossible to kill such a boat, and it does not weigh too much. Secondly, unlike rubber analogues, the space in a plywood boat is enough for several people (at the same time, inside, between the seats, you can fit all the necessary fishing tackle). In store options, there is a catastrophic lack of free space.
Thirdly, being in a wooden boat, you don’t feel any discomfort at all.
Preparation of materials
The main material from which homemade boats are made is plywood. There are no difficulties in finding it on the market. Plywood is perhaps the most accessible and cheapest material for such work. And it’s very convenient to work with her.
Let's get down to business
First of all, I would like to note that any work related to self-production any means (be it a tractor or something else, it doesn’t matter) must be carried out clearly according to a given scheme. In this case, you should have drawings of homemade boats on hand. In some cases, drawings can be replaced with a sketch drawing.
So, how are they made? To assemble the body, you will need to prepare dry boards 2.5 centimeters thick and a 6 mm sheet of plywood. The width of the boards for the stern and sides should be 30.5 centimeters. This is the most optimal sizes for a fishing boat. All other elements that are inside the structure (seats and spacers) are made from boards 2.5 centimeters wide. Moreover, the length of these parts is 86.4 centimeters. It must be taken into account that the dimensions of all these elements must be precisely maintained, since they are all attached to the boat hull only with self-tapping screws.
The manufacture of all parts and elements of this design does not cause any difficulties or difficulties. This is due to their simple geometric shape.
During the work special attention Pay attention to adjusting the mating surfaces and trimming the boat. All joining edges must be carefully adjusted and have minimal gaps along their entire length. Either tinned or galvanized self-tapping screws are used as fastening elements. As for the dimensions of these fasteners, depending on the place of application, they can be as follows:
The bottom of the boat is made of a sheet of plywood 6 millimeters thick. But, since this part of the boat will be constantly exposed to water, to make the boat waterproof, additionally treat the joints of the hull and the bottom with VIAM-B/3 type glue and secure it with screws along the entire perimeter. If such a product is not available (“VIAM-B/3”), oil paint is quite suitable as an alternative. Although it does not have good adhesive properties and characteristics, it nevertheless provides a durable and waterproof coating. It is worth noting that the distance between the screws should be about 4 centimeters. External seams should be carefully taped with canvas or percale using AK-20. In order not to sink the bottom of the boat, a slatted grid is installed between the spacers (the cross section of the slats is 5x2 centimeters).
The resulting liquid should be diluted with clean drying oil. In this case, the calculation is made so that the boat can be painted 2-3 more times. Liquid paint has better properties; it spreads more easily, and therefore gives a more durable and smooth coating. When applying this product to the boat, wide soft brushes are used.
Some enthusiasts use nitro paints based on their high quality finish. However, we do not recommend using them for such boats, since they do not provide the necessary durability to the wood (accordingly, the structure becomes less durable and unsuitable for use every year).
Important points
If homemade motor boats are made, then an additional drawing of special fastenings for electric or gasoline engine. However, a simpler and cheaper option would be to use regular oars. They are often made from 35mm birch boards. In this case, a spike with a handle is installed at the end of the spindle, and brass linings are applied to the edge of the blade. Next, the oar is primed and painted.
And finally, some statistics. As practice shows, the average service life of plywood boats is about 15-20 years. Neither plastic nor even their rubber competitors can boast of such durability.
