Homemade Hybrid Duck Boat Build

[assateague]

Figured I'd post this here. I built this two seasons ago, but can't recommend these boats enough. I''l try to keep the story and pics together, but if something doesn't make sense, feel free to PM me with any questions.

I built with 1/4" luaun rather than plywood. The strength comes from the glass, not really the wood, but many people choose plywood. Whatever floats your boat (pun intended), but I was going for the lightest possible. I had never done fiberglass before, and it was a little daunting at first, but it is very simple to do- don't be scared because of the fiberglass. I used 10 yards of 4 ounce by 50" cloth, 1 50 yard roll of 4" tape, and 2 gallons of polyester resin, ordered from US Composites (a big chunk of the price was shipping, due to the hazmat fee for the resin- I don't think there's any way around this, and it was still much cheaper than West Systems Epoxy I could have got locally. When I make another, I'll use 6 ounce cloth. It's no more expensive, and is apparently a little easier to work with. The 4 oz cloth is about like a white T-shirt in thickness, and when it gets wet, it tends to wrinkle a little more than a heavier fabric. Again, it was very easy to do, no problems, but for the same price, I'll try something which I'm told is a little easier. I didn't use any plans, but would recommend them, just as a matter of principle. I've been a carpenter for a while, but anybody can do this with a little patience and effort. You'll need (at a minimum) a jigsaw, some basic geometric knowledge, caulk gun, and a sander. And a lot of zip ties. A belt sander and circ saw will save you a lot of time, but aren't necessary.

Without further ado, I'll go into the pictures.

[assateague]

Started with one piece of luaun laid out on the saw horses. I knew how wide I wanted the bottom to be (34") in order to get the most use out of the sheets of luaun, but there's really no limit, as long as you don't mind buying more wood.

Laid out the basic shape of the bottom and cut it out with a circ saw and jigsaw. There was no formula or anything, I just knew how wide I wanted the front and back to be. I left the front piece long, planning to trim it later in case my calculations weren't exactly right for how long the boat would be.

hybrid1.jpg

Then attached the transom and bulkhead, using sheetrock screws through the bottom (removed later). These were cut from a scrap piece of 3/4 plywood. The angle on the transom is 60 degrees, and the bulkhead is 45 degrees. This gave me the rough shape I wanted the side of the boat to be. I swung an arc using a string to get the curve for the transom, then cut it off flat where I wanted the rear "deck" to be. I can get numbers if anyone wants them, but don't remember what they were off the top of my head. The bulkhead was just basically a copy of the transom, without the top cut off. I wanted the space for my feet through the bulkhead to be 16" to easily accomodate my feet (measured my wader boots to make sure). Again, nothing scientific.

hybrid2.jpg

[assateague]

The cut offs from the side were stitched on to the bottom, drilling holes and running zip ties through them to pull it tight. Don't worry about having the bottom edges line up perfectly- the bottom of the boat may run a little past, or it may be perfect. Either way, it will be sanded smooth and round later.

I put the cut offs on the sides with the curve up. If you put them curve down, you will basically have a flat bottom. I wanted more rocker, due to the areas and conditions I hunt, so put them flat side to the bottom of the boat, giving me more rocker (the "up angle" of the bow), which worked out just right. Again, try not to cut anything until you have it fastened in place and can see how it will work. Nothing worse than having a piece too short because you cut it beforehand.

hybrid4.jpg

hybrid3.jpg

[assateague]

After I got the sides stitched on, run a bead of constrction adhesive along the seams on the inside. Don't try to get it under the zip ties, or even have it really smooth. A small bead is fine. This is just to hold it together until you get the bondo in the seams. I then cut my piece for the front out of 3/4 plywood (I wanted a firm base for the handle I was putting on later). I copied the curve of the bulkhead, and then cut it out to fit, set it in place on the bottom, between the side right where I wanted it, and drew a line. Then pulled it out, cut the lines, and fastened the piece back in with sheetrock screws (removed later). I wish I had some pictures of this part, but I don't. Then, to trim the side at the bow, I set a straight edge where the "wings" on the bulkhead meet the sides, and drew a straight line to where the sides met the piece of 3/4 at the bow. This may sound confusing, but it's not.

hybrid5.jpg

After this was all done and the adhesive had dried, cut and remove the zip ties. Then fill in the seams with bondo or something similar (NOT the kind with fiberglass in it- an unnecessary expense) I used a rubber kitchen spatula from the Dollar Store to shape it.
***TIP*** When using the bondo, use about 1/4 the recommended hardener, if that. That stuff is expensive, and will go off way faster than you can work it.

The object is to round off all the inside seams to get the glass to stick better. There really isn't any structural/waterproofing component to this part. Again, sorry, I have no pics of this part. When you're done, sand all the bondo smooh. Then the inside gets fiberglass tape on all the seams (you can see it in the picture above) Seams are double-taped- I used 4" tape, so had 1" over the joint and 3" up, then reversed it on the other side. Again, all seams get double taped inside and out. When this is done, you can lay the sheet on the inside. I did mine in two pieces, as it was a little easier.


This hasn't been wetted down yet.

hybrid6.jpg

[assateague]

Then you're ready to flip it over. I put some masking tape on top of the saw horses, in case the resin tried to stick to them, but a little sawdust would probably do the same thing.

When it's flipped, I took a belt sander and rounded off all the edges, and got the pieces to line up neatly. Then remove all the screws. I would do this before the sanding, but I forgot. Remember, before the bottom sheet goes on, all outside seams get double-taped as well, just like the inside seams.

hybrid7.jpg

[assateague]

Then when the bottom is done, flip the boat back over. Unfortunately, I didn't take nay pics of the cockpit as I was building it. The side are 1x6, which run from the bulkhead to the transom. If viewed from the side, they would be full dimension, until you get to where you want the rear deck to start. Mine is appx 12" wide, so the last 12 inches of 1x6 was cut down from 1x6 to 1x3. This will depend on how high your bulkhead is, as to how much you have to cut it down. If you were walking along the top edge of the 1x6, you would "step down" onto the rear deck. If the front of your cockpit side is 14" off the bottom, the back should be 14" off the bott0m, also, and then it gets ripped however much you need to make it time out with the top of the transom. Again, this sounds way more complicated than it really is.

Where the rear deck starts, where you ripped down the 1x6, you will put a 1x6 crosspiece in. This will brace it up, and form the back part of the cockpit that you can see when the rear deck is on. The front piece of my cockpit was another scrap of 1/2 plywood I cut to match the curve on the bulkhead.

This is jumping ahead a bit, but you can get a better idea of how to form the cockpit.

hybrid10.jpg

[assateague]

After the cockpit is in, double check to make sure you have all your fiberglass in good shape before you put the sides and lid on. If so, then cut your sides from the other piece of luaun and screw them to the transom and bulkhead. Again, don't try to get exact. Leave a little room for error. It can be sanded off later with no problem. Then zip tie the sides down, and repeat the process from the bottom, with the construction adhesive and bondo. I hung mine from the ceiling to make it a little easier to work. Then double tape those seams, inside and out, as well.

When it's time to put the lid on, I laid the piece of luaun across the front, resting on the bulkhead. Again, the front of the cockpit is what it rests against, with a place to screw it underneath provided by the bulkhead. I started with a screw in the center up against the cockpit, and a screw in the center of the bow piece. Then I added two screws on each side, working away from the center, but no tightening them down all the way. I added ratchet straps with block of wood to help the curve, and misted it down with a hose three or four times a day, let it sit, then tighten the screws a little more, adding screws as i went away from the center. I don't know if this was necessary, but I didn't want it to split, and it didn't.

hybrid8.jpg

I didn't try to measure the top, just let it run wild on all side except where it butted into the sides and cockpit. When I got it where I wanted it, I used construction adhesive only on the underside seams, no stitching, just because it was too difficult. After that set up, I double taped the underside seams. I never put anything, paint or otherwise, on the underside of the lid.

hybrid9.jpg

When this tape was dry, I removed the straps and screws, rough cut it with a sawzall, and belt sanded to get the final finish.

[assateague]

After sanding the edges, you're ready to double-tape all the rest of the seams on the top, and lay the final piece of glass over the whole thing. Then it's pretty much done.

hybrid13.jpg

hybrid12.jpg

hybrid11.jpg

[assateague]

At this point, I added the handles (used manual garage door handles- they're plenty big to have gloves on and still be able to use them) on the front and back, and took it for a float test. You may be anxious to paint, but do yourself a favor and take it out, make sure there are no leaks before you go to the trouble of painting.

hybrid14.jpg

hybrid15.jpg

hybrid17.jpg

hybrid21.jpg

[assateague]

Then I painted it with a khaki base coat, oversprayed some leaves and vegetation from the yard (and my kids' hands- if there's a problem, they'll always be behind me pushing ), and add the reeds by hand. The motor mount was added after the fact, since I didn't have a motor when I started, and didn't know what exactly I would need. It was very simple to build with a piece of pressure treated 2x6, mounted with some carriage bolts, and sealed with 5200.

hybrid23.jpg

hybrid24.jpg

hybrid29.jpg

hybrid25.jpg

hybrid27.jpg

[assateague]

Add a motor, and you have your own homemade duck machine for less than $300 (at least in 2010) PM me if you have any questions- I don't mind.

hybrid test 6.jpg

hybrid test 4.jpg

hybrid test 2.jpg

[Westie25]

What'd the motor run you if you don't mind me asking?

[assateague]

I paid $200 for it from CL. It's a 99 3.5 hp Nissan. Two years in, that motor was worth every penny. I use it rough, powering through mud and sand, often clogging the piss tube completely, but it takes care of itself. I know everybody says it, but it's never taken more than 3 pulls to start, even first time out.

My only complaint so far is that it won't run without gas.

[Westie25]

Haha!!! I'm going to keep researching. If I ever run across a motor for that cheap, I'll build one.

[3legged_lab]

Looks good. I wanted to build one, then copped out and bought a marsh rat instead. Very useful tool to have around.

[Goldfish]

A warning to everyone though, these things weigh around 125 pounds









(for those not knowing, they dont weigh anywhere near that)

[assateague]

[Redbeard]

I flirted with the idea of building one this summer. But the wife's throwing too many projects at me now. Besides my new small scull boat may double as a marsh boat for the time being.

Hopefully next off season I'll be able to put together a 10 footer

[centex]

So I've had my plans for the exact same boat from missed again just been waiting to build. How do you transport it and when you carry do you make 2 trips? One with the boat and other with the motor? And how does it move under paddle power?

Everywhere I'd use one is lakes or rivers so nothing like what you have so could always opt for a trolling motor

[assateague]

If I'm going less than 50 yards or so, I leave it loaded up ready to hunt with the motor propped up and just drag it. I reinforced the front quite a bit just for this purpose. If I have to move it farther, or carry it down rip-rap, or woods, I unload it and take the motor off. Usually I'll make three trips- boat, motor and some gear, rest of gear and dekes. I've only had to do this last one once or twice.

[assateague]

As far as transport, I bought a utility trailer, which has proven to be amazingly handy for more than the boat.

[assateague]

It was brought to my attention that the pics are gone. In the interest of not having to type it all again, I'm going to try quoting myself, and adding the pics back in. Not sure what happened.

[assateague]

Started with one piece of luaun laid out on the saw horses. I knew how wide I wanted the bottom to be (34") in order to get the most use out of the sheets of luaun, but there's really no limit, as long as you don't mind buying more wood.

Laid out the basic shape of the bottom and cut it out with a circ saw and jigsaw. There was no formula or anything, I just knew how wide I wanted the front and back to be. I left the front piece long, planning to trim it later in case my calculations weren't exactly right for how long the boat would be.

hybrid1.jpg

Then attached the transom and bulkhead, using sheetrock screws through the bottom (removed later). These were cut from a scrap piece of 3/4 plywood. The angle on the transom is 60 degrees, and the bulkhead is 45 degrees. This gave me the rough shape I wanted the side of the boat to be. I swung an arc using a string to get the curve for the transom, then cut it off flat where I wanted the rear "deck" to be. I can get numbers if anyone wants them, but don't remember what they were off the top of my head. The bulkhead was just basically a copy of the transom, without the top cut off. I wanted the space for my feet through the bulkhead to be 16" to easily accomodate my feet (measured my wader boots to make sure). Again, nothing scientific.

hybrid2.jpg

[assateague]

The cut offs from the side were stitched on to the bottom, drilling holes and running zip ties through them to pull it tight. Don't worry about having the bottom edges line up perfectly- the bottom of the boat may run a little past, or it may be perfect. Either way, it will be sanded smooth and round later.

I put the cut offs on the sides with the curve up. If you put them curve down, you will basically have a flat bottom. I wanted more rocker, due to the areas and conditions I hunt, so put them flat side to the bottom of the boat, giving me more rocker (the "up angle" of the bow), which worked out just right. Again, try not to cut anything until you have it fastened in place and can see how it will work. Nothing worse than having a piece too short because you cut it beforehand.

hybrid4.jpg

hybrid3.jpg

[assateague]

After I got the sides stitched on, run a bead of constrction adhesive along the seams on the inside. Don't try to get it under the zip ties, or even have it really smooth. A small bead is fine. This is just to hold it together until you get the bondo in the seams. I then cut my piece for the front out of 3/4 plywood (I wanted a firm base for the handle I was putting on later). I copied the curve of the bulkhead, and then cut it out to fit, set it in place on the bottom, between the side right where I wanted it, and drew a line. Then pulled it out, cut the lines, and fastened the piece back in with sheetrock screws (removed later). I wish I had some pictures of this part, but I don't. Then, to trim the side at the bow, I set a straight edge where the "wings" on the bulkhead meet the sides, and drew a straight line to where the sides met the piece of 3/4 at the bow. This may sound confusing, but it's not.

hybrid5.jpg

After this was all done and the adhesive had dried, cut and remove the zip ties. Then fill in the seams with bondo or something similar (NOT the kind with fiberglass in it- an unnecessary expense) I used a rubber kitchen spatula from the Dollar Store to shape it.
***TIP*** When using the bondo, use about 1/4 the recommended hardener, if that. That stuff is expensive, and will go off way faster than you can work it.

The object is to round off all the inside seams to get the glass to stick better. There really isn't any structural/waterproofing component to this part. Again, sorry, I have no pics of this part. When you're done, sand all the bondo smooh. Then the inside gets fiberglass tape on all the seams (you can see it in the picture above) Seams are double-taped- I used 4" tape, so had 1" over the joint and 3" up, then reversed it on the other side. Again, all seams get double taped inside and out. When this is done, you can lay the sheet on the inside. I did mine in two pieces, as it was a little easier.


This hasn't been wetted down yet.

hybrid6.jpg

[assateague]

Then you're ready to flip it over. I put some masking tape on top of the saw horses, in case the resin tried to stick to them, but a little sawdust would probably do the same thing.

When it's flipped, I took a belt sander and rounded off all the edges, and got the pieces to line up neatly. Then remove all the screws. I would do this before the sanding, but I forgot. Remember, before the bottom sheet goes on, all outside seams get double-taped as well, just like the inside seams.

hybrid7.jpg

[assateague]

Then you're ready to flip it over. I put some masking tape on top of the saw horses, in case the resin tried to stick to them, but a little sawdust would probably do the same thing.

When it's flipped, I took a belt sander and rounded off all the edges, and got the pieces to line up neatly. Then remove all the screws. I would do this before the sanding, but I forgot. Remember, before the bottom sheet goes on, all outside seams get double-taped as well, just like the inside seams.

hybrid7.jpg

[assateague]

Then when the bottom is done, flip the boat back over. Unfortunately, I didn't take nay pics of the cockpit as I was building it. The side are 1x6, which run from the bulkhead to the transom. If viewed from the side, they would be full dimension, until you get to where you want the rear deck to start. Mine is appx 12" wide, so the last 12 inches of 1x6 was cut down from 1x6 to 1x3. This will depend on how high your bulkhead is, as to how much you have to cut it down. If you were walking along the top edge of the 1x6, you would "step down" onto the rear deck. If the front of your cockpit side is 14" off the bottom, the back should be 14" off the bott0m, also, and then it gets ripped however much you need to make it time out with the top of the transom. Again, this sounds way more complicated than it really is.

Where the rear deck starts, where you ripped down the 1x6, you will put a 1x6 crosspiece in. This will brace it up, and form the back part of the cockpit that you can see when the rear deck is on. The front piece of my cockpit was another scrap of 1/2 plywood I cut to match the curve on the bulkhead.

This is jumping ahead a bit, but you can get a better idea of how to form the cockpit.

hybrid10.jpg

[assateague]

After the cockpit is in, double check to make sure you have all your fiberglass in good shape before you put the sides and lid on. If so, then cut your sides from the other piece of luaun and screw them to the transom and bulkhead. Again, don't try to get exact. Leave a little room for error. It can be sanded off later with no problem. Then zip tie the sides down, and repeat the process from the bottom, with the construction adhesive and bondo. I hung mine from the ceiling to make it a little easier to work. Then double tape those seams, inside and out, as well.

When it's time to put the lid on, I laid the piece of luaun across the front, resting on the bulkhead. Again, the front of the cockpit is what it rests against, with a place to screw it underneath provided by the bulkhead. I started with a screw in the center up against the cockpit, and a screw in the center of the bow piece. Then I added two screws on each side, working away from the center, but no tightening them down all the way. I added ratchet straps with block of wood to help the curve, and misted it down with a hose three or four times a day, let it sit, then tighten the screws a little more, adding screws as i went away from the center. I don't know if this was necessary, but I didn't want it to split, and it didn't.

hybrid8.jpg

I didn't try to measure the top, just let it run wild on all side except where it butted into the sides and cockpit. When I got it where I wanted it, I used construction adhesive only on the underside seams, no stitching, just because it was too difficult. After that set up, I double taped the underside seams. I never put anything, paint or otherwise, on the underside of the lid.

hybrid9.jpg

When this tape was dry, I removed the straps and screws, rough cut it with a sawzall, and belt sanded to get the final finish.

[assateague]

After sanding the edges, you're ready to double-tape all the rest of the seams on the top, and lay the final piece of glass over the whole thing. Then it's pretty much done.

hybrid13.jpg

hybrid12.jpg

hybrid11.jpg